Purchase Requisition - The Request Before the Order
From demand capture to an approved purchase order
A purchase requisition (BANF) is the internal request through which a requester initiates the procurement of goods or services. It runs through an approval process and is then converted into a binding purchase order sent to the supplier.
- Structured demand capture
- Multi-level approval workflows
- Catalog and free-text items
- Conversion into purchase order
What Is a Purchase Requisition?
A purchase requisition (PR) is an internal request from a requester to the purchasing department to procure a specific product or service in a given quantity by a given date. It is checked and approved and only then converted into a purchase order to the supplier; the requisition itself does not commit the company externally.
Purchase Requisition, Purchase Request, BANF: the Terms
Purchase requisition, often shortened to PR or simply requisition, is the standard term in SAP and most procurement systems. In German-speaking companies the same document is called Bestellanforderung, abbreviated BANF, a term you will meet in SAP projects in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Purchase request is frequently used as a synonym. Some organizations draw a finer line: the purchase request is then the still informal ask from a department, and the purchase requisition is the formal document in the system with account assignment and approval.
Purchase Requisition vs. Purchase Order
| Criterion | Purchase requisition (PR) | Purchase order (PO) |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Internal: from the requester to purchasing | External: from the company to the supplier |
| Effect | No commitment towards third parties | Binding order to the supplier |
| Who creates it? | Requester, materials planning or an upstream system | Purchasing, or automatically from the approved requisition |
| Supplier | May be open or proposed as a preferred supplier | Always specified |
| Price | Estimated price or catalog price as the basis for approval | Agreed price and terms |
| Approval | Functional and budgetary approval of the demand | Depending on the rules, a separate approval by purchasing |
| Follow-on documents | Request for quotation, purchase order | Goods receipt, invoice |
Typical Fields of a Purchase Requisition
The more complete a requisition is, the less often purchasing has to come back with questions. The following details appear in practically every system, even if the field names differ.
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Requester | Person or department that has the demand |
| Material or short text | Material number for stock material, a catalog item or a free-text description |
| Quantity and unit of measure | How much is needed and in which unit |
| Delivery date | Date by which the product or service is needed |
| Plant and delivery address | Where to deliver |
| Material group | Classification of the demand; often determines responsibility in purchasing and the approval path |
| Account assignment | Who bears the cost: cost center, order, project or asset, plus the G/L account |
| Price | Catalog price or estimate; quantity and price give the value that drives approval |
| Preferred supplier or source of supply | The requester's suggestion or a reference to a contract or catalog |
| Purchasing group | Responsible buyer or team |
| Justification and attachments | Purpose of the demand, quotations, specifications |
The Approval Flow of a Purchase Requisition
Capture
The requester creates the requisition from a catalog, through a form or as free text, and adds account assignment and date.
Formal check
The system checks mandatory fields and account assignment. Many companies also check the available budget at this point.
Approval by value and responsibility
Based on value, cost center and material group, the approval matrix determines who has to approve. Higher values trigger further levels in sequence.
Rejection or query
If a level rejects, the requisition goes back to the requester with a reason and can be changed and resubmitted.
Assign a source of supply
Purchasing assigns a supplier to the approved requisition, unless catalog or contract already determine it, and obtains quotations where needed.
Convert into a purchase order
The requisition becomes a purchase order, manually by purchasing or automatically when supplier and price are fixed. The requisition stays linked to the order as its source document.
In SAP, the release of purchase requisitions is classically modeled with release strategies and release codes; S/4HANA additionally offers flexible workflows for this purpose.
Creating a Purchase Requisition Step by Step
Clarify the demand
What exactly is needed, in what quantity and by when? Is there already a catalog item or a contract for it?
Create the item
Select a catalog item or, if there is none, describe the demand in free text so that purchasing can request quotations without further questions.
Enter quantity, date and delivery location
Give realistic dates; a blanket "as soon as possible" does not help purchasing prioritize.
Assign the account
Specify cost center, order or project. A wrong account assignment is the most common reason for requisitions being sent back.
Add price and documents
For free-text items, enter an estimated price and attach any quotations you have.
Check and submit
Saving starts the approval. Requesters can usually see the status at any time.
In SAP ERP and S/4HANA, a purchase requisition is created with transaction ME51N, changed with ME52N and displayed with ME53N. Individual release is done with ME54N, collective release with ME55. Purchasing creates the purchase order for the requisition with ME21N; ME59N generates purchase orders automatically from assigned requisitions. S/4HANA also provides Fiori apps for these steps.
The Electronic Purchase Requisition
An electronic purchase requisition, or e-requisition, is captured and approved entirely digitally, usually in a web interface rather than on paper, in Excel or by email. In German-speaking companies it is commonly called eBANF. The term is not a standard but a common label for solutions that make requisitioning easier for occasional users.
Typical characteristics are selection from catalogs instead of free text, guided forms for recurring demand, automatic routing to the responsible approvers, status tracking for the requester and handover of the approved requisition to the ERP. In SAP, the result is again a regular purchase requisition or directly a purchase order.
Where Requisitions Get Stuck in Practice
- Vague free text: purchasing has to ask what exactly is meant.
- Missing or wrong account assignment: the requisition comes back before it reaches approval.
- Absent approvers without a substitution rule: the request sits until someone chases it.
- Split demand: one request is broken into several small ones to stay below a value threshold.
- Order before requisition: the goods have already been ordered and the requisition is only created after the fact.
Related Terms and Matching Ovenca Modules
- Approval matrix
Who may approve a requisition up to which value.
- Free-text order
The requisition without a catalog item and its pitfalls.
- Punchout catalog
How items from supplier shops get into the requisition.
- Maverick buying
Purchasing without a requisition and how to reduce it.
- Catalog shop
Capture demand from catalogs, punchout shops and as free text in one cart.
- Source-to-pay
The requisition as the starting point of the operational procurement process.
How a Purchase Requisition Structures Procurement
From demand capture through approval to the purchase order
Demand Capture
The requester captures their demand in a purchase requisition. Items come either from released catalogs or are entered as a free-text requisition when no catalog article exists. Quantity, cost center, and required date are recorded, giving procurement a complete basis for further processing and downstream approval.
- Catalog or free-text item
- Cost center and quantity
- Required date and justification
Approval and Release
Before the order, the requisition runs through an approval process. Depending on value, material group, or cost center, it is routed to the responsible approvers via multi-level approval workflows. This lets companies ensure that procurement is budget- and policy-compliant before any binding commitment to the supplier is created.
- Multi-level approval
- Rules by value and material group
- Role and rights control
Conversion into a Purchase Order
After release, the purchase requisition is converted into a purchase order and transmitted to the supplier. The requisition itself remains internal, while the order is the external commitment. Every step stays traceable, which creates transparency across the entire procurement process and a clean basis for auditing.
- Released requisition becomes order
- Transmission to the supplier
- End-to-end traceability
Mapping Requisition Processes with Ovenca
Ovenca maps the entire requisition process - from demand capture through approval to handing the purchase order to your ERP system.
- Capture in the Catalog Shop
- Requesters capture demand as a shopping cart in the Catalog Shop - with catalog or free-text items. The cart becomes the purchase requisition, which then enters the approval process.
- Multi-Level Approval
- Ovenca supports multi-level approval workflows and fine-grained role and rights management through the Admin Governance module. This keeps approvals policy-compliant and traceable.
- Handover to Your ERP
- Via an interface, Ovenca hands the released requisition or order to your ERP system. The platform is ERP-agnostic and runs on-premise, in a private cloud, or hybrid.
Purchase Requisition: Questions and Answers
Related pages
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