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SAP Classification and Characteristics : Customizing & Tables (AUSP)

This article will cover How Sap Classification is handled.

It starts with SAP Characteristics and Classes Customizing to get an overview of Classification.

The second part is more technical and covers the Master Data for Classification (ex: AUSP).

The last part explains how to handle Characteristics in ABAP Coding: How to read and Update Characteristics.

You will find a link to ABAP Program Update characteristic value in Sap: how to update the SAP Customer Classification.

Table of Contents

SAP Characteristics Customizing

Let’s start by the SAP Characteristics Customizing.

The main Tcode for Characteristics Customizing in SAP is CT04 and CL02 for Class Customizing.

Step by Step SAP Class & Characteristic Customizing

The path to customize Characteristics is:

• CT04: Customizing of SAP Characteristics
• CL02: Customizing of SAP Classes

You can access the Customizing Tcodes directly from Standard SAP Menu under: SAP Men > Cross-Application Components > Classification System > Master Data

Fill a new for the new Characteristic. Then Choose the Data Type.

Characteristic can have the following type:

• Character Format (fill the numbers with characters),
• Currency Format,
• Date Format,
• Numeric Format
• Or Time Format.

Choose the Value Assignment: Single Value or Multiple Values

Set the list of SAP Characteristic Values depending on your scenario to :

• A fixed list,
• for check table,
• for function module
• Or from Catalog Char.

The list of Value can be found in table CAWN .

SAP Classification: Retrieve and Update

Once the Class and its Characteristics are defined in SAP, let’s move how to assign how to assign SAP Classification to SAP object. In order to illustrate, we will take some real life sample.

The first example deals about handling Customer Classification in SAP.

Moreover, it will explain how to assign Customer Classification in SAP. Then how to retrieve and update SAP Customer Classification’s Characteristics values.

The next example will cover SAP Material Classification.

Customer Classification in SAP

To access Customer classification, go to XD02/3, then to Extra and Classification.

Read SAP Customer Classification

To read Classification, you can use this standard BAPI BAPI_OBJCL_GETDETAIL.

The class type and the class number can be read from the XD02/3 classification screen:

Update SAP Classification Characteristic

Classification Update can be managed by the standard bapi BAPI_OBJCL_CHANGE . Don’t forget to call a BAPI_TRANSACTION_COMMIT after the update.

Material classification in SAP

Material Classification in SAP is the same process and access path for Vendor Classification in SAP.

SAP Material Characteristics Table in sap

In order to retrieve Sap Material classification, make a join between MARA-MATNR and AUSP-OBJEK.

SAP Classification Tables

Main sap classification tables & fields.

The most importing SAP classification Tables are

AUSP : this table saves the value of characteristic for a single business object (Customer, material, …)

The AUSP-OBJEK refers to business object key for example Customer ID in table KNA1-KUNNR or Material Number from MARA-MATNR.

The value of the Characteristic can be found in AUSP-ATWRT (neutral value).

CABN : This Table contains the property of the Characteristic. It pilots the type, description … of the characteristic.

KLAH : The Class of Characteristic is a kind of grouping/set of Characteristics.

When working in ABAP Code with Characteristic, the most important fields to help out extract classification values:

List of related SAP Classification Tables

Find the relevant list for SAP Classification Tables with more information.

The List of Important SAP Classification Tables is:

SAP Classification Query

Useless to try an SQVI for Classification. Actually the AUSP-OBJEK has hardly the same kind and length as the MARA-MATNR or KNA1-KUNNR.

A new view between AUSP and KNA1 or MARA can solved the problem.

To make your life easier, here the join to do in order to retrieve Characteristic data in any ABAP Code.

Join between CABN, AUST and KNA1 can be :

• AUSP-ATINN = CABN-ATINN
• CABNT-ATINN = CABN-ATINN
• KNA1-KUNNR = AUSP-OBJEK

SAP Characteristics Tables and Fields

Characteristic Descriptions can be found at table CABN / CABNT in the field CABNT-ATBEZ

Characteristic Values can be found at table AUSP in the field AUSP-ATWRT for Characteristic Value and AUSP-ATFLV for Data Values.

The field AUSP-OBJEK is Key of Object for Characteristic (Material, Customer, …)

Sample SAP Customer Classification Update code

Here a Sample ABAP Program to maintain customer classification in sap. Please check this link for a sample code to create or update a characteristic .

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SAP Classification Explained Part 2: Classification Tables

2013-02-12        ABAP Classification Tables

After I introduced you to the classification system in SAP ERP® in the first part of this series, I’d like to go into more technical detail and explain the data model that is behind the classification. Why is this relevant? While it’s true that there are function modules to read and write classification data, sometimes (and by sometimes, I mean most of the times) it’s faster to re

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This will be demonstrated in the next part of the series. First, however, I will introduce the tables that are involved. I also prepared a handy cheat sheet which you can use to get a quick overview about the relevant classification tables.

