In brief
A purchase requisition (PR) is an internal request from a department to purchasing to procure a material or service.
Contents
What is Purchase requisition?
The purchase requisition is at the start of the operational procurement process. It documents who needs what, in what quantity and by when, and is not yet a purchase order: only after checking and approval does purchasing convert it into a binding order with the supplier. The abbreviation PR is particularly common in ERP environments. At the same time, it creates transparency about which requirements are open.
Purchase requisitions are created manually by requesters, such as maintenance, or automatically by materials planning, for example when stock falls below the reorder point or from maintenance orders. Typical contents are the material number or description, quantity, required date, cost centre or order, delivery location and, where applicable, a suggested supplier. Depending on value and category, the requisition goes through an approval procedure.
For spare parts, the quality of the purchase requisition often determines the speed of procurement. If the manufacturer part number, nameplate data or details of urgency are missing, a time-consuming round of queries begins. For emergencies, many companies provide simplified urgent procedures that are documented afterwards. A complete requisition therefore often saves more time than any acceleration later in the process.
In practice: maintenance and procurement
A purchase requisition for a spare part should contain the manufacturer, manufacturer part number, nameplate data, quantity, latest required date and the plant concerned; a photo helps in case of ambiguity. Permissible alternatives or the note “original only” should be stated at the same time.
Synonyms and abbreviations: PR · material requisition · purchase request · PReq
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a purchase requisition and a purchase order?
The purchase requisition is an internal document used to report a requirement to purchasing. It is not binding on anyone outside the company. The purchase order, by contrast, is the binding declaration to the supplier to accept goods or services on certain terms. One or more purchase orders can result from a single purchase requisition.
What must a purchase requisition contain?
Important are an unambiguous description of the material, ideally with a material or manufacturer part number, the quantity, the required date, the cost centre or order, the delivery location and the name of the requester. For technical parts, nameplate data, drawings or photos make procurement considerably easier and avoid queries.
Who approves a purchase requisition?
Each company sets this out in its approval policy. The approval level usually depends on the order value, the cost centre and the category: smaller amounts are approved by the responsible manager, larger ones additionally by divisional or senior management. In ERP systems, these rules are often stored as a release strategy and run automatically.