Merchandise categories enable the user to classify and structure all aspects of the merchandise in their enterprise. In doing so, each article is assigned to a specific merchandise category. This assignment is valid throughout the enterprise.

Merchandise categories can be assigned to stores and store departments. You can also group merchandise categories into hierarchies. A successfully implemented merchandise category hierarchy is an essential tool for efficient merchandise category management. The main focus for the management of your merchandise then shifts from individual articles to merchandise groupings. The aim of merchandise category management is the better coordination of various customer considerations at each business location (for example, store), including elements such as variety, price structures and advertising.

Make use of merchandise categories if you wish to:

• Structure your assortment and departments

• Perform structured analyses in the Information System and plan target and actual values

• Store common data (conditions, for example) at a higher level

Merchandise category maintenance should only be used for articles created using the Retail article maintenance function.

• Sales at the POS need not be on an article basis: they can be processed via the merchandise category (using a merchandise category article).

• Articles belonging to different merchandise categories can be sold under the umbrella of a common value-only article (the "hierarchy article"). This can be useful if, for example, a store has cash registers with fewer merchandise category keys than there are merchandise categories.

• Depending on the merchandise category, you can define specific characteristics which have a classifying function and/or which influence the creation of variants; these characteristics can be useful when you are creating articles and especially useful for defining variants of generic articles.

• Below the merchandise category level, structures (characteristics profiles) are provided which allow a "technical" segmentation of merchandise categories to aid new article listings or help in creating generic articles and variants.