Defining Categories

You can define an unlimited number of categories and group subsets of your categories into
category sets. A category can belong to multiple category sets. You can assign a category to a
category set either at the time you define a category set or at the time you assign an item to
the category.

To define a category:

1. Navigate to the Categories window.

2. The Find Categories window appears. Choose New.
3. Enter a flexfield structure name.
If you choose a multi-segment flexfield structure you can assign a specific meaning to
each segment. For example, if you want to group items according to product line and
product information then you can use the first segment to represent product line and
the second segment to represent the product. See: Item Category Flexfield Structures.
Attention: The categories assigned to a category set must have the same
flexfield structure as the set itself. This is true even if you choose not to
validate the category list.
4. Enter a unique category name.
5. Save your work.

To make a category inactive:

o Enter the date on which the category becomes inactive.

As of this date, you can no longer assign the category:

o as the default category of a new category set

o as a valid category of a category set

o to an item

o as a valid category of an item catalog group

You cannot assign an inactive date to a category that is the default category for a
mandatory category set.

Defining Category Sets

You can use categories and category sets to group items for various reports and programs
Note: Category sets may be used as a means to develop custom lists of items
on which to report and sort. You can also create other category sets such as
John's Priority or Jane's Priority, with categories like high, medium, and low.

When you install Oracle Inventory or Oracle Purchasing Oracle provides the category set
Standard.
When you install or upgrade Inventory, Oracle provides the category set Inventory by default
and assigns existing inventory categories to this set. If you plan to use Order Entry/Shipping's
group pricing functionality with item categories, you must add the categories to this set.

When you upgrade Oracle Purchasing from a previous version, Oracle provides the category
set Class by default and assigns your existing purchasing categories to this set.

Attention: You must use this window to define valid categories for each
purchasing category set before you can use Oracle Purchasing.

To define a category set:

1. Navigate to the Category Set window.

2. Enter a unique category set name.
3. Enter a flexfield structure.
Note: The categories you assign to a category set must have the same flexfield
structure as the set itself. This is true even if you choose not to validate the
category list.
4. Select a control level.
Master Level: Item assigned to this category set has the same category value in all
organizations where it is assigned.
Org Level: Item assigned to this category set may have a different category value in
each organization where it is assigned.
5. Select a default category.
This is the default category used when assigning an item to the category set. For
example, a category set may have a default category called New. After an item is
assigned to New, you can override the default category and choose another relevant
category for each item.
6. Indicate whether to enforce the list of valid categories.
If you do not turn this feature on you can assign an item to any category defined that
uses the same flexfield structure as this category set.
If you turn this feature on you can assign an item only to those categories defined as
valid categories for this category set.
7. Select a list of valid categories.
You can enter categories here only if you choose to enforce the list of valid
categories.
The list contains categories that use the same flexfield structure as the category set
you are defining.
8. Save your work.

Overview of Item Categories

You can use categories and category sets to group your items for various reports and programs. A
category is a logical classification of items that have similar characteristics. A category set is a distinct
grouping scheme and consists of categories.

The flexibility of category sets allows you to report and inquire on items in a way that best
suits your needs.
Steps Involved
o Define flexfield structures for the item categories flexfield.

o Define categories.
o Define category sets.

o Assign default category sets to each functional area.

o Assign items to categories.

Assigning Items to Categories

Prerequisites

You must define default category sets for your functional areas. See: Defining
Default Category Sets.

When you enable an item in a functional area, the item is assigned to the default (mandatory)
category set and default category of the functional area. You can override the category set's default
category. In addition, you can manually assign your item to an unlimited number of category sets.
You can assign an item to one category within each category set.

To assign an item to a category from the Category Set window:

1. Navigate to the Category Set window. See: Defining Category Sets.

2. Enter a category set.

3. Choose Assign. The Item Assignment window appears.

4. Select the item from the current organization to assign to the category.

5. Select a category.

The list of values contains categories with the same flexfield structure as the category set
you selected in the Category Set window. If Enforce the list of valid categories is selected the
list is limited to those categories.

