Section: Classification and Release Approval

Procedure

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Classification and Release Approval Procedure:

Contents

Unit 17

Classification

Unit 18

More Functions in
Classification

Unit 19

Document Release (Approval)

Procedure

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Classification

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Classification: Unit Objectives

You will understand how the classification system

is integrated in other R/3 applications
You will be able to identify the most important
concepts of the classification system
You will gain an overview of characteristics and
how to assign values to them in the classification
system

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Business Scenario
The company has several thousand material master
records, bills of material, and document info records.
The classification system helps to find individual objects
quickly and efficiently.

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What is Classification for?

? ?

Where on earth...
????

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Purpose of classification:
To find suitable object
To find similar objects
To find that there are no suitable objects
It is difficult to impossible to fulfill these requirements unless your data is organized in a systematic
way.
The R/3 classification system supplements the functions of matchcodes and systematic numbers to help
you set up an organized system.
The classification system comprises the following functions:
Characteristics maintenance
Class maintenance
Classification (allocation and value assignment)
Finding objects

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Classification System
Material
masters

Arbeitsplan
Arbeitsplan
Plangr

Z1

10 Plz:1310
20
30

Routing
headers

PRTs

Classification
User-defined order structure
User-defined characteristics for object
search
Hierarchy, graphic

Work centers

Documents
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Finding a Material
I want to order a
monitor
Create
purchase
order

List of classes

Item 10 _____
Item 20 _____

...

Create
purchase
order
Item 10 M-05
Item 20 _____

Matchcode
K

List of materials

PC

Monitor

M-01

NEC

15 inch

M-05

NEC

17 inch

...

Printer
Monitor

Characteristics

Manufacturer

NEC

Screen size
Price range

03
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You can search for materials via classes in any situation where you need to enter a material number.
Using the classification system you have set up, you can find the material number you are looking for,
and copy it across.
For example, you can search for materials when you create a purchase order.

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Finding Objects in the Classification System

I want to check the
stock of 17 inch
monitors quickly

List of classes
Printer
Monitor
Loudspeaker

Check
stock
M-04

Function

List of monitors
M-02
M-04

17 inch
17 inch

Monitor characteristics
02
03

...

Manufacturer
Screen size

17

Price range

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You can find objects from your application, or use the global functions for finding objects in the
classification system.
From your search result, you can go to an application. For example, you can go to inventory
management to check stock, or you can display the material.
You can also use executable programs from SAP, or write your own executable programs, to process the
search result.

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Finding Objects
2

Task that
requires a
specific object
1

1
Find class

Application

Find object via class

Search result
2

2
Application
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This slide illustrates the two process flows for finding objects. You can also use the "global" functions
for finding objects.
Process flow 1 shows how to use the search function from an application.
Process flow 2 shows how to start an application from the global functions for finding objects.
Process flow 2 is not supported for all transactions.

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Terminology
Class

A class is a group of objects that have the same

properties or similar properties.

Object

An object is a classifiable unit

(for example, material, vendor...).

Characteristic

A characteristic describes properties of an object

(for example, length, weight, basic material).

Characteristic
value

A value is assigned to a characteristic

(for example, 4 inches, 8 - 14 pounds, copper).
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Classification System Functions

Characteristics maint.
-

Performance
Version
Manufacturer
Length

Weight
Color
Thread type
Registration
number

Object maintenance
Material:

Thread type:
Metric
Length:
7 mm
Manufacturer: Meyer Ironworks

Characteristics

Class maintenance
Class Bolts
- Thread type
- Length
- Manufacturer

Bolt HEX_1

Properties

Classification

Finding objects

Allocation
Object: Bolt HEX_1
Class: CL_HEX100

Find class

Assigned values
Thread type:
Metric
Length:
7 mm
Manufacturer: Meyer
Ironworks

Find objects
in class

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Step 1: create characteristics and allowed values.

Step 2: create classes and assign characteristics to classes.
Step 3: allocate objects (such as materials) to one or more classes, assigning characteristic values to the
objects.
Step 4: now you can use the classification system to find objects.

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Screens: Maintaining Characteristics

Basic data
Descriptions
Allowed values
User interface

Description, format, and control data

Multi-lingual descriptions and headings
List of all possible or required values
Display options for value assignment functions

Additional data

Reference characteristic

Class types

Restriction to class types

Classification

Linked DMS document

Classification of characteristic
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There are several screens for characteristics processing.

You must fill out the basic data screen, but all other screens are optional.
On the basic data screen, you enter the central data for a characteristic, such as status, data type, and
value assignment attribute.
You can enter the characteristic description in multiple languages.
You can define allowed values for a characteristic. You can define whether only these allowed values can
be selected, or whether other values are allowed, too.
On the interface control screen, you can use indicators to influence how the characteristic is displayed in
classification and variant configuration functions.
You can create references to table fields, to use them in classification.
You can link documents to characteristics and their values.
You can restrict the use of a characteristic to certain class types.
You can classify characteristics and sort them according to their classification.

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Entry / Format
Format
NUM

Numeric
Max. no. of characters (dec. places)
Unit
Negative values allowed

CHAR

Alphanumeric
Max. no. of characters
Templates
Case sensitive

DATE

Date

TIME
CURR

Entry

Time
Currency

When assigning values to objects:

Required: Yes / No
Single-value / Multiple value

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In this dataset you enter the data type of a characteristic. The data type determines the format for
entering characteristic values. The following data types are supported:
Data type CHAR:
Characteristic with alphanumeric format. The value field can contain any character.
Data type NUM:
Characteristic with numeric format. The value field can only contain figures.
Data type TIME/DATE :
Characteristic with time or date format.
Data type CURR:
Characteristic with currency format
User-defined data type:
Characteristic with a fixed link to a class. The characteristic groups together the characteristics of
the class to form one superior characteristic.
Value assignment attribute:
Single-value means that you can only assign one value to a characteristic in value assignment functions.
Multiple-value means that you can assign more than one value.

