Understanding the Commodity Structure
The commodity structure enables you to categorize items, services, and supplier branch information in a hierarchical tree structure. After you set up the commodity structure, you create relationships for commodities. The system uses commodity relationships to provide default information for requisitions. Commodity relationship information is eventually passed to Enterprise Performance Management, where you can perform spend analysis.
When setting up the commodity structure, you must observe these guidelines:
Each commodity may have only one parent commodity.
You may not create duplicate commodities.
You may have only three commodity levels in the commodity hierarchy.
Each commodity may contain a maximum of 15 alphanumeric characters.
The description associated with the commodity may contain a maximum of 30 alphanumeric characters.
The first level of the commodity structure is level 0.
The Requisition Self Service system provides a default commodity, Unknown. The system uses this commodity if you do not set up a commodity structure or if the system cannot find a default commodity for a requisition. You can attach a buyer to the Unknown commodity so that the buyer is alerted when users enter requisitions for which they do not know the commodity. You cannot set up line types, G/L class codes, and item relationships for the Unknown commodity.
After you have created the initial commodity structure, you can add new items to the structure as needed. If you want to apply the commodities to purchase order records created before you set up the commodity structure, run the Populate F4311 Commodity/UNSPSC Program (R43910). This program assigns commodities and United Nations Standard Products and Services Codes (UNSPSC) to existing purchase order lines, based on data selection.
See Understanding the Populate F4311 Commodity/UNSPSC Program.