To find a vendor, the system proceeds as follows:

First, the system searches for a quota arrangement. If a quota arrangement exists, the system searches for a permitted vendor with the highest planned quota.

If no quota arrangement or permitted vendor can be found, the system searches for a source list for the material. If a source list exists, the system uses the vendor indicated as the fixed source of supply. If no such vendor can be found, the system checks in Customizing to see whether a regular vendor at the plant level has been defined. If a regular vendor has been defined, the system searches for it in the source list. If no regular vendor exists, the system searches the source list for the cheapest vendor.

If the search in the source list proves fruitless, the system checks in Customizing to see whether there a regular vendor at the plant level. If a regular vendor has been defined, the system searches for it from all existing vendors. If no regular vendor exists, the cheapest vendor is used to calculate the price.