Show TOC

Function documentationPurchase Orders Locate this document in the navigation structure

 

In SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SAP SRM), you process purchase orders selecting the Purchasing tab and choosing Purchasing in the Detailed Navigation area. You can also create purchase orders from scratch, using the service   Create Documents   Purchase Order  . In this case, the details such as the purchaser’s organizational data are transferred from the user attributes to the purchase order.

You use the purchase order either for local procurement (standalone scenario) or in the extended classic scenario. For more information, see Technical Scenarios.

Integration

This function is used in the following business scenarios:

  • Self-Service Procurement

  • Service Procurement

  • Plan-Driven Procurement

Sourcing

By default, SAP SRM does not transfer requirement items to the purchaser's Sourcing application. If you activate Sourcing for product categories, SAP SRM does not immediately create local purchase orders from shopping cart items. Using the functions of the purchaser's Sourcing application, you can process items from different shopping carts and combine these into purchasing contracts, purchase orders, live auctions, or RFx.

For more information, see Customizing for SAP SRM under   SRM Server   Sourcing   Define Sourcing for Product Categories  .

Prerequisites

If you want to generate back-end purchase orders from all local purchase orders, you must have activated the extended classic scenario.

For more information, see Customizing for SAP SRM under   SRM Server   Business Add-Ins   Control Extended Classic Scenario   Activate Extended Classic Scenario  .

Features

You can create purchase orders in the following ways:

  • From shopping cart items

    If the shopping cart is complete and approved, a purchase order is generated automatically and is transferred directly to the approval workflow before it is sent to the supplier.

    If the shopping cart items are incomplete, the system creates separate purchase orders. Using a Business Add-In, you can combine incomplete items into one purchase order.

    For more information, see Customizing for SAP SRM under  SRM Server   Business Add-Ins (BAdIs)   Define Grouping Criteria for Local Purchase Orders  .

  • From RFx responses

    For more information, see SAP Bidding Engine.

  • From live auctions

    For more information, see Live Auction Cockpit.

  • From requirements from external systems, for example, planning systems.

    For more information, see Procurement of External Requirements.

  • Manually

Depending on whether the purchase order is complete or incomplete, it is sent into the approval workflow or it appears in your POWL.

Overview

The purchase order Overview displays all the required header and item data of the purchase order.

Note the following functions:

  • Add/Remove Condition

    You can add or remove prices and conditions (percentage discounts and absolute discounts) per item and on header level. See Price Data Processing in the Purchase Order.

  • Propose Sources of Supply

    You can have the system determine and assign sources of supply, for example, contracts, and supplier-specific prices. For more information, see Assigning Existing Sources of Supply and Central Contracts.

  • Default Settings

    You can enter default values for the delivery address and account assignment values of purchase order items. If you enter values here, these values are defaulted to any new item you add afterwards. The values are retained for subsequent items unless you change the settings again.

    As the delivery address or company address, you can use a master data address. To display master data addresses, choose the search help for the Name field. In the popup, select Find Ship-To Adresses of Employees or Find Ship-To Addresses of Companies from the More Search Helps drop-down box and choose Start Search. Your personal master data addresses are displayed then.

    If you want to reset the values to the settings defined in organizational management, you can run report /SAPSRM/CUSTMZ_SW_PO_DEFAULT. For more information, see the report documentation.

    The following Customizing activity is relevant:   SAP Supplier Relationship Management   SRM Server   Purchase Order   Activate/Deactivate Default Values for Purchase Order Items  .

To enter default values for the delivery address and account assignment values of purchase order items, you must activate the business function SRM, Continuous Innovations (SRM_CONT_IMPR_1).

Header

Note the following functions:

  • General Data

    • Partner

      You can accept a preferred supplier if it has been suggested by the requester of a shopping cart: In the partner table, select the line Preferred Supplier and then click on Select as Supplier.

    • Procurement Card

      If you want to pay by procurement card, enter your card information here.

  • Output

    You can choose a medium other than the supplier’s default output medium if you need to, provided the relevant fax, e-mail and XML data exists in the supplier master record. You can change the data for fax and e-mail and, if necessary, can set a different printer. If you choose Order and Send immediately, the purchase order output starts immediately (according to the current Customizing settings).

    To create an output for a completed purchase orders, use the query Document Output in your POWL.

