Overview of Item Attributes

Item attributes are named entities, whose values determine the qualities of a product item. You set these attributes when you create or update items.

Types of Item Attributes

The following types of attributes are available for an item:

• Main attributes
• Operational attributes
• User-defined attribute groups and attributes
• Additional item attributes

Main Attributes

Main attributes are common to all items. They describe essential aspects of the item. Examples of main attributes are:

• Item Number
• Description
• Long Description
• Status
• Lifecycle Phase
• User Item Type
• Approval Status
• Revision
• Pack Type
• Item Class
• Unit of Measure (a group containing eight attributes)

Operational Attributes

Operational attributes are part of the item's data. They determine the behavior of the item with respect to various applications outside Oracle Product Management, such as Oracle Purchasing or Oracle Inventory Management. You choose the control level for operational attributes on the Manage Operational Attributes Control page. For each listed operational attribute group, you select the control level for each of the group's attributes. You can control the operational attributes at the master organization level or at the organization level. You can define operational attributes as part of a new item request if you've the privileges.

User-Defined Attribute Groups and Attributes

You can define attribute groups and attributes to capture item specifications and other information relevant to a product's definition that you want to add to the item's data. Values for such user-defined attributes are defined when you create the item but can be changed over the life cycle of the item.

Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications uses the structure of extensible flexfields to support attribute groups (using flexfield contexts) and attributes (using flexfield segments).

You create attribute groups and attributes on the Manage Attribute Groups page, where you create an attribute group fora set of one or more attributes and then create the attributes in the context of the attribute group.

You select the behavior for the attribute group as multiple-row or single-row, which affects the later display and use of the attributes, as described in the later part of this topic. If the behavior you chose for the attribute group is multiple-row, then the attribute has multiple values each represented by a row in a table whose columns are context-based segments (attributes).

For each attribute, you select the data type and related validation and display options. The attribute groups are then accessed as sections listed on the Attributes tab of the Edit Item page. You also map the attribute to a column in a dedicated database table.

After you've created attribute groups and attributes, you associate user-defined attributes with items by adding attribute groups to item classes, on the Pages and Attribute Groups tab of the Edit Item Class page. When an item is created,it inherits the attributes from the attribute groups associated with the item class on which the item was based.

User-defined attributes are based on extensible flexfields. Create an attribute group to determine which attributes are used at runtime. Extensible flexfields or user-defined attributes aren't available to customers who only license Product Model.

User-defined attributes can have a static or dynamic list of valid values, or a range of values. You can define the values for user-defined attributes when you create the item, and the values remain the same for the life cycle of the item.

You can save user-defined attributes within attribute groups. You can associate user-defined attributes with items by adding attribute groups to item classes.

For example, items that are part of the Small Gasoline Engines item class include the following specifications:

• RPM
• Power
• Oil and fuel mixture
• Weight

You can define an attribute for each of these specifications and then group these attributes together as the Engine Performance attribute group.

You can create attribute groups on the Manage Attribute Groups page.

Note:

• Avoid creating similar names for the item class and flexfield attribute groups. Distinct names help ensure that rules run without error.
• Avoid using Item Category in the Display Name and API name fields for extensible flexfields and extensible flexfield attribute groups created on items.
• For user-defined attributes, you can optionally define validation rules to be applied when the user inputs data.
• When you create an attribute group, make sure you specify the API name.

An attribute group can be a single row, multirow, or variant.

Multirow attribute groups enable you to associate multiple sets of attribute values with the same object instance. It gives you the ability to store multiple additional attributes that are dependent on the item, organization, attribute group, and a unique value within the attribute group. For example, if your item is a book, you can create an attribute group named Chapters that contain the following attributes:

• Chapter number
• Name
• Number of pages

You can associate multiple rows of Chapters with a book, while Name and Number of pages require a single row each. The Chapter number attribute is identified as a part of the unique key.

Note: Don't add more than 20,000 rows of data to a multirow attribute group for a single item. For optimal performance, it's recommended not to add more than 1000 rows. If you've to add more rows, consider configuring additional multirow attribute groups or custom objects.

After you create the attribute group and attributes, perform these tasks to complete the extensible flexfield setup:

• Associate the attribute to the item class using the Manage Item Class task.
• Deploy the attribute using the Deploy Item Extensible Flexfields task.

Tip: Sets of user-defined attribute groups can be organized on a single page that can then be linked from the Attributes tab.

Multiple-Row Attribute Groups

Attribute groups can be either single-row or multiple-row. The selected behavior determines how the attributes will be displayed in the user interface and how they're used. When you create an attribute group on the Manage Attribute Groups page, you select its Behavior as being Multiple Rows or Single Row.

A single-row attribute group contains a collection of attributes that will be displayed as separate fields in region named for the attribute group. For example, a single-row attribute group named Home Address contains the attributes appropriate for a home address. Another single-row attribute group named Work Address contains similar attributes appropriate for an office address. When these attribute groups are displayed in the user interface, the attribute fields for each group are arranged compactly within a region titled with the name of the attribute group.

The following figure shows the compact user interface layout for the single-row attribute groups named Home Address and Work Address.

In a multiple-row attribute group, the attributes are displayed as columns in a table that represents the attribute group.

Each row of the table is considered to be an attribute in the attribute group. The collective set of values contained in a row is considered the meaning of the attribute. The table is displayed in the user interface within a region titled with the attribute group name. No other fields are displayed in the table. For example, a multiple-row attribute group named Payments contains the attributes Date, Invoice No., and Amount. Each row of the table describes a payment, and is a value of the Payments attribute group.

The following figure shows the tabular user interface layout for the multiple-row attribute group named Payments.

Additional Item Attributes

You can create additional information attributes, which are based on descriptive flexfields rather than extensible flexfields. Descriptive flexfields can only have one context available at a single time, while extensible flexfields can have multiple contexts available. If you only need a single category and usage, then descriptive flexfields are sufficient. You create descriptive flexfields using tasks in the Setup and Maintenance work area. For example, use the task Manage Catalog Descriptive Flexfields to define descriptive flexfields for catalogs. The Additional Information region on the Specifications tab of the Edit Items page then displays the flexfield context segments based on the current value of the context.

Additional item attributes are based on descriptive flexfields and are used to capture detailed information about an item, such as characteristics and specifications, and business process information.

Descriptive flexfield definitions for additional attributes include the name of the attribute and attribute values.

Additional attributes are associated with items or item revisions and are listed in Additional Attributes on the Attributes tab within an item.

The Completeness Score indicates the percentage of completeness for an item and it’s based on the values that are returned for specific attributes. This will appear based on the rule that your administrator configures.