These are the relevant classification tables in SAP ERP.

Note that this cheat sheet does not include all table fields. The key fields are complete, but non-key fields are only listed if necessary for the following explanation.

Classifiable Objects – Table TCLT

TCLT  is the starting point for classification. It defines the  Classifiable Objects , meaning that only objects listed in this table can be classified. It contains the primary data table for the object (for example table EQUI) in the field OBTAB. This field plays an important role  in the classification data model.

Object Keys – Table TCLO

Table  TCLO  defines how the  O bject Key  that is used throughout classification in SAP ERP®  is built. Usually, the object key corresponds to the key fields of the object table, but this does not have to be so. In customizing, it’s possible to use up to 9 fields from the object table to build the classification key of objects. The names of these fields are saved in the fields KEYF1 to KEYF9 in table TCLO. Let me give you an example (from plant maintenance, of course): Table IFLOT, which contains functional locations, is listed in TCLT as classifiable. In table TCLO, the field KEYF1 contains the entry TPLNR. Other fields are not filled. That means that the object key for functional locations throughout the classification system will be the field IFLOT-TPLNR (which, by concidence, is the primary key for the functional location table). For keys that consist of more than one field, the field values are concatenated. This means that for example plant-independent batches, which have the table MCH1 and the key fields MATNR and CHARG, will have the concatenated value of MCH1-MATNR and MCH1-CHARG as their classification key.

Class Types – Table TCLA

After defining the classifiable objects and their key, it’s time to check the  Class Types . These are saved in table  TCLA  with all their important properties. Usually, class types correspond to exactly one object type – for example, the class type 002 can be used only for PM equipments. Consequently, the table EQUI is saved in the field TCLA-OBTAB. However, it’s also possible to classify more than one object type with a single class type – for example, class type 023 can be used for batches and materials. If this is the case, TCLA-MULTOBJ contains an ‘X’ – note this for later because we will be needing it when we talk about table INOB. Since more than one OBTAB is required in such cases, entries in another table are made.

Multiple Objects in Class Types – Table TCLAO

If more than one object table is required per class type, they will be stored in table  TCLAO  with a reference to table  TCLA . The settings in TCLA will be overridden by those in TCLAO in such cases.

Class Headers – Table KLAH

Of course, after class types are defined, we can create classes for them, as demonstrated in part one of this series. The header data for classes is stored in table  KLAH . This table introduces the  Internal Class Number  which is stored in the field CLINT. It is needed to find out which objects are classified in a certain class. The textual identifier that you enter during class creation (such as “CAR”) is stored in field CLASS.

Characteristics – Tables CABN and CABNT

Characteristic Headers are stored in table CABN. They also have an internal ID in field ATINN, which is needed to read classification data for this characteristic. The other key field, ADZHL, is only used if Engineering Change Management (ECM) is in use. It is then incremented for each change done. If ECM is not used, ADZHL has an initial value (0000). This applies to all tables which have ADZHL as key field. The textual characteristic identifier is stored in field ATNAM. To read the text for a characteristic, you’ll have to look into table CABNT additionally.

Reference Characteristics – Table CABNZ

If a characteristic is a  Reference Characteristic , it has an entry in CABNZ. Here, the table and field to which it refers are saved.

Characteristic Values – Tables CAWN and CAWNT

The table  CAWN  contains the proposed or allowed values for a characteristic if the “Allowed Values” strategy is in use. If other strategies, such as check table, are used, CAWN does not contain any values. Again, to read the value text in the correct language, table CAWNT has to be read.

Allocation of Characteristics to Classes – Table KSML

After all these master data tables, now we’re starting to come to the root of classification. As we learned, characteristics must be assigned to classes in order to work. This assignment is saved in table  KSML . For each internal class ID (CLINT), it has the position of the characteristic in the class in field POSNR, which is just incremented by one with each characteristic added. The actual characteristic ID is in the non-key-field IMERK. Again, the field ADZHL is not relevant if you’re not using ECM. A quick example is in order here. Let’s remember the example from the first part – we assigned the characteristic COLOR to the class CAR. This is what it looks like in KSML:

The entry in KSML

The class CAR has the internal class number 0000000481 in CLINT. Since it’s in first position, POSNR is 001. The internal ID of the characteristic COLOR is saved in field IMERK.

