Item categories are assigned to sales document types. The figure illustrates how they are assigned.
The purpose of this assignment is to do the following:
- Configure the system to propose an item category when you create an order.
- Define alternative item categories to the system default which users can choose.
This assignment is influenced by the following:
- The item category group from the material master record: The item category group allows you to group together different materials that behave in a similar way during sales and distribution processes, for example. You can also define new item category groups if needed.
- The usage for the item, which in some cases is set internally in the program: The system uses TEXT if the user enters an item in the inquiry or quotation by entering data in the Description field without specifying a material number. FREE is used for controlling free goods items.
- The item category of a higher-level item (in the case of a sub-item).