ME58 in SAP: How to Create PO with Reference

Purchase order with reference

Purchase orders can be created with reference to a purchase requisition, RFQ, quotation, another purchase order, contract, sales order etc. To reference a PO to a previous document you can use the appropriate function. You can create a PO referencing a previous document in 2 ways

1. Using ME58
2. Using ME21N

Which Reference Documents Can a Purchase Order Use?

Referencing is not limited to requisitions. Each source document carries different information into the order, which is why the choice affects how much still has to be typed.

Reference Document	What it contributes	Typical situation
Purchase requisition	Material, quantity, plant, delivery date, account assignment	Standard demand driven procurement
RFQ or quotation	Vendor, agreed price, conditions, delivery terms	After a bidding round has been decided
Contract	Agreed price, target quantity or value, validity period	Calling off against a negotiated framework
Scheduling agreement	Delivery schedule lines and agreed conditions	Repetitive supply with fixed intervals
Another purchase order	Every item, quantity, and condition of the earlier order	Repeat purchase with no changes
Sales order	Customer requirement and delivery address	Third party and individual purchase order scenarios

Where a decided quotation exists, referencing it rather than the original requisition carries the negotiated price into the order automatically. The quotation selection tutorial covers how that price is confirmed.

Referencing through ME58

In our case if we want to create a PO for a Purchase requisitions, we can use the transaction code ME58. I will demonstrate the process starting from ME58 as it calls the ME21N and you can see that actually we create a PO in ME21N anyway.

Step 1)

1. Enter t-code ME58.
2. Choose Vendor and purchasing organization and
3. Select document types.
4. Execute.

Step 2)

1. Choose the line for your vendor.
2. Select process assignment.

Step 3) Make sure that on the next screen the selected order type is NB (or other appropriate type which you wish to use at this moment). Date, purchasing group and organization also need to be checked before clicking the check button.

Step 4) You will be redirected to the transaction ME21N by the system where you will be able to choose the requisition you want to use as a reference document for PO.

1. Choose PR number you want to use as a reference document.
2. Select the Adopt button.

Step 5) You can see that our item has been transferred to new purchase order. You can now save it, and it will be assigned a document number.

Referencing through ME21N

Creating a PO directly from ME21N referencing to any suitable document is the fastest and least complicated way to do so. If you want to skip the ME58 or any other not needed step, you can create a PO using ME21N directly. This is mostly used by the MM users, and the process is as it is described below –

Step 1)

1. Enter the transaction ME21N.
2. Choose the “Document Overview ON” (if document overview isn’t open already).

Step 2) In the document overview screen, you can choose which document you will use for referencing purposes.

1. Choose the Selection Variant button.
2. Choose the document type for which you want to reference your PO.

Step 3) On the selection screen enter your PR name (or find it by any other data – e.g. vendor, material number).

Execute the search.

Step 4) You are presented a screen with the documents relevant to your search.

1. Click the document number you want to use as a reference document.
2. Choose to Adopt the document.

You are done, now you can save your PO or make additional changes. The referencing process is the same for any other reference document type. Just follow the steps above except choosing the appropriate document type in Step 2.

ME58 vs ME21N: Which Route to Choose

Both routes end in the same transaction, so the difference is how the source document is found rather than how the order is built.

Parameter	ME58	ME21N direct
Starting point	Worklist of assigned requisitions grouped by vendor	Empty order, source found through document overview
Source required on the requisition	Yes, the item must already carry a source of supply	No, the vendor can be typed on the order header
Reference types supported	Purchase requisitions only	Requisition, RFQ, quotation, contract, order, sales order
Best for	Clearing a daily buyer worklist by vendor	Ad hoc orders and any non requisition reference
Speed for a single order	Slower, two selection screens first	Faster, one search in the overview panel

For volume work without manual review, ME59N converts assigned requisitions automatically in the background. That path is described in converting a requisition into a purchase order.

What Is Copied and What Is Not

Adopt does not clone the source document. SAP copies the demand and then re-derives the commercial terms from master data, which explains the differences buyers notice after pressing the button.

Copied from the reference document:

• Material number, short text, and material group
• Quantity, plant, storage location, and delivery date
• Account assignment category and its cost object
• Requirement tracking number and item texts

Re-derived from master data, not copied:

• Net price and pricing conditions, read from the info record or contract
• Order unit, which can round the requested quantity up or down
• Payment terms, incoterms, and currency, read from the vendor master
• Over and under delivery tolerances and goods receipt processing time

Two checks prevent most surprises. Compare the adopted quantity against the request, because a pallet order unit will reshape a figure entered in pieces. Then compare the net price against the expectation, since a missing purchase info record leaves the field at zero and the order cannot be saved. Corrections after saving are made in change purchase order.

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