Mapping of Internal Numbers to Objects – Table INOB

Remember how I said the field TCLA-MULTOBJ would become important? Here it is now. To explain what the table  INOB  does, we have to remember again that it’s possible to classify multiple objects with one class type. This is the case for class type 023 (batches) – you can classify materials and batches with it. However, this leads to a problem. Material numbers have a defined classification object key, batches have a different one. How does the classification system know with which key it should read classification data? This is where INOB comes into play. For class types where TCLA-MULTOBJ is set, the classification object key as defined in TCLO is mapped to an internal number, which is then used as the object key in the tables that contain classification data (KSSK and AUSP). That means that for class types that allow the classification of multiple different objects, you need to map the external object key that is defined in TCLO to the internal one defined in INOB. Only with this internal key is it possible to read data from  KSSK  and  AUSP . If the class type you’re using does not allow classification of multiple objects, the external object key can be used to read data directly from the data tables. In this case, table INOB is completely irrelevant and will hold no entries for the class type. Some additional information: Normally, after classification of multiple objects has been activated, it cannot be revoked again if objects have been classified. Consequently, it can’t be activated afterwards as well. There are, however, two reports mentioned by SAP to reorganise this data: RCCLUKA2 and RMCLINOB. For more information on this, read the F1 help in  SPRO -> Cross-Application Components -> Classification System -> Classes -> Maintain Object Types and Class Types -> Details of your Class Type ->  Field  Multple objs allowed . In a nutshell:

• If TCLA-MULTOBJ is set for your class type, read the internal object key in field INOB-CUOBJ to access classification data. Use the external classification key (which is determined by the settings in table TCLO) as selection criterion on field INOB-OBJEK.
• If TCLA-MULTOBJ is initial for your class type, use the external object key to access classification data directly.

Allocation of Objects to Classes – Table KSSK

After this prelude, it’s time to get down to the real classification data. If an object is classified in a class, this is saved in table  KSSK . KSSK is one of the most important tables in the SAP ERP® classification system. If you want to know if an object is assigned to a certain class, that’s where you look it up. The key fields are set up as follows:

• OBJEK is the classification key of the object you’re looking for. It’s either the external one as defined in TCLO or the internal one from INOB.
• MAFID is called  Indicator: Object/Class.  This field contains an “O” if we’re classifying anything but a class, in which case it contains a “K”.
• KLART is the class type we’re reading from.
• CLINT is the internal ID of the class which comes from table KLAH.
• ADZHL, once again, is used only when Engineering Change Management is active.

Characteristic Values – Table AUSP

Once you know this data, you can go ahead and read the actual classification values from  AUSP . You’ve seen all the key fields in here before, so I’m not going to comment these again. Basically, you need your object key (internal or external), your internal characteristic ID and the class type. However, notice that there are several different fields for values, depending on which data type the characteristic in question has. Reading these values is a bit tricky and deserves its own article.

Congratulations if you stayed with me throughout the whole article – you now know exactly how the SAP ERP® classification system’s data model works. However, that’s not the end of the story. If you’ve taken a look in table AUSP, you might have noticed that the values saved in there are not exactly formatted as one would expect. This is why the next part of this series is dedicated to reading and displaying data from AUSP. Stay tuned!

SAP ERP Dictionary

• SAP Transactions
• SAP Customer Exits
• SAP Authorization Objects
• SAP Authorization Object Classes
• SAP Programs
• SAP Function Groups
• SAP Function Modules
• SAP Message Classes
• SAP Packages
• SAP Search Helps

SAP Master Data

• Access Control List
• Characteristic
• Material Document
• Notification
• Purchasing Document
• Sales Order
• Selected Set
• WBS Element

Assigning an Object to Classes

You can use this function to assign an object to one or more classes (multiple classification). The following graphic shows how an object (a bolt in this case) is assigned to several classes.

You can also classify an object from the object maintenance functions, where you can also assign the object to one or more classes (see: Classifying a Material (Example) ).

To assign an object, such as a material, to one or more classes, using the classification functions:

Enter the object you want to classify. Select a class type.

Confirm your entries.

Save your assignment(s).

Multiple Classification

User Settings: Value Assignment

My Experiments with ABAP

SAP Classification System – CDS Modelling

The SAP classification system allows you to use characteristics to describe all types of objects and to group similar objects in classes. Class and classification are used to find objects more easily later. In this blog, I’ll explain tables and model these using CDS.

We will use material class in the blog to explore the classification system. We will start by defining characteristics like carbohydrate, fat, fiber, protein, Iron, Manganese etc. then we will club these characteristics together into two classes – macro and micronutrient.

Introduction to SAP Classification System and Tables

Characteristics.

Characteristics are defined in the transaction CT04 . There is a lot you can define here for characteristics along with descriptions in various languages, and restrictions on which class type they are valid for.

Most of this information will be stored in table CABN .

CDS- I_ClfnCharcBasic, I_Relstartchar, I_Characteristic .

