SAP's Materials Management (MM) module provides various tools to streamline these processes, including ME57 and ME59. These are two distinct transactions that serve different purposes in the creation and assignment of purchase orders. In this article, we will explore the differences between ME57 and ME59 and understand their functionalities.
T-code ME57: Assign and Process Requisitions
ME57 is a transaction within SAP's MM module that facilitates the manual assignment and processing of purchase requisitions (PReqs) to create purchase orders. This transaction offers procurement professionals the flexibility to manage the purchase order creation process more hands-on.
T-code ME59: Automatic Purchase Order Creation
ME59, on the other hand, serves a different purpose by automating the creation of purchase orders from purchase requisitions. This transaction is designed to handle the bulk processing of PReqs and expedite the procurement process for materials and services.
Key difference between ME57 and ME59
ME57
- Manual Assignment: Allows users to manually assign a vendor to a purchase requisition (PReq) before creating a purchase order (PO).
- Manual PO Creation: Users can generate purchase orders by hand based on assigned purchase requisitions, giving them more control over the PO creation process.
- Processing Assigned PReqs: Supports the manual processing of PReqs that have already been assigned to vendors.
- Vendor Selection: Offers the flexibility to select vendors individually for each PReq.
- Handling Existing Assignments: Useful for handling previously assigned PReqs that need further processing.
ME59
- Automated PO Creation: Automates the creation of purchase orders from purchase requisitions, streamlining the procurement process.
- Material and Service PReqs: Designed to create purchase orders for both materials and services, making it versatile for various procurement needs.
- Batch Processing: Processes PReqs in batches, reducing manual intervention and speeding up the procurement cycle.
- Configuration Requirements: Requires proper configuration, including enabling the "auto PO" marker for materials and activating "auto PO creation" for vendors.
- Risk and Testing: This can be risky if incorrect criteria are used, but provides a "test run" option to preview the number of purchase orders that would be created.
Conclusion
ME57 and ME59 are both valuable tools within SAP's MM module for handling purchase requisitions and purchase order processing. While ME57 offers manual vendor assignment and PO creation, ME59 focuses on automating PO creation from PReqs, especially for materials and services. I