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Allowed Values
Constant (s)
Intervals
100 - 200

100

> 100

200

)
100

> = 100

100

100 - < 200

100

)
200

Combinations
< 50, 100, 150 - 180, > = 200
)

Additional values:

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Entering allowed values for a characteristic is optional. If you do not enter allowed values, you can enter
any value that matches the format you define, when you use the characteristic to classify objects.
The allowed values or allowed intervals you define for a characteristic are binding for classification
unless you set the indicator defining that additional values are allowed.
You can enter a default value for a characteristic. This value is displayed when you use the
characteristic to classify objects.

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Reference Characteristic
Concept
Concept
Individual fields of the object
are to be copied to the
classification.

Procedure
Procedure
Create characteristic BASIC_MAT

Solution
Solution

Additional data

Reference characteristic
Table name
MARA

Details
Details
A reference characteristic
can refer to fields in several
tables.

Characteristic BASIC_MAT refers to

the basic material field in a material

Several characteristics can

refer to the same table field.

Table field
WRKST

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The table reference lets you use information from the object master record in classification and avoid
inconsistencies.
For example, in the material master record of a material, you enter the basic material. You want to use
the basic material of the material in classification, so you create a reference to field Basic material in
the material master table MARA. You use the reference characteristic in the class for classifying
materials. When you classify a material, you see the basic material from the material master record.
You can also use reference characteristics to find objects.

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Value Checks: Check Table

Characteristic
PLANT

Value check
Check table

Table
T001W
Plants

Allowed values
for classification
Entries:
Entries:
Plant
Plant Basel
Basel
Plant
Plant Chicago
Chicago
Plant
Plant Munich
Munich
Plant
Plant Hamburg
Hamburg
...
...

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Instead of entering individual values for a characteristic, you can enter a check table. In classification
functions, the entries in the table are displayed as characteristic values.
You can only use tables with one key field.
Entering a check table is not to be confused with a table reference for reference characteristics.
For example, you enter table T001W (Plants) as a check table. On the value assignment screen, you can
display all the plants as possible values for your characteristic, and select one.

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Screens: Maintaining Classes

Basic data

General information and control data

Catchwords

Search strings for use with matchcode

Characteristics

Characteristics of a class

Texts

Texts explaining the class

Document

Linked DMS document

Additional data

Special data for variant configuration only

Standards data

Data for standardized classes (DIN standards)

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There are several screens for processing a class.

You must fill out the basic data screen, but the other screens are optional.
The basic data screen contains the central settings for a class, such as the status, the organizational
areas, and the authorization group.
You can assign catchwords to help you in matchcode searches.
You can assign characteristics that describe objects to the class, so that you can use the class to classify
objects.
You can enter texts.
You can link documents to a class.
You can create classes according to a standard (of the German standards institute, DIN).
You can define that a class can be used in the bill of material of a configurable material.

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Class Type
Objects

Material

Vendor

Insp. material

Class type
001

Class type
010

Class type
005

........

controls

Screen sequence
Class statuses
Classification statuses
Organizational areas
..........

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The class type is a central concept of the classification system. It controls the processing of classes,
classification, and finding objects in classes. Settings for a class type are defined in Customizing. Class
types are always created for a specific object type, such as materials. Objects of this object type can
then be classified in classes of this class type.
When you create a class, you must enter a class type first. Each class type is completely separate from
the other class types there is no point of connection between classes in different class types
The class type defines:
Which objects can be classified in a class
Whether different object types can be classified in a class
Which screens of a class are processed
Whether you can classify objects in more than one class
Which class statuses, organizational areas, and text types are available for classes

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Allocation and Assigned Values

Classification
Classification =
= Allocation
Allocation +
+ Assigned
Assigned values
values
Bolt
HEX_01

Allocation

Material class
Lnge:
Hersteller:
Gewindeart:

Values complete and

classification released

Classification
2

Locked
Values complete and
classification locked

Assigned values
Length:
10 cm
Manufacturer: Meyer
Thread type: Metric

Incomplete

Values incomplete and

classification locked

Assignment

Released

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Classification means the allocation to a class plus the assignment of values to characteristics of the
class.
According to the settings defined in Customizing for the classification system for a class type, you can
assign different statuses to a classification.
You assign Released status when the values are complete in other words, all the required entry
characteristics have an assigned value
If the class has required entry characteristics that do not have an assigned value, you can only save the
classification with Incomplete status. Once the values are complete, you must set the status to Released
manually.
You can set the status of a classification to Locked if you want to check the values assigned to objects
again, for example.
You can exclude objects with incomplete or locked classifications when you find objects.

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Classification: Allocation Functions

Class_2

Class_1

Class_3

Allocate object
to classes:
Starts with an object
Object
Object

Class_2
Allocate objects
to class:
Starts with a class
Object_A
Object_A

Object_B
Object_B

Object_C
Object_C
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You can use either the master data of the object or the central allocation functions of the classification
system to classify an object.
There are 2 allocation functions:
You can allocate an object to one or more classes. On the initial screen of this function, you enter the
object. The same allocation function is called when you classify an object in its master data.
You can allocate several objects at once to one class. On the initial screen of this function, you enter the
class.

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Classification: Unit Summary

The classification system can help you to
find objects in your company more easily.
The properties of objects are described by
characteristics, which are assigned to
classes.
Objects are allocated to classes, where you
assign characteristic values to them.
Each class must have a class type. The
class type performs essential control
functions in the classification system.

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