Monitoring Purchase Orders

When you are creating the purchasing document, select the Acknowl.Reqd (Order Acknowledgment Required) checkbox if you are working only with an order confirmation. This enables order confirmation monitoring and allows reminders to be sent.

You can preset the order acknowledgment indicator as follows, if you want it to be generally proposed as a default:

• In the purchasing data of the business partner

• In the purchasing info record

• In the material master as part of the purchasing value key

• Using the EVO user parameter

• In the personal settings for the transaction ME21N

If you have received the order confirmation from your supplier, you enter the confirmation number on the purchase order item screen. The system checks as a part of monitoring whether or not an entry exists in the order confirmation field. If there is no entry, you can generate an order acknowledgment reminder.

Using the fast change, you can enter the same confirmation number for all items of a purchase order. The Fast Change icon is located in the purchase order below the item overview.

When creating the purchasing document, you have to enter a confirmation control key in the item detail. The key determines the confirmations that you expect from suppliers and the sequence. The key also controls, which confirmation types are relevant for MRP and goods receipt. If a confirmation control key is maintained in a purchasing info record, this is defaulted in the purchasing document. You can also define the default value for the confirmation control key in the purchasing data of the business partner.

• You enter the confirmation in the purchasing document.

• You generate an independent document – an inbound delivery.

• You have the confirmation transmitted electronically by the supplier. If the supplier rejects the purchase order, the rejection indicator and the deletion indicator are set in the purchase order item.

Generating an independent document requires that you have used a confirmation category that allows an inbound delivery. The data for the inbound delivery is transferred to the corresponding confirmation fields in the purchasing document. You can then enter the goods receipt with reference to a purchasing document or inbound delivery. As part of monitoring, the system checks whether you have confirmed the entire ordered quantity. If you have not yet confirmed or only partially confirmed the quantity, you can generate an order acknowledgment reminder.

For scheduling agreement schedule lines, you can only work with confirmation control keys. The key must be contained in the scheduling agreement. You enter the confirmations when maintaining the scheduling agreement schedule lines (ME38 transaction) using the menu path Item → Confirmations → Overview.

If you do not want to generate any reminders, you can also check the confirmations with the simple monitoring transaction.

To access the monitoring transaction, on the SAP Easy Access screen, do one of the following:

• Choose Logistics → Materials Management → Purchasing → Purchase Order → Reporting → Monitor Confirmations (ME2A).

• Choose Logistics → Materials Management → Purchasing → Outline Agreement → Reporting → Monitor Confirmations (ME2A).

You can use this function to monitor confirmations of all confirmation categories, but you can’t create reminder messages for them.

On the SAP Fiori launchpad, you can find the according app Monitor Supplier Confirmations in the Purchase Order Processing tile group.

1. Choose the appropriate menu path on the SAP Easy Access screen based on the following document types:

   • Purchase order:

     Choose Logistics → Materials Management → Purchasing → Purchase Order → Messages → Urging/Reminders (ME91F).

   • RFQ:

     Choose Logistics → Materials Management → Purchasing → RFQ/Quotation → Request for Quotation → Messages → Urging/Reminders (ME91A).

   • Scheduling agreement schedule lines:

     Choose Logistics → Materials Management → Purchasing → Outline Agreement → Scheduling Agreement → Delivery Schedule → Urging/Reminders (ME91E).

2. Enter the criteria for selecting the purchasing documents and start the program.

   The list of results enables you to decide for which documents you want to generate messages.

3. After saving, output the documents with the standard transactions for message output for purchasing documents.

   If the message record contains dispatch time 4 (immediate), the messages are output automatically on saving.

On the basis of the reference date entered, the system checks which reminders can be issued. It also considers confirmations, provided that these are marked in Customizing as subject to reminder. For RFQs, the quotation deadline is considered rather than the delivery date.

If you have not entered reminder or dunning days in your purchasing documents, you can use the list display of open purchasing documents. The following menu paths on the SAP Easy Access screen enable you to use the list:

• Choose Logistics → Materials Management → Purchasing → Purchase Order → List Displays → By Material (ME2M).

• Choose Logistics → Materials Management → Purchasing → Purchase Order → List Displays → By Vendor (ME2L).

Use the WE101 selection parameter, and restrict the delivery date to the time period that you want to monitor.

For both transaction you can also use apps on the SAP Fiori launchpad:

• Display Purchasing Documents by Material (ME2M)
• Display Purchasing Documents by Supplier (ME2L).

Note that one or several confirmations may be required.

For each confirmation category, you define the following:

• MRP-Relevant indicator:

  After you enter the appropriate confirmation, the purchase order is displayed in the stock/requirements list with a different MRP element (ShpgNt) to the unconfirmed purchase order (POitem). Alternative confirmations are considered by the planning run.

• GR-Relevant indicator:

  This indicator causes the confirmed quantity (for example, inbound delivery) to be reduced by a goods receipt for the corresponding purchase order item. If there are several confirmations in the confirmation sequence, you can mark only one as GR-relevant.

• GR Assignment indicator:

  The system suggests only the confirmed quantity when you post a goods receipt. You cannot post a goods receipt without a prior confirmation. You can use this indicator only in conjunction with the GR-Relevant indicator. The indicator is also necessary if you post the goods receipt through inbound delivery (VL32N) for creating a material document and updating the purchase order history.

• Moni.Per. (monitoring period) and Ref.Date (reference date):

  This controls up to what point you expect a confirmation. You can define this period with reference to the order date or the delivery date. If you do not record any confirmation within this period, an expediter can be issued automatically provided the Sbj. to Rem. indicator has been set. Without the Sbj. to Rem. indicator, you cannot create any reminders for any confirmation.