Article

An Article is the item master data record for a tradeable commodity or processed product — the specific thing being weighed, contracted, and stored in the stock management system. In the agricultural context this could be a particular crop type (e.g. "Soft Wheat" or "Sunflower Seeds"), a processed derivative, or a packaging material. Each article carries an identifier, a name, and a set of classification attributes that determine how it is handled throughout the system.

In the stock context, the article is the central reference that connects contracts, contract positions, transaction positions, and warehouse balances. When a farmer delivers grain, the weigh-in (TransPos) references the specific article to ensure that the correct commodity balance is updated. When a sales contract is created, the article on each contract position defines what was sold and at what price. The article also links to its product group (the broad commodity category) and optionally to a product group variant (for sub-type differentiation such as variety or quality grade), enabling both high-level commodity reporting and fine-grained variety-level traceability.