This component allows you to create merchandise assortments modules and assign articles to them. Assortment modules can then be assigned to assortments, which enables these articles to be sold. Additional articles can be assigned automatically to assortments as a result of checking rules during article maintenance or assortment maintenance functions.

A site cannot sell an article that is not contained in its assortment.

When you create assortment modules, you also specify a listing period. This determines the timeframe during which sites can procure and sell the articles in this assortment.

This component is required for SAP Retail.

To create assortments, you must also configure the Merchandise Category, Article Master Data, and Site Master Data components.

In addition:

• Creation of assortment modules and assignment to assortments

• Creation of specialized or temporary assortment modules (for example, valid for rack jobbers or for the duration of a specific promotion)

• Creation of exclusion modules (articles not allowed to be sold in certain stores) in order to prevent inadvertent listing of articles

• Ability to assign the same assortment modules to multiple assortments (copy feature)

• Automatic assortment correction when changes in article master data affect assortments

• Ability to either enter a generic article and thereby automatically include all variants, or specify only some variants of an article (for example, separate sizes for misses’ and women’s clothing departments)

• Choice of manual assignment of articles to assortments, or automatic assignment using predefined listing procedures

• Ability to search for articles that are nearing the end of their valid listing periods and determine whether or not to extend the listing

• Ability to determine whether articles delivered to a site for which they are not listed should be automatically listed ("subsequent listing"), not listed and therefore returned to the supplier, or left to the user to decide at time of goods receipt

• Procedures for discontinuing articles (disabling them but keeping them in the database) and deleting them (removing them from the database)

• Ability to block purchases from a specific supplier by deleting the entire assortment for that supplier.

• Ability to associate customers with assortments when creating customer orders or deliveries by having the system check the article listings. You can have the system control whether the customers can receive only those articles in their assigned assortments, or any articles in the entire assortment, or have the checking take place through a user exit.

This component does not:

• Create merchandise categories. That is controlled by the Merchandise Category component.

• Evaluate sales performance of various assortments. To do this, you would need to create an appropriate analysis in the Retail Information System using flexible planning.