🧠 First, the mental model (read this once)
A material master is not one form. Think of it as a profile card with many tabs — and each tab ("view") belongs to a different department:
You only fill the tabs your job needs. A material you just buy needs Basic + Purchasing + Accounting. A material you make adds MRP + Work Scheduling + Costing. A material you sell adds Sales.
| View (tab) | Owned by | Answers the question… |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Data | Everyone | What is it, what unit, what group? (global — same in every plant) |
| Purchasing | MM buyer | How do we buy it? |
| MRP 1–4 | Planning | How do we replenish it — buy or make, how much, when? |
| Work Scheduling | Production | How is it made? (only for made goods) |
| Sales | SD | How do we sell it? (only for sold goods) |
| Accounting | FI | What's it worth, which G/L does it hit? |
| Costing | CO | What does it cost to make? |
Two questions decide everything when you create a material:
- What kind of thing is it? → that's the Material Type (ROH, HALB, FERT, HAWA…). It pre-sets which tabs are allowed, the default valuation class, and whether you track value.
- Do you buy it or make it? → that's the Procurement Type (F = buy, E = make). It decides which tabs you actually fill.
🔁 The universal MM01 flow (same every time)
- Run MM01. Enter the Material number (e.g.
RM-IRON-01), Industry sector (M= Mechanical Eng.), and Material type (e.g.ROH). Press Enter. - Select Views. A list pops up — tick only the tabs you need (see the per-type table below). Don't tick views you won't fill.
- Organizational Levels. Tell SAP where: Plant
PK01, Storage Location (e.g.RAWM), and Sales Org / Distribution Channel only if you picked Sales views. - Fill each view left → right (Basic Data first, Accounting last). Mandatory fields show a ⬛ tick/highlight; you can't save until they're filled.
- Save (Ctrl+S). SAP confirms "Material … created" and writes the database rows.
First-timer tips: ① If a tab looks greyed-out and you can't type, you're in display mode (MM03) or didn't select that view — use MM01 to create / MM02 to change. ② Stuck on a code field? Press F4 — SAP shows only the valid values. ③ "Material already exists" → it's made; switch to MM02 to edit instead.
🔁 MM01 vs MM02 — create, extend, or change?
The idea that confuses everyone
A material isn't one flat record — it's built from segments at different organizational levels: Client (global) → Plant → each Storage Location → each Sales Org. Each segment is created once. MM01 means "create a segment" — so the same transaction both makes a brand-new material and extends an existing one (adds a view, plant, storage location or sales org it doesn't have yet). It is not re-creating the whole material.
| You want to… | Use | How |
|---|---|---|
| Create a brand-new material | MM01 | New material number + industry + type, pick views |
| Add a view / plant / storage location / sales org it doesn't have yet | MM01 (extend) | Same material number → pick the view → enter the NEW org level |
| Change a value in something that already exists | MM02 | Edit the existing view / org level |
| Just look (read-only) | MM03 | Display |
Why you saw "already exists / already maintained"
You pointed MM01 at a segment that's already there — so there's nothing to create. Example: RM-IRON-01 already has Plant PK01 + Storage Location RAWM (from Scenario 1), so choosing the storage view with RAWM says "already exists." To add store WIPS, enter the new storage location WIPS in the Organizational Levels popup — not the old one. (Or use MMSC, the dedicated "add storage locations" tool — no view-picking.)
Rule of thumb: "already exists" = that part is done → either type a new org level (to extend), or switch to MM02 (to change what's there).
📝 What each field is — and why you fill it
These are the fields you'll meet most often, grouped by view, in plain English. (Optional fields you can leave blank are not listed — focus on what matters.)
Initial screen — the 3 choices that shape everything
| Field | Example | Why you set it |
|---|---|---|
| Material number | RM-IRON-01 | The unique ID. Type your own meaningful code (external numbering) so it's readable — not a random 4000001. |
| Industry sector | M | Controls which fields/screens appear. Pick one (M for us) and stay consistent — it can't be changed later. |
| Material type | ROH | The biggest decision: it pre-decides allowed views, default valuation class, internal/external procurement, and whether value is tracked. "Tells SAP what KIND of thing this is." |
Basic Data 1 — global identity (every material has this)
| Field | Example | Why you fill it |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Iron Ore Lump | The human-readable name shown on POs, reports, stock lists. |
| Base Unit of Measure | TO | The unit stock & value are kept in. Everything converts to it. Very hard to change once stock exists — choose carefully. |
| Material Group | (F4 → 001) | A grouping key for reporting & purchasing analysis. Mandatory; pick an existing one via F4. |
| Division | (if sold) | An SD product-line unit — only needed if you'll sell it. |
| Gross/Net weight, Volume | optional | Used by shipping/warehouse logistics. Skip for learning. |
Purchasing — only for materials you buy
| Field | Example | Why you fill it |
|---|---|---|
| Purchasing Group | RMT | The buyer / buying desk responsible — drives reporting & who gets the workflow. |