6. Save your work.

To assign an item to a category from the Item windows:

1. Navigate to the Master Items Summary or Organization Items Summary window.

2. Select an item.

3. Choose Categories from the Special menu.

The item you selected appears at the top of the Category Assignment window.

4. Select a category set

 5. Select a category.

The list of values contains categories with the same flexfield structure as the category set
you selected. If Enforce the list of valid categories is selected the list is limited to those
categories.

6. Save your work.

Copying Items with Category Assignments

When you assign your item to another organization Oracle Inventory copies Master level category
sets, Organization level default category sets, and the associated categories assigned in the Item
Master organization. This means that if you manually assign an Organization level category set to the
item in the Master organization, Inventory does not copy over that Organization level category set
when you assign that item to another organization.

After assigning an item to another organization you can disable the item for one or more
functional areas in the new organization. However, Inventory does not remove the
corresponding functional area's default category set. For example, you may have set the value
of the Purchased attribute to "Yes" when you defined the item in the item master
organization. When you assign this item to another organization Inventory copies over the
"Yes" value of the Purchased attribute and therefore assigns the default category set of the
purchasing functional area. In the new organization you may decide to set the value of the
Purchased attribute to "No." After you disable the item for the purchasing functional area in
the new organization, the item still retains the purchasing default category set. You may
manually delete the purchasing category set in the new organization.

If you copy an item from another item with category sets defined at the Organization level,
Inventory assigns the new item the default categories of the mandatory category sets, even if
the original item did not have the default categories. This is because Inventory copies the
values of the item defining attributes and not the category sets and categories themselves.

Item Category Flexfield Structures

You can define multiple segment structures for the Item Categories Flexfield. Each segment
structure may have its own display prompts and fields.

When you install or upgrade Oracle Inventory or Oracle Purchasing, Oracle provides two
category flexfield structures by default: Item Categories and PO Item Category.

Each segment structure can display prompts and fields that apply specifically to a particular
naming convention. For example, you might want one of your category sets to use two
segments for the names of categories. Another item grouping scheme might use just one
segment for the names of categories. You choose a flexfield structure for every category set
and category that you define.

Defining Key Flexfields

You define descriptive information and validation information for each segment. You also determine
the appearance of your key flexfield window, including the size of the window, the number and
order of the segments, and the segment descriptions and default values.

Once you set up or modify your structures and segments, you must freeze your flexfield
definition and save your changes. When you do, your flexfield compiles automatically to
improve on-line performance. You must recompile your flexfield every time you make
changes using this form, including enabling or disabling cross-validation rules. You must also
recompile your flexfield after you enable or disable shorthand entry using the Shorthand
Aliases window.

You can see your flexfield changes immediately after you freeze and recompile your
flexfield. However, your changes affect other users only after they change responsibilities or
exit your application and sign back on.

Once you freeze your flexfield definition and save your changes, Oracle Applications submits
one or two concurrent requests to generate database views of the flexfield's combinations
table. You can use these views for custom reporting at your site. One of these views is always
generated and contains concatenated segment values for all structures of the key flexfield.
You see the name of this view in the Toolbar window. The other view is for the particular
structure you are defining and freezing. This second view is generated only if you enter a
view name for your structure in the View Name field. See: Overview of Flexfield Views.

Warning: Plan your key flexfield structures carefully, including all your segment information such as
segment order and field lengths, before you define your segments using this form. You can define
your key flexfields any way you want, but changing your structures once you acquire any flexfield
data may create data inconsistencies that could have a significant impact on the behavior of your
application or require a complex conversion program. Changing your existing structures may also
adversely affect the behavior of to start taking changes again. does any of that make senseany cross-
validation rules or shorthand aliases you have set for your structures, so you should be sure to
manually disable or redefine any cross-validation rules (using the Cross-Validation Rules window)
and shorthand aliases (using the Shorthand Aliases window) to reflect your changed structures.