    For more information, see Output of Purchasing Documents and Customizing under   SRM Server   Cross-Application Basic Settings   Set Output Actions and Output Format   Define Actions for Document Output  .

    Note Note

    If you have defined and activated your own form for the selected output medium, SAP SRM uses this in place of the standard form.

    End of the note.

  • Budget

    If you are authorized to view the budget, a table shows, for each selected account assignment object, the budget and the credit limit used.

Items

Note the following functions:

  • Add items

    You can add items to your purchase order from catalog, shopping cart, product master, or as free description.

    Note Note

    You cannot transfer ordered items to a purchase order.

    End of the note.

    When you have added an item, you can change the delivery date and the price in the item overview.

    The description and unit of measure can, however, only be changed if the item does not contain a product master record. You can only change the quantity unit for existing items to a unit of the same dimension, for example, from a kilogram to a gram.

    • Limit items

      • You can process the value limit (maximum purchase order value that goods or services must not exceed) and the expected value (estimated value of the purchaser, either under or the same as the value limit). The expected value serves to update the commitment in Controlling and the budget is reduced by this amount.

      • You can spread the value limit over partial limits (contract limits and remaining limits) or establish an undefined value limit. The sum of the contract limits created may be greater than the value limit. The system checks and ensures that the value of the ordered items is not greater than the value limit.

      • You can assign the relevant product category and define the period in which the goods should be delivered or the service performed.

        Note Note

        If you do not specify a value limit or a remaining limit, the system designates the remaining limit by default as unlimited.

        End of the note.

  • Order as Direct Material

    If you click on this button, the selected item is ordered as stock item and you do not need to assign an account.

Item Details

Note the following functions:

  • General Data

    Material items that have been replicated from the ERP system can have their revision level displayed in the General Data of the item.

    • Basic

      You can define tolerances for over- and underdelivery and the system uses these to check the confirmation.

    • Partner

      The system takes into account both, sources of supply (for example, contracts) with a location that you assign here, and sources of supply without location. In the extended classic scenario case, the system derives the plant in the back-end system from the location.

      Note Note

      You can combine requirements that contain different partners in one purchase order. At header level, you can enter partners that are valid for all items.

      End of the note.

  • Prices and Conditions

    You can add or remove prices and conditions (percentage discounts and absolute discounts). See Price Data Processing in the Purchase Order.

  • Account Assignment

    The account assignment is transferred from the preceding document, if existing. You can assign the following types of accounts (also multiple account assignment):

    • Asset

    • Cost center

    • Network

    • Order

    • Sales order

    • WBS element

    You can copy the account assignment data to a clipboard and use it for further items in the purchase order.

  • Related Documents

    • Document Control

      You can define the follow-on documents that the system expects for this item. This definition overrules the settings made in the supplier master data.

    • Statistics

      You can display the value of the goods received and services rendered to date, as well as the value of the invoices received to date.

    • History

      The purchase order and its related documents are displayed. The history is item-specific.

  • Delivery

    • Delivery Schedule

      You can specify delivery dates for each individual item in a purchase order.

      Example Example

      If you order three trucks, you can specify that one truck is delivered per month.

      End of the example.

    • Purchase Order Response Delivery Schedule

      You can accept or reject changes the supplier made in the purchase order response.

    • Shipping Notification

      You can display the following data (further details are available from the carrier's system via the URL):

      • Delivered quantity with unit of measure and delivery date

      • Shipping notification number, item number, and tracking number

      • Sales document number and item number (of the supplier)

      • Call URL of the carrier

      You can use the BAdI Calculate Schedule Lines for Deliveriesto set up the system in such a way that it automatically suggests distributed scheduling agreements when you enter shopping cart items in a purchase order.

      For more information, see Customizing for SAP SRM under   SRM Server   Business Add-Ins (BAdIs)   Calculation of Phased Deliveries.  

Notes and Attachments

You can attach files of any document type. You can also specify text notes at header and item level.

Approval

You can see the current state in the approval workflow that the purchase order is in. In the item details under Approval Preview, you can see the approval status per item.

Tracking

  • History

    The purchase order and its preceding and follow-on documents (for example, shopping cart and confirmation) are displayed.

  • Version Overview

    You can access the different versions of the purchase order.

  • Change Documents

    All changes are tracked, whether initiated by the system or by a user.

More Information

Settings for the Purchase Order in the Extended Classic Scenario