| Order Unit | TO | Only if you buy in a different unit than you stock (e.g. buy in bags, stock in kg). |
| Purchasing value key | optional | Bundles reminder/dunning days & tolerances for this material. |
MRP 1–4 — planning (how it gets replenished)
| Field | Example | Why you fill it |
|---|---|---|
| MRP Type | PD | How SAP plans it. PD = full MRP, VB = reorder point, ND = no planning. |
| MRP Controller | PK1 | The planner responsible (a config code — create once if your plant has none). |
| Lot Size | EX | How SAP groups demand into orders. EX = exact (make/buy just what's needed). |
| Procurement Type | F or E | The buy-vs-make switch. F = buy externally, E = make in-house, X = both. |
| Schedule Margin Key | 000 | Buffer (float) days around production/delivery (config code). |
| Availability Check | 02 | How SAP checks/promises whether stock is available (ATP). |
Work Scheduling — only for materials you make (HALB/FERT)
| Field | Example | Why you fill it |
|---|---|---|
| Production Scheduler | PK1 | Who runs the shop floor for it (config code). |
| Production Storage Location | WIPS / FNGD | Where the production order puts the finished output by default. |
| In-house Production Time | 2 days | How long a lot takes — drives scheduling dates. |
Accounting 1 — the bridge to Finance (valuated materials)
| Field | Example | Why you fill it |
|---|---|---|
| Valuation Class | 3000 | The single most important FI field. Via OBYC it decides which G/L account every stock posting hits. Wrong class → wrong G/L. Press F4 — SAP lists only the classes allowed for your material type. |
| Price Control | V or S | How SAP values the stock. V = moving average (use for bought goods — price varies per delivery). S = standard (use for made goods — a fixed plan price; differences post as variances). |
| Moving price / Standard price | 250000 | The money value of one base unit (₨/TO). With S you must enter a value; with V SAP updates it from each goods receipt. |
| Price Unit | 1 | The price is "per N units" (per 1 TO here). |
Costing 1/2 & Sales — for made / sold goods
| Field (view) | Example | Why you fill it |
|---|---|---|
| With Qty Structure (Costing 1) | ✔ | Lets SAP cost the material automatically from its BOM + routing. |
| Profit Center (Costing 1) | PSPK-PC | Assigns the material's results to a profit center. S/4HANA expects one. |
| Sales Org / Distr. Channel (Sales 1) | PKLO / 10 | Which sales channel can sell it — only for sold goods (FERT/HAWA). |
| Tax classification, Item category group (Sales) | defaults | How it's taxed and how it behaves on a sales order. |
📦 What changes per material type
The flow above is identical for all of them. Only these few things differ. (For valuation class, the safe move is always F4 — SAP only offers the classes allowed for that type.)
| Type | What it is | Buy/Make | Key views to pick | Val. class | Price ctrl | Proc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROH | Raw material (bought, consumed) | Buy | Basic, Purchasing, MRP, Accounting | 3000 | V | F |
| HALB | Semi-finished (made in-house) | Make | Basic, MRP, Work Sched, Accounting, Costing | 7900 | S | E |
| FERT | Finished good (made, sold) | Make+Sell | Basic, Sales, MRP, Work Sched, Accounting, Costing | 7920 | S | E |
| HAWA | Trading good (bought to resell) | Buy+Sell | Basic, Purchasing, Sales, Accounting | 3100 | V | F |
| ERSA | Spare part (stocked) | Buy | Basic, Purchasing, MRP, Accounting | F4 | V | F |
| VERP | Packaging | Buy | Basic, Purchasing, Accounting | F4 | V | F |
| UNBW | Non-valuated (qty only, no value) | Buy | Basic, Purchasing, Storage | — none | — | F |
| NLAG | Non-stock (never inventoried) | Buy | Basic, Purchasing | — none | — | F |
UNBW tracks quantity but no money (no Accounting valuation). NLAG isn't stocked at all — its PO is account-assigned (charged straight to a cost center), so it has no MRP/Accounting stock views.
⚠️ Two "materials" that are NOT made in MM01
- ANLA (asset) — e.g. a CNC machine. An asset is its own master record: create with AS01, then buy it with an account-assigned PO (account assignment
A= asset). No MM01. - DIEN (service) — e.g. consulting. Use a service master (AC03) with a service PO (item category
D) and a service entry sheet (ML81N). The DIEN material type exists but has no stock/value.
🚨 First-timer errors & fixes
| Message / symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Valuation class … not allowed" | Class not linked to this material type | F4 to pick an allowed class; or OMSK (rare in IDES) |
| "Enter MRP controller / scheduler / margin key" | That config key doesn't exist for PK01 | Create it once (OMD0 / OPPF / OPJ9), then return |
| "Standard price must be > 0" | Price control S needs a value | Type a standard price on Accounting 1 |
| Fields are greyed / can't type | You're in display (MM03) or didn't select the view | Use MM01/MM02; tick the view |
| "Material already exists" | It's already created | Switch to MM02 to change it |
✅ Check it worked
- MM03 → open the material → your selected views are filled.
- SE16N →
MARA(the material itself) ·MARC(per plant) ·MBEW(valuation: class + price control + price) ·MARD(stock per storage location).
▶ Worked examples
See this guide applied end-to-end: Create the Production Materials (HALB billet + FERT rebar) · Create the Remaining Scenario Materials (trading, spares, packaging, non-stock, service, asset, Z) · Scenario 1 step 1.1 (raw material RM-IRON-01). Full type reference: Material Master.