SAP SD: Create Material Master Data

By : Jessica Blake Jessica Blake
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⚡ Smart Summary

Material master data in SAP SD holds all the information needed to sell a material, organized into views. This resource explains creating a material master with transaction MM01, the key sales views, and the MM01, MM02, and MM03 transactions.

  • 🗃️ Material Master: The material master is the central record that stores all data needed to buy, make, store, and sell a material.
  • 🧩 Organized in Views: Data is grouped into views such as Basic Data, Sales, Purchasing, and Accounting, each owned by a different team.
  • ⌨️ MM01 Transaction: Transaction MM01 creates a material; you choose the industry sector, material type, and the views to maintain.
  • 🛒 Sales Views: For selling, maintain Basic Data, Sales Org Data, and Sales General/Plant views with units, groups, and tax data.
  • 🔢 One Material Number: All views share a single material number, so sales, purchasing, and finance work from the same record.
  • 🛡️ Best Practice: Maintain only the views your role needs, and complete Basic Data before the sales views to avoid missing entries.
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Create Material Master Data in SAP SD

What Is a Material Master in SAP?

The material master is the central source of information for a material in SAP. It holds every detail the business needs to procure, store, produce, sell, and account for that material, and it is shared by every module rather than duplicated. Because so many teams use the same record, the data is organized into views, and each view is maintained by the department that owns it.

For example, the Basic Data view holds general information such as the description and unit of measure, the Sales views hold data for selling, the Purchasing view holds buying data, and the Accounting view holds valuation. A single material number ties all of these views together. This tutorial focuses on the sales views, which a Sales and Distribution consultant maintains so that the material can be quoted, ordered, delivered, and invoiced. Creating the material correctly at the start avoids errors later in the order-to-cash process.

Key Sales Views in the Material Master

When you create a material for selling, only some of the many material master views are relevant. The following views carry the data that the sales process depends on:

  • Basic Data 1: General data such as the material description, base unit of measure, material group, and division.
  • Sales: Sales Org Data 1: Sales organization and distribution channel data, including the sales unit, delivering plant, and tax classification.
  • Sales: Sales Org Data 2: Additional sales data such as the material statistics group and item category group.
  • Sales: General/Plant Data: Shipping data such as the transportation group, loading group, and availability check.
  • Sales Text: Free text that can be printed on sales documents for the customer.

Costing and Accounting views are often maintained alongside these, because a material usually needs a valuation class before it can be saved. Maintaining the right views keeps the material ready for the full order-to-cash cycle.

Create Material Master Data

Purpose: This procedure is used to manually create a material master for different views. Here, the sales view is used.

Step 1) Open transaction MM01, “Create Material”.

  1. Enter the industry sector and material type.
  2. Click on the Select View(s) button. A pop-up window appears. In the pop-up window, select the views for which the material is to be created and click on the check button.

Select industry sector, material type and views in MM01

Step 2) Now a screen appears with all the selected views as tabs.

  1. Select the Basic Data 1 tab.
  2. Enter the material description.
  3. Enter the Base Unit of Measure.
  4. Enter the material group.
  5. Enter the division.

Enter Basic Data 1 details for the material master

Step 3) Maintain the Sales Organization 1 view.

  1. Select the Sales Org 1 tab screen.
  2. The base unit of measure is displayed.
  3. Enter the Sales unit.
  4. A pop-up window appears for conversion factors; enter the conversion factors.
  5. The material group is displayed.

Enter Sales Organization 1 data for the material

Step 4) Maintain the Sales: General/Plant view.

  1. Select the Sales: General/Plant tab screen.
  2. Enter the Transportation group.
  3. Enter the Loading group.

Enter transportation and loading group in Sales General Plant view

Step 5) Click on the tab list icon.

Click the tab list icon to see all material master views

A list of all tabs appears. Select the Costing 2 tab from the list, then:

  1. Enter the valuation class for the material in the selected view.

Enter the valuation class in the Costing 2 view

Step 6) Click on the Save button. A message “Material 9554 Created” is displayed.

SAP message confirming the material was created

RELATED ARTICLES

MM01, MM02, and MM03: Create, Change, and Display

SAP uses a family of transaction codes to manage the material master throughout its life. MM01 creates the material, while two related codes handle later changes and reviews of the same record. Because all three transactions work on the same material number, the record you create in MM01 is instantly available in MM02 and MM03 across every module that uses it.

T-Code Action When to use it
MM01 Create Create a new material and maintain its views
MM02 Change Update an existing material, or extend it to new views or organizational levels
MM03 Display View the material master without changing anything

Use MM01 once to bring a material into the system, then MM02 whenever data changes or a new view is required, such as extending the material to another sales organization. Reach for MM03 for a quick, safe look at the current values, since display mode cannot alter the record. Many organizations restrict change access through MM02 to trained master-data users, while display access through MM03 is shared widely so that anyone can check a material safely.

FAQs

The industry sector controls which screens and fields appear, while the material type controls behavior such as the number range, allowed views, and procurement type. Both are chosen on the MM01 initial screen and cannot be changed later.

Yes. Run MM01 again for the same material, or use MM02, and select the new views. This extends the material to additional views or to another plant or sales organization without creating a new material number.

Usually a required field in one of the selected views is empty, such as the base unit of measure or the valuation class. SAP highlights the missing field. Complete it, then save the material again.

Yes. AI can suggest field values from similar materials, complete descriptions, and validate entries against rules before saving. This speeds up creation and improves consistency, though a data owner should approve new materials before they go live.

AI can compare a new material against existing records by description and attributes, then warn when a likely duplicate exists. This prevents redundant material numbers and keeps master data clean, while a steward makes the final decision.

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