Category Maintenance 

Use

Categories allow products and individual objects to be grouped together according to different criteria, and are used primarily to describe differences within a business context. For example:

·        Descriptive information such as technical properties

·        Ownership (owned, leased, rented)

·        Usage

Categories define which set types and relationship types are allowed for a product/individual object, thereby enabling you to structure the information you require on your products/individual objects through the assignment of categories. If a product/individual object is assigned to more than one category, all set types and relationship types for the categories to which the product/individual object is assigned can be used.

Due to certain settings which can be made at category level, thereby applying to all products/individual objects created within these categories, categories also have a control function.

Integration

Number ranges for assigning product/object IDs can be maintained for each category in the hierarchy assigned to the application Product.
In Customizing for SAP Products (Cross-Application Components), choose Settings for Product Type ® Number Assignment and carry out the steps Define Number Ranges for Materials/Services/Financing/Intellectual Properties/Warranties.
You can assign hierarchies to applications in the step Assign Category Hierarchies to Applications under Product Category in Customizing for SAP Products (Cross-Application Components).

Features

A number of features are available at category level within the categories and hierarchies maintenance functionality:

·        Authorization Groups

By assigning an authorization group to a category, you can determine whether a user is allowed to display, change, or create products/individual objects belonging to this category.
You can define authorization groups in Customizing for SAP Products (Cross-Application Components). Choose Basic Settings ® Define Authorization Groups.

·        Person Responsible

You can specify a person responsible for the category. You may, for example, want to specify the brand manager as the person responsible for the highest-level category, and the product manager for lower-level categories.

·        Object Family

A category can be assigned to an object family, thereby restricting the use of the category to individual objects belonging to this object family. More than one category can be assigned the same object family.

A category designated for use with an object family can also be assigned set types. A set type reserved for a particular object family can only be assigned to a category if this category has been assigned the same object family.

Categories not assigned an object family can be used for both products and individual objects, with the exception of base hierarchies.

·        Partner Determination Procedure

A partner determination procedure can be specified for individual objects and Intellectual Property products to determine which business partners can be assigned to the object or product on the Partner tab page of the Relationships view in product maintenance. This option is only available for categories within the base hierarchy, provided the category has been assigned an object family or the product type Intellectual Property. (Partner determination procedures can be defined under Basic Functions ® Partner Processing ® Define Partner Determination Procedure in Customizing for Customer Relationship Management.)

·        Product/Object Assignment Possible

Indicates that products and individual objects can be assigned to the category in product or object maintenance. The indicator should not be set for root categories.

·        Documents Maintainable

This indicator determining whether documents can be maintained for a product or individual object in product or object maintenance can be set for categories within the base hierarchy.

·        Conditions Maintainable

This indicator determining whether conditions can be maintained for a product or individual object in product or object maintenance can be set for categories within the base hierarchy.

·        Alternative ID Type

This ID type will be displayed in the header of the product/individual object in product/object maintenance.

·        Product Template

A product can be specified as a product template for configurable products. When a product is created in the PME (as opposed to product maintenance), a corresponding product is created in the product master. The product template from which the new product will derive its data can be defined at category level.
For more information, see Configurable Products.

Set Types and Relationship Types

Set types and relationship types are specified on the respective tab pages:

·        Set Types

You can specify which set types should be assigned to the category concerned, on which view the set type should appear in product/object maintenance, and in which position (only valid for product maintenance in SAP GUI). You can define your own views in the Customizing activity Define Views (Cross-Application Components ® SAP Products ® Settings for Product Maintenance).

A Referenced indicator is an additional option available for individual objects for use in conjunction with reference products and is only visible for categories assigned an object family.

·        Relationship Types

Relationship types can be assigned to a category, enabling just these relationship types to be created for a product/individual object belonging to this category in product/object maintenance. Other relationship types are no longer displayed once a relationship type has been assigned to a category.

As with set types, relationship types can only be assigned within one hierarchy per product type. If no relationship types are assigned, all relationship types can be maintained in product/object maintenance.

Conditions

Conditions can be created for products/individual objects at product or category level. For more information about maintaining conditions at category level, see Condition Maintenance.

Inheritance

Certain fields can be inherited by lower-level categories. For more information about inheritance, see Inheritance Within Hierarchies.

Activities

Creating Product Categories

...

       1.      In the user menu, choose Maintain Categories and Hierarchies.
The Maintain Categories and Hierarchies screen appears.

       2.      Double-click the required hierarchy from either the Worklist or Search tab page in the locator.
The hierarchy data is displayed in the work area.

       3.      Choose Create Category if the hierarchy is new and does not yet have any categories. This creates a root in the hierarchy. Otherwise, double-click the category below which the new category is to be created and choose Create Category.

       4.      Enter a category ID and description.

An entry can only be made in the Category ID field if automatic number assignment was not specified for this hierarchy. If a numbering scheme has been assigned to the hierarchy, but without automatic number assignment, your category ID must be in accordance with this numbering scheme. For more information, see the Customizing activity Define Category Numbering Schemes (Cross-Application Components ® SAP Products ® Product Category).

       5.      If necessary, specify a product type for the category so that you can assign set types and relationship types to the category.

       6.      Enter data as required.

       7.      Choose the Set Types tab. For each set type, you can specify the view in which it appears in product/object maintenance and its position in the view, for example, above or below another set type (only valid for product maintenance in SAP GUI). If you do not specify a view, the set type will appear in the Basic Data view.

       8.       Choose the Relationship Types tab and, if necessary, assign the relevant relationship types.

       9.      Choose Attributes to access extended attribute maintenance. 
This option is available if the Extended Maintenance (PME) indicator is set for the hierarchy.
Maintain the attribute data as required. For more information about maintaining this data, see Extended Attribute Maintenance.

   10.      Save your data.

Changing Categories

You can always change the category description, but not the category ID. You can also change the product type if no set types or products/individual objects are assigned to the category or to one of its lower-level categories. If the product type is changed, all lower-level categories are changed accordingly.

New set types can always be added, and existing set types assigned to a different view. The position of existing set types in the view can be changed at any time. Existing set types can be deleted only if there are no products/individual objects within this category or a lower-level category with data maintained for this set type, and no value range restrictions or default values exist for this category or lower-level categories.
The Referenced indicator can only be set subsequently if there are no individual objects within this category or a lower-level category with data maintained for this set type.

New relationship types can be added and existing relationship types deleted only if there are no products/individual objects within this category or a lower-level category with data maintained for this relationship type.

Deleting Product Categories

A category can be deleted only if it has no lower-level categories and no products/individual objects or set types are assigned to it.