Lesson 3 of 5
Purchasing info records
9 min
The supplier record describes Lakeside. The product record describes the rotor. Neither says what Lakeside charges Contoso for rotors or how long they take to deliver. That combination lives in the purchasing info record: the master data for one supplier and one product (or material group), per purchasing organization and optionally per plant.
Info record categories
| Category | Use |
|---|---|
| Standard | Normal purchase of the product from the supplier |
| Subcontracting | The supplier processes components Contoso provides; the price is for the service |
| Consignment | Stock owned by the supplier until Contoso withdraws it |
| Pipeline | Materials supplied through a pipeline or line, such as utilities |
Info record categories match the PO item categories they support.
Creating and maintaining info records
Info records are created with ME11 (change ME12, display ME13) or in the Manage Purchasing Info Records app. They can also be created or updated automatically: if the info update indicator is set on a PO or quotation item, saving it updates the info record with the latest price. That is convenient but dangerous, because a one-off price on a rush order can become the new default. Contoso allows automatic updates only from quotations.
Prices are maintained as conditions with validity periods. When Lakeside agrees a new price from July 1, you add a new validity period rather than overwriting the old price. That preserves history, makes the change auditable, and lets POs dated before July still find the old price.
- Jan 1Price $42.00Condition record valid Jan 1 to Jun 30
- Jun 15New agreementLakeside agrees $40.50 from July 1
- Jun 16New validity periodCondition record $40.50 valid Jul 1 to Dec 31
- Jul 1POs pick up new pricePOs dated from July 1 propose $40.50
How an info record defaults into a PO
- Buyer entersSupplier Lakeside, product CMC-RTR-200, quantity 500, plant 1710
- SAP finds info recordPlant-specific record if one exists, else the purchasing org record
- Price copiedGross price condition valid on the PO's pricing date: $42.00
- Dates calculatedPlanned delivery time 10 days sets the proposed delivery date
- Other defaultsSupplier material number, purchasing group, tolerances
The regular supplier indicator in the info record's general data tells source determination to prefer this supplier for the product. For products with a single supplier, it can replace a source list entirely. If several suppliers are possible, source lists or quota arrangements give more control.
Conditions can carry more than one price. A quantity scale can give $42.00 up to 999 units and $40.80 from 1,000; a discount condition can take 2% off; a freight condition can add a fixed amount per delivery. When Contoso signs a longer-term agreement, buyers usually create a contract (an outline agreement) instead, and the contract's conditions take the place of the info record price for POs that reference it.
What would you do?
A buyer creates a rush PO to Lakeside at $55.00 per rotor with the info update indicator set. Next week every new rotor PO proposes $55.00. What went wrong and what is the fix?
- An info record holds supplier-specific purchasing data for a product per purchasing org and optionally per plant.
- Categories include standard, subcontracting, consignment and pipeline.
- Prices are conditions with validity periods; add periods instead of overwriting.
- Info records default price, delivery time and other data into POs; control automatic updates.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. What does a purchasing info record store?
2. Which transaction creates a purchasing info record?
3. What is the safest way to record a price change from July 1?
4. Which info record field drives the proposed delivery date on a PO?