Scenario 10 — Consignment Procurement (Vendor Stock at Our Plant)

TIER 4 · SPECIAL PROCUREMENT ★★★★☆ ⏱️ ~2 hours ME11 (cons info) → MIGO (101-K/411-K) → MRKO
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⚠️ Not yet live-tested
This page is built from researched standard-SAP content and has not yet been executed end-to-end in our IDES. The T-codes, fields, and accounts follow SAP standard but may need small adjustments on your S/4HANA 2023 system — we'll confirm and correct them when you run this scenario live. Hit a snag? See the Troubleshooting Center.

📊 Business Case — When & Why You Use This

Consignment is a special procurement model where a vendor parks their own stock at your site, but the goods stay the vendor's property until you actually withdraw and consume them. You only create a payable at the moment of consumption — not at receipt. It's the classic "use it, then pay for it" arrangement, and Pakistani textile and construction businesses lean on it heavily for high-volume raw materials.

🕐 When to use it

When a supplier agrees to stage material at your plant or DC and bill you only for what you draw — common for cement, fasteners, packaging, and other fast-moving raw materials you want on hand without tying up cash.

❓ Why it matters

It frees up working capital: stock is available immediately but you carry no liability and no expense until you consume it. Cash flow improves because payment is deferred to actual usage, settled periodically via MRKO.

👤 Who triggers it

Purchasing sets up the consignment info record and arranges delivery; the storekeeper receives special stock K; production/maintenance consume it; accounts payable run the periodic MRKO settlement.

🔁 The key distinction

The vendor owns the stock until you withdraw it. Goods receipt creates no liability — the payable is born only at consumption (and paid only at MRKO settlement). Until then you hold the vendor's goods on your shelf at zero cost.

💰 Financial Impact — The Easy-Money Example

DG Cement places 2000 bags of cement (₨650/bag) at PakSteel's Karachi DC on consignment. Watch when the money actually moves — the receipt is a non-event, and liability only appears the moment cement is withdrawn:

📥 Goods Receipt (mvt 101-K)
No liability
2000 bags arrive as vendor consignment stock. It's on your shelf but on DG Cement's books — you owe nothing.
🔥 Consume 500 bags (mvt 201-K)
Expense ↑   Liability ↑
500 × ₨650 = ₨325,000 hits Consumption and creates a Vendor Consignment Liability — the moment you owe.
📄 Settlement (MRKO)
Liability → AP
Monthly MRKO turns the consignment liability into a normal vendor invoice you pay via F-53/F110.

The big idea: with consignment, receiving stock is financially silent — no expense, no payable. The liability is created only at consumption (201-K), and it's only converted into a payable invoice at the periodic MRKO run. That deferral is exactly why consignment improves cash flow versus buying outright.

💡 Key lesson: In consignment, the goods receipt posts nothing to FI. Liability arises at consumption and only becomes a real payable at MRKO settlement — so you finance nothing until you actually use the material.

🇵🇰 The Business Story

DG Cement places 2000 bags of cement at PakSteel's Karachi DC on consignment. Cement remains DG Cement's property; PakSteel only pays when they actually consume/withdraw from consignment stock. Pakistani textile and construction industries use this heavily for raw materials.

🎯 What you'll learn

📦 Material needed — create first (just-in-time)

HAWA-CEMENT-01 (HAWA, trading good — bought to resell) — create steps. First time? the why behind every field.

🔧 Step-by-Step

📦 Master Data

10.1 — Create Consignment Info Record · ME11
  1. ME11 · Vendor VEN-CONSIG (DG Cement) · Material HAWA-CEMENT-01 · Purch Org PKLO · Plant PK01
  2. Info Category: Consignment (option 2 on selection screen)
  3. Net Price: 650 PKR/bag · Validity from-to
  4. Save

🔄 Transaction Flow

10.2 — Receive consignment stock · MIGO mvt 101 with Special Stock K
  1. MIGO · Goods Receipt · "Other" (no PO needed — info record is enough)
  2. Mvt 101 · Material HAWA-CEMENT-01 · Qty 2000 BAG · Plant PK01 · SLoc GNRL
  3. Special Stock Indicator: K (Vendor Consignment) · Vendor: VEN-CONSIG
  4. Post

FI effect: NONE. No expense, no liability. Stock visible only as "vendor consignment" in MMBE.

10.3 — Consume consignment stock · mvt 201-K (consumption with K)
  1. MIGO · Goods Issue · Mvt 201 · Special Stock K · Vendor VEN-CONSIG
  2. Material HAWA-CEMENT-01 · Qty 500 BAG · Cost Center: any (e.g., PKKHI-MAINT)
  3. Post

NOW liability is created:

Consumption (410000)Dr 325,000 (500 × 650)Cost Ctr
Vendor Consignment Liability (160100)Cr 325,000
10.4 — Periodic settlement · MRKO

Monthly: settle consigment liability into a normal vendor invoice for payment.

  1. MRKO · Company Code PSPK · Vendor VEN-CONSIG · Plant PK01
  2. Settlement Period (this month)
  3. Execute → creates an invoice doc → vendor liability moves from "consignment" to "AP"

Pay normally via F-53/F110.

✅ Verification — Confirm Scenario 10 Worked

🎓 Interview-Ready Answers

Q: When is a liability created in consignment procurement?

Not at goods receipt — receiving consignment stock (mvt 101 with special stock K) posts no FI document, because the goods are still the vendor's property. The liability is created only at consumption (mvt 201-K): the system debits a consumption account and credits a Vendor Consignment Liability account. That liability is then converted into a real payable at periodic MRKO settlement.

Q: What is special stock indicator K and how do you see it?

K is "vendor consignment" — stock physically at your plant but owned by the vendor and valued at the consignment info-record price. It's tracked per vendor, not in your own valuated stock, so it appears in the Vendor Consignment column of MMBE and in the consignment stock report MB54, not in your normal inventory G/L.

Q: What does MRKO do?

MRKO settles consignment (and pipeline) withdrawals for a period. It takes the accumulated consumption that posted against the consignment liability and creates a vendor invoice document, moving the balance from the consignment liability account into normal accounts payable so it can be paid via F-53 or F110.

Q: Why does consignment improve cash flow versus buying outright?

Because payment is deferred to actual usage. Buying outright creates a payable at goods receipt whether or not you use the material. Consignment lets you hold stock on your shelf at no cost, create a liability only when you consume, and pay only after the periodic MRKO settlement — so working capital isn't tied up in idle inventory.

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Scenario 9: Subcontracting
Next →
Scenario 11: Pipeline Material