ME12 Tcode in SAP: Change Purchase Info Record
Olivia Turner
⚡ Smart Summary
Change a Purchase Info Record in SAP using transaction ME12. The key combination of vendor, material, purchasing organization, and plant decides which views open for editing, while ME13 provides read only display.
What is a Purchase Info Record in SAP MM?
A purchase info record stores the relationship between one vendor and one material. It answers a single question for the buyer: what happens when we order this material from this supplier?
The record holds the agreed net price and condition types, the planned delivery time, the minimum order quantity, the vendor material number, over and under delivery tolerances, the reminder schedule, and the purchasing organization or plant for which those terms are valid. When a purchase order is created for the same vendor and material, SAP reads the info record and defaults these values into the item, which is why keeping it current has a direct effect on price accuracy.
Four info categories exist, and a separate record can be maintained for each:
- Standard: Normal purchasing of a stock or consumable material.
- Subcontracting: The vendor processes components supplied by your plant.
- Pipeline: Continuous supply such as water, electricity, or gas.
- Consignment: Vendor owned stock stored at your site until consumption.
Info records are also updated automatically when the info update indicator is set on a quotation or purchase order. Manual maintenance through ME12 remains necessary whenever a negotiated term changes outside that flow.
ME11 vs ME12 vs ME13: Info Record Transaction Codes
We said that the transaction used to create info record is code ME11. When we need to change the info record we can use code ME12 t-code, and for display only we should use code ME13, just as SAP standards are.
| Transaction Code | Action | Can Save? | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| ME11 | Create info record | Yes | First order from a new vendor for a material |
| ME12 | Change info record | Yes | Price revision, new delivery time, changed tolerances |
| ME13 | Display info record | No | Verification and audit review |
| ME1M | Info records by material | No | Compare all vendors offering one material |
| ME1L | Info records by vendor | No | Review the full catalogue of one supplier |
| ME15 | Flag info record for deletion | Yes | Retire an obsolete vendor and material combination |
The naming pattern is consistent across SAP MM: the trailing 1 creates, 2 changes, and 3 displays. Creation is covered in the create purchase info record tutorial.
Steps to Change a Purchase Info Record
Step 1) Open transaction code ME12 from the SAP Easy Access menu and complete the selection screen.
- Transaction code: ME12 is entered in the command field to open the info record in change mode.
- Vendor, material, purchase organization, plant, info record number data: we use it to identify what exactly we need to change in our session. If we fill in all the fields, we will be able to change all the existing views and data in those views. For example, if we don’t specify Purchase Organization we will not be able to edit the Purchase organization Data 1 View.
- Info category (purchasing type). We are changing the data for this info category (only for views that are info category dependent).
Step 2) Hit ENTER button. You will be presented the following screen.
Make the required changes and click the 
save button.
💡 Tip: Price changes are best entered through the Conditions button rather than by overwriting the net price field. Conditions carry a validity period, which preserves the history of what was agreed and when.
NOTE: Code ME13 can be used to view a record. There is no possibility to edit or save a record.
The display screen shown above is identical in layout, which makes ME13 a safe way to confirm a change without any risk of overwriting it.
Info Record Views and What Each One Controls
The screens reached after pressing Enter are grouped into views, and each view is tied to a different part of the key entered on the selection screen. Knowing which is which explains why a field is sometimes greyed out.
- General Data: Valid without a purchasing organization. Holds the vendor material number, vendor material group, reminder days, and the origin data such as country and certificate.
- Purchasing Organization Data 1: Requires a purchasing organization and, for plant level records, a plant. Contains planned delivery time, purchasing group, standard quantity, minimum quantity, net price, and the tolerance limits.
- Purchasing Organization Data 2: Shows the last purchase order and quotation for the combination, which is useful when checking whether a proposed price is actually new.
- Conditions: Reached from Purchasing Organization Data 1. Holds gross price, discounts, surcharges, and freight with their validity periods.
- Texts: Info record note and purchase order text, both of which can be copied into the purchase order item.
If a required view does not open, the cause is almost always an incomplete key on the selection screen rather than an authorisation problem. Re-enter ME12 with the purchasing organization and plant filled in, and the view becomes available. From there, the maintained terms flow into every new document created in purchase order processing and the wider purchasing cycle.
