Working with SAP MM Purchasing Documents

Use

This section describes how to navigate and find information within a purchasing document . In addition, the facilities for and aids in the creation of purchasing documents are discussed.

Before reading this section, you should have a basic understanding of the R/3 System . For a review of the basic skills you need to use the SAP R/3 System, see Getting Started with the R/3 System.

Features

Initial Screen

If you are creating a new purchasing document, you use the initial screen to assign the responsible purchasing organization and purchasing group.
If you are processing an existing one, here you enter general data (for example, the number) to enable the system to call up the document you are interested in.

To reduce the amount of data you have to key in, you can make entries in certain fields in the Default data area of the initial screen . You can enter the receiving plant and storage location, or the delivery date, for example, if they are the same for most or all items in the order . The system automatically adopts these entries in all items on the subsequent PO item overview.

The data you entered on the initial screen of documents is also adopted in the document being created if you are creating a new document by referencing an already existing one .

This function is especially relevant to release orders created against contracts which themselves contain no supplying plant, no storage location, and no delivery date (for example, centrally agreed contracts) .

If you create a release order against a contract that already contains the data "plant" and "storage location" and you enter default data on the initial screen, the data from the contract will be taken and your data ignored.

If, for instance, you wish to create a release order against a centrally agreed contract using the function Purchase order ® Create with reference ® To contract, and enter a plant and a storage location on the initial screen, this default data will be adopted in the items of the purchase order because such data does not exist in contracts of this kind .

The same procedure applies to documents referencing RFQs.

Item Overview

The item overview is a summary of the header and item data in a purchasing document . The top part of the item overview screen contains important header data . The center portion of the screen contains data on the items to be procured .

The items are numbered according to the item number increment defined for the document type . You can change the default item number if you wish.

In addition, you can switch between single and double-line display on the item overview screen. To do so, choose Edit ® Change display.

Selecting an Item for Processing

The fields for selecting individual items are in the first column on the left of the item overview screen . Here you select the item you wish to process .

You can also select an item by choosing Edit ® Selections . In this way, you can select all items, a block of items, or cancel the selection.

Header Detail Screen

The header data of a purchasing document includes pertinent information about the vendor and the ordering department . For example, it shows the vendor’s terms of payment and the responsible sales representative . (Exception: the purchase requisition contains no header data, therefore no header detail screen is available.)

To display the header data, choose Header ® Details from the item overview screen.

Item Detail Screen

The item detail screen contains important data on the procurement of a material . For example, it shows data for monitoring compliance with due dates and data for controlling goods and invoice receipts.

To display the detailed information on an item, select the item on the overview screen . Then choose Item ® Details.

Additional Data on Items

The additional data comprises further information on an item (e.g. prices and conditions, account assignment, texts, etc.). You can display the additional data by selecting the desired item on the item overview screen and choosing the data to be displayed from the Item menu.

Entry Aids

You can create items of a purchasing document by referencing other purchasing documents , or copy a purchasing document. Such entry aids can be called up from the initial screen or from the item overview screen via the Create w. reference or Copy menu options.