You can allocate non-stock material components to network activities. When you do this, the system creates a purchase requisition for the material to be procured. A purchase requisition is an internal document that defines the requirements of a material or a service. This document authorizes the purchasing department to procure the material in the quantity specified for the specified date.

You determine whether a purchase requisition is created for each material or whether one collective requisition for all externally procured materials and services is created per network is in Customizing for the Project System in Specify Parameters for Network Type.

• The item category of a material determines how it is to be procured. Item category N (Non-stock) tells the system to procure the material directly through the purchasing department, bypassing MRP.

In addition, the item category and settings in the material master determine the type of stock in which the material can be kept as well as its account assignment category. If the material could potentially be kept in several types of stock , the system will ask you to choose the stock. For more information, read the Material Component Inventory Management.

Externally procured materials can be delivered directly to a customer site or other location when you place a third-party order. You specify the address in the network and can use the same address for several components, or retrieve an address from one of the address databases in the R/3-System.