Unit 6: Self-Service Requisition
Self-service procurement lets any employee – typically an occasional user – order goods and services through a shopping-cart style Fiori app, track the request and confirm the delivery, while purchasing and accounting handle the rest in the background.
Lesson 1 · Performing a Self-Service Process
After this lesson you can
- Describe the self-service procurement process end to end
- Create a requisition with Create Purchase Requisition and maintain user defaults
- Monitor requests with My Purchase Requisitions
Process flow
- The employee requests goods or services for consumption or stock – the result is a purchase requisition.
- Depending on configuration, a manager or other approver must approve; the approver is notified by workflow (inbox / My Inbox).
- The PR is converted into a PO. If a source of supply has been determined and assigned, conversion can happen automatically; otherwise a buyer processes it.
- The employee confirms receipt of the goods (this posts the goods receipt).
- Accounts payable enters the supplier invoice.
Creating requisition items
In Create Purchase Requisition an item can be added in three ways:
| Way | When used |
|---|---|
| Select from a catalog | Products/services offered in an internal or supplier catalog (in the training system a "Lean Catalog" add-on from SAP consulting) |
| Enter a material master number | Known catalogued materials in the system |
| Free-text description | Item not found in any catalog – described with text, material group, price estimate |
With cross-content search activated, one search finds both material masters and catalog products. Items go into a cart; the user can review/change item details before ordering or "order" directly. "Ordering" the cart creates the purchase requisition – not a PO.
Default settings
To keep entry simple, each user maintains default values that are proposed into every item:
- Organizational data: plant, storage location, company code, purchasing organization (and purchasing group)
- Account assignment category and cost center
- Currency
| Maintained by | How |
|---|---|
| User | In Create Purchase Requisition via the user actions menu › Default Settings for User |
| Administrator (for many users) | App Default Settings for Users – several user IDs can be selected at once |
| HR organizational structure | Defaults derived from the employee's position in the org structure if self-service procurement attributes are maintained there |
My Purchase Requisitions
This app lists the user's own requisitions (newest first) with filters, approval status, item status and follow-on documents (e.g. PO number). Depending on the processing status, a PR can still be changed or deleted, and goods receipt confirmation and returns can be started from here.
Approval of self-service requisitions is handled by the S/4HANA flexible workflow (configured in Manage Workflows for Purchase Requisitions), with approvers working in My Inbox. Companies using SAP Ariba can alternatively integrate SAP Ariba Guided Buying as the requisitioning front end.
- Three ways to add a PR item: catalog, material number, free-text description (no Excel upload).
- "Ordering" the cart creates a purchase requisition.
- Default settings can be maintained centrally by an administrator (Default Settings for Users) or derived from the HR org structure.
- Approval is optional and configuration-dependent.
Lesson 2 · Confirming a Goods Receipt
After this lesson you can
- Confirm the receipt of requested material in the self-service apps
- Explain which items are relevant for confirmation and how returns work
Key concepts
Once the requested items have been ordered, the requester – not the warehouse – confirms that the goods arrived. The confirmation posts a goods receipt for the underlying PO (material document, and accounting document if valuated), so the invoice can later be matched.
The app Confirm Receipt of Goods – New lists all PRs with material items relevant for confirmation, i.e.:
- created by the user or for the user by another employee,
- with a purchase order as follow-on document,
- not yet fully confirmed and without the final delivery indicator.
PR items whose PO item has several schedule lines are not shown.
System steps
- Open Confirm Receipt of Goods – New; search by PO or PR number if needed and navigate to the Purchase Requisition Item fact sheet for details.
- Enter the received quantity (partial confirmations are possible) and, if no more deliveries are expected, set final delivery.
- Confirm; the goods receipt is posted.
- Alternatively, in My Purchase Requisitions select a PR with PO and choose Confirm (inactive for PRs without PO).
- For a return, in My Purchase Requisitions enter the return quantity and a return reason for a confirmed item.
Buyers can check the resulting material document in the PO history (ME23N) or with MIGO.
- Prerequisites for confirmation: PR created by/for you, PO exists, item not completely delivered (no invoice required).
- Partial confirmation and final delivery indicator are possible.
- Returns are posted from My Purchase Requisitions with quantity and reason.
Unit summary & exam focus
Self-service requisitioning covers the employee's view of procurement: cart-based PR creation with defaults, optional approval, automatic or buyer-driven PO creation, confirmation of receipt and returns – all in Fiori apps designed for occasional users.
T-codes in this unit
| T-code | Purpose |
|---|---|
| ME23N | Display PO and history (check confirmations) |
| MIGO | Display/post goods movements (classic alternative to confirmation) |
Fiori apps: Create Purchase Requisition, Default Settings for Users, My Purchase Requisitions, Confirm Receipt of Goods – New, My Inbox.
Self-check questions
- Name the ways to create a PR item in Create Purchase Requisition.
Answer
Select from a catalog, enter a material number, or describe the item in free text. - True or false: user default settings can only be maintained by the user.
Answer
False – an administrator can maintain them for many users with Default Settings for Users, or they can come from the HR org structure. - What document does "ordering" the cart create?
Answer
A purchase requisition. - Which PR items appear in Confirm Receipt of Goods – New?
Answer
Material items created by or for you that have a PO and are not yet fully delivered / marked final delivery (and without multiple schedule lines). - Why is the Confirm button inactive for some requisitions?
Answer
Because no purchase order exists yet for them.