Catalog Codes and Article Order Numbers 

Use

In SAP Retail, the default case is for article numbers in the SAP master data to appear in product catalogs. However, you can choose article order numbers that differ from the master data article numbers. This enables you to compare sales revenues generated by different catalogs and thus fine-tune your marketing strategy accordingly.

You can have different product catalogs based on different seasons, different parts of the country, or other demographic data. Or, you may mail out the same catalog several times during a given season (especially at Christmas), but with a different cover picture each time or with a different sequence of catalog sections.

You can assign catalog codes (also called source codes) to identify each of these catalogs; for example, B99 = early fall, 1999 catalog, women's section in front, men's in back. By configuring the system to add this catalog identifier in front or in back of the article number (for example, B99-1234567 or 1234567-B99) to form a unique article order number, you can tell exactly which catalog generated the order.

Structure

Catalog codes are limited to 4 alphanumeric characters, and are normally used in conjunction with the SAP master data article number. The total order number cannot exceed 18 characters (including the catalog code).

The system can generate article order numbers in the following ways:

·         Article order number = catalog code + article number in the master data

Example: WINT123456

·         Article order number = article number in the master data + catalog code

Example: 123456WINT

·         Either of the above alternatives, but with a separator symbol

Example: WINT-123456, 123456/WINT

·         According to a custom algorithm that you can define in a user exit

You can change the system-generated article order numbers manually, if needed.

One article may have several article order numbers. However, two different articles cannot have the same article order number.

Integration

In Customizing you can define product catalog types. The catalog type causes certain parameters to be established for the catalog (for example, whether or not article order numbers are to be used).

You can specify whether or not catalog code numbering scheme is internal (system-generated) or external (user-defined) codes.

In Product Catalog Maintenance:

·         On the basic data screen, you assign a catalog code to the specific product catalog. A product catalog can have only one catalog code.

·         If you want to use article order numbers that differ from the master data article numbers, then in layout area maintenance you can manually assign an article order number to each individual article, or have a user exit that automatically generates the number. Since an article can be assigned to more than one layout area, you can assign a different article order number to each instance of the article with in the catalog (equivalent to having an article appear on multiple pages of a catalog, with different article order numbers for tracking purposes). When you later analyze the data, you can see, for example, that the half page spread for a cashmere sweater yielded 80% of the sales revenue for this article, while only 20% resulted from a tiny picture stuck in the back of the catalog.

During sales order transactions, customers give the article order number that appears in the catalog. The system can then determine the catalog associated with this article order number.

For more information on how article order numbers are used in sales order processing, see Catalog Sales.