Procurement lifecycle & source determination

Requirements reach purchasing from MRP (planned orders converted to requisitions or requisitions created directly), from manual requisitions, or from other components such as PM/PS orders, sales orders (third-party) and SAP Ariba or central procurement.

• Planning-driven requirements carry the MRP controller and a delivery date derived from planned delivery time and GR processing time.
• Requisitions from PM/PS orders are account assigned to the order or WBS element.
• Self-service requisitioning (Fiori 'Create Purchase Requisition' / My Purchase Requisitions) feeds the same EBAN table.

T-codes & apps

ME51NME52NME53NME5AMD04

A purchase requisition (PR) is an internal request. Buyers convert it to an RFQ, a PO or a scheduling-agreement release — manually, with the assignment list, or automatically.

• ME57 assigns sources and groups PR items into POs per supplier.
• ME59N creates POs automatically when the PR has a fixed source and both material and supplier allow automatic PO.
• The PR stays linked: PO history shows 'Purchase requisition' in the item and EBAN-STATU reflects the follow-on document.

T-codes & apps

ME57ME58ME59NME21NFiori: Manage Purchase Requisitions

SAP proposes a source in a fixed order: quota arrangement → source list (fixed entries) → outline agreements → info records. When more than one valid source exists without a rule, the buyer must choose.

• Regular vendor flag (in the info record) is an alternative to a source list for single-source cases.
• Fiori 'Manage Sources of Supply' consolidates source list, contracts and info records in S/4HANA.
• Central procurement can determine sources across connected back-end systems.

T-codes & apps

ME01MEQ1ME56ME57

A request for quotation (RFQ) invites suppliers to bid; the supplier's reply is entered as a quotation on the same document. The price comparison list ranks bids and the winning quotation can update the info record and become the PO reference.

• Classic RFQ/quotation: ME41 → ME47 → ME49 price comparison.
• In SAP S/4HANA, Fiori apps 'Manage RFQs' and 'Manage Supplier Quotations' (and SAP Ariba Sourcing) replace much of the classic flow.
• Rejected quotations can trigger a rejection letter through output control.

T-codes & apps

ME41ME47ME49ME48ME4M

A quota arrangement splits demand among several sources by quota. SAP calculates a quota rating = (allocated quantity + quota base quantity) / quota and assigns the source with the lowest rating.

• Material master Purchasing view needs the quota arrangement usage key (e.g. relevant for PO, PR, MRP).
• Minimum and maximum quantities and 'once-only' splitting rules are supported.
• Use the quota base quantity to bring a new supplier in without them taking 100% of the next demand.

T-codes & apps

MEQ1MEQ3MEQ6MEQM

The document type (NB standard, UB stock transport, FO framework order, plus custom Z-types) controls number ranges, allowed item categories, field selection and link rules (which PR document types may be referenced).

• Screen layout at document level (field selection keys such as NBF) controls required and hidden fields.
• Tolerances for price variance (PE) and Release creation profiles are configured per document type.
• PO item 'Confirmation control key' (e.g. 0001, 0004) defines expected supplier confirmations.

T-codes & apps

ME21NME22NME23N

Configuration

IMG › Materials Management › Purchasing › Purchase Order › Define Document Types

Every PO item maintains a PO history (table EKBE) of goods receipts, invoices, down payments and service entry sheets. Monitoring reports let buyers chase overdue deliveries and open invoices.

• ME2N/ME2L/ME2M list POs by number, supplier or material with selection parameters such as WE101 (open GR) or RE101 (open invoice).
• ME80FN is the flexible general analysis across purchasing documents.
• ME91F sends urging/reminder messages based on reminder days.

T-codes & apps

ME2NME2LME2MME80FNME91FFiori: Monitor Purchase Order Items