SAP Classification and Characteristics : Customizing & Tables (AUSP)

SAP Classification Tables

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.

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

Classification Customizing

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.
Classification Create new Characteristic

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.
Characteristic List of Value


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.

Customer Classification

Read SAP Customer Classification

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

Customer Classification

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:

TABLEDESCRIPTION
AUSP-OBJEKkey of object for Characteristic ( Material and Customer)
AUSP-ATWRTValue of Characteristic
CABNT-ATBEZDescription of Characteristic

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:

TABLEDESCRIPTION
KLAHClass Header Data
KLATClasses: Long texts
CAWNCharacteristic values
KLAHClass Header Data
KLATClasses: Long Texts
KSMLCharacteristics of a Class
KSSKAllocation Table: Object to Class
CABNCharacteristic
CABNTCharacteristic Descriptions
CABNZLinks between Table Fields and Characteristics
CAWNCharacteristic values
AUSPCharacteristic Values

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.