There may be instances when you want to prevent goods from being procured from a particular supplier, for example, because the supplier has recently supplied products of deficient quality. The business partner master record allows you to block purchases from such suppliers. You can block a supplier either for all purchasing organizations. or only for a specific purchasing organization.
As soon as you set the blocking indicator for a supplier, you cannot create any more purchase orders for that supplier. You cannot create an RFQ, outline agreement, quota arrangement, or source list entry for the blocked supplier. Similarly, you can no longer assign an info record or an outline agreement item with this supplier as a source in a requisition. The block applies until you remove the blocking indicator again.
If you set the blocking indicator for a source list entry, the source represented by that entry can no longer be used in purchasing documents. You then have options:
- Block a source list entry with an outline agreement item.
If you set the blocking indicator in a source list entry with an outline agreement item, you cannot create a release order or schedule line against that item. However, you could order the material without reference to the outline agreement item. A blocked outline agreement item is not suggested during the source determination process in a purchase requisition or purchase order. It also cannot be assigned manually.
- Block a source list entry without an outline agreement item.
If you set the blocking indicator in a source list entry without an outline agreement item (which means the source in question is an info record or a plant), you generally cannot order or schedule the relevant material from the supplier concerned—either with or without reference to an existing outline agreement item. During the source determination process in a purchase requisition, neither an info record nor an outline agreement item is proposed for the blocked combination of material and supplier. and an existing quota arrangement item is no longer taken into account.
If you set the blocking indicator and enter a validity period but no supplier, the material is completely blocked for procurement in this plant.
You can also block a material for procurement in the material master record using the material status. The material status can be assigned client-wide (Basic Data view) or specific to a plant (Purchasing or MRP view).