This business process chain involves the following business processes in the Business Navigator:

• Characteristics profile processing
• Merchandise category hierarchy level processing
• Merchandise category hierarchy level assignment
• and merchandise category processing itself

This business process allows you to define merchandise categories and merchandise category hierarchy levels and create a merchandise category hierarchy. Each merchandise category can also be assigned descriptive characteristics or characteristics profiles.

• As every article must be assigned to precisely one merchandise category and every merchandise category can be assigned to a single store department, merchandise categories can be used to classify your assortment.
• Grouping articles together to form merchandise categories or merchandise category hierarchy levels makes it easier to monitor and control an organization. This also allows powerful analyses to be obtained from the Information Systems.
• If you assign a merchandise category article to a merchandise category, sales from this merchandise category do not need to be managed on an article basis and can be processed on a value-only basis; in other words, merchandise is entered at the cash register at the merchandise category level (using a "catch-all" cash register key). It is also possible, however, to continue to enter the merchandise on an article basis but manage the stock on a value basis at a higher level.
• It is also possible to create hierarchy articles: these represent a superior merchandise category hierarchy level and they too allow sales on a value-only basis in the stores to which they have been assigned.
• Merchandise categories can provide assistance in creating articles: a merchandise category reference article can be used to offer standard values for articles in that merchandise category.
• The merchandise category hierarchy enables characteristics to be inherited by lower levels from superior levels.
• As a further aid to listing new articles or creating generic articles and variants, structures exist that allow a "technical" segmentation of merchandise categories below the merchandise category level (characteristics profiles).

1. You assign the merchandise category an existing reference article or you define a new merchandise category reference article for this merchandise category.
2. If necessary, create a merchandise category article for the merchandise category.
3. You maintain catchwords (optional) and characteristics (optional) for the merchandise category.
4. You assign a merchandise category directly to a merchandise category hierarchy level. You select the hierarchy articles you need.
5. You assign the characteristics profiles you need to the merchandise category.