A class is used to group classifications together, is defined in transaction CL01. While defining class, a class type needs to be specified. Class type usually defines the object we are working with. In this particular case, its Material hence class type 001.

Class header data is stored in table KSSK and KLAH

CDS: I_ClassHeader, I_ClfnClass, I_Relstratclass

Assign Characteristics to Class

In the same transaction CL01 under ‘ Char. ‘ tab characteristics are assigned to the class.

These relationships between class and characteristic are stored in table KSML .

CDS: I_ClfnClassCharcBasic

Using Class and Classification in Object

Objects which support classification usually have a screen where you can assign class to it and specify values to characteristics. I’ve assigned class and ZMACRONUTRIENT and ZMICRONUTRIENT (and one more) to material 262 and specified values for characteristics.

Values to object can also be defined in generic transaction CL20N .

These values against the object, Material in this case, are stored in table AUSP.

Classification can be of type character, numeric, date, time or range. To support all these types of values AUSP table has quite a few columns ATWRT, ATFLV, DEC_VALUE_FROM, DEC_VALUE_TO, DATE_FROM, DATE_TO, TIME_FROM, TIME_TO.

Class type can be assigned to exactly one object or multiple (TCLA-MULTOBJ). Depending on this restriction you can either select values from AUSP directly with the object key (Material number) or you first get the internal object number from INOB then you go to AUSP.

In the system I am working flag TCLA-MULTOBJ is set for class type 001 hence using INOB to get to AUSP.

Object to class assignment is stored in table KSSK. I have not included that in the below screenshot.

Where flag TCLA-MULTOBJ is not set, you can directly go to table AUSP with object key value in AUSP-OBJEK.

CDS: I_ClfnObjectCharcValueBasic

CDS: I_ClfnInternalIdObjectMapping (INOB Mapping)

SAP Classification (CA-CL)

CDS Modelling

Taking inspiration from CL20N or MM03 I have modelled the data in three layers; Object, Class (Assignment) and Characteristics values.

CDS ZI_CProduct has Product detail and its internal classification number (INOB). CDS ZI_CProdClass has classes assigned to Products and CDS ZI_CProdChValues has values specified under characteristics for Product.

For my test Product 262, data looks like this.

Fiori App using Odata service and list and object page UI annotation

CDS ZI_CProduct

CDS for Object key and its Internal classification number. For the reason explained earlier to get classification values for Material I need to go through INOB table. CDS is exposed as OData service in the Fiori example I used. Association to Class and Characteristics are used in Object Page.

CDS ZI_CProdClass

CDS model class assigned to product

CDS ZI_CProdChValues

CDS brings characteristics values from AUSP.

Quick Reference

SPRO: SAP Customizing Implementation Guide->Cross-Application Components->Classification System

Transactions: CT04 , CL01, CL20N

Tables: KSSK, KLAH, CABN, KSML, INOB, AUSP

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Working with Classification

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

• Benefit from using a classification
• Perform an product classification
• Find your objects with a classification search

Manage classes and characteristics

Classification.

Within the real world you find the following definition of classification:

Classification is a process related to categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated and understood.

Classification is the grouping of related facts into classes. It may also refer to a process which brings together like things and separates unlike things.

Using classification in a SAP system supports users when searching for SAP objects. There is less emphasis on entering an exact object number, and more on entering object attributes and values.

You can search for a forklift, for example, according to the used engine, or the possible tonnage. You find objects that match your search criteria exactly, or are similar to them within your defined limits.

Classification Functions

Watch the following video to understand how to use classification functions in your SAP system.

Characteristics

When you start with the creation of characteristics you first have to define the data type and the behavior of possible values. Next, you define allowed values for your characteristic.

Simulation: Managing Characteristics

Please perform the following simulation Managing Characteristics to get a first impression of what working with characteristics could look like. Characteristics are going to be created and values are assigned.

When you start with the creation of classes you have to select the right class type. This class type corresponds with the SAP object type.

Next you assign the relevant characteristics.

Simulation: Managing Classes

Please perform the following simulation Managing Classes to get a first impression of what working with classes could look like. You also assign your characteristics to your class.

Assignment and Value Assignment

The classification of objects means the assignment of objects to a class and the assignment of characteristic values to the objects.

This classification can either occur directly in the object or in relevant transactions in the classification area.

Simulation: Managing Class Assignments

Please perform the following simulation Managing Class Assignments to get a first impression how to link your Product to a class and do a characteristic value assignment.

Finding Objects

A classification search can be executed in several places.

You can start the search directly, or call it from the classified object.

Simulation: Finding Objects in Classes

Please perform the following simulation Finding Objects in Classes to get a first impression of what a class search could look like. You enter a class and class type, perform a value selection and execute your search.

Log in to track your progress & complete quizzes

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