Phase 6 — Inventory Management & Physical Inventory
🎯 In plain words
❓ Why it matters
If the stock figure is wrong, everything downstream breaks: MRP orders the wrong quantity, production stops, the balance sheet's inventory value is misstated, and auditors raise flags. IM is also heavily tested on the exam — movement types and stock types come up a lot.
🧠 Key concepts you must know
1. Every stock change = a movement type
A movement type is a 3-digit code that tells SAP what kind of stock change happened and which accounts to hit. The ones to know cold:
| Mvt | What |
|---|---|
| 101 / 102 | Goods receipt / reverse |
| 122 / 161 | Return to vendor |
| 201 / 261 | Goods issue to cost center / production order |
| 311 | Transfer between storage locations (no FI) |
| 309 | Material-to-material transfer |
| 561 | Initial stock upload |
| 701 / 702 | Physical-inventory surplus / shortage |
Where movement types are configured/allowed: OMJJ. Goods movements are posted in MIGO (or MB1A/MB1B/MB1C).
2. Stock types — "is this stock usable?"
- Unrestricted — free to use/sell.
- Quality inspection — received but blocked until QM releases it.
- Blocked — rejected / on hold.
- Special stocks — consignment (vendor-owned), subcontracting (at vendor), project, etc.
3. Reservations & reports
- Reservation (MB21) — "set this stock aside for a future issue."
- Stock reports: MMBE (stock overview), MB52 (warehouse stock), MB51 (movement history).
4. Physical Inventory — the count cycle
- Create count document MI01 — the sheet the counters use.
- Enter the counted quantity MI04.
- Post the difference MI07 — SAP corrects the book stock (mvt 701/702) and posts the value gain/loss to the P&L. (List of differences: MI20.)
🛠️ Do it now — practise alongside
Don't just read — go post these in your IDES. Theory sticks once you've done it:
Scenario 3 — Goods Issue & Transfers (201/261/311/309) Movement-type cheat sheet Scenario 2 — Return to Vendor (122/161)Then run a mini physical-inventory cycle on RM-IRON-01: MI01 → MI04 (enter a slightly different count) → MI07, and watch the difference post.
🔗 Connects to
- Phase 8 — Valuation & OBYC: each movement type uses OBYC to find the right G/L. (See also Accounting 101.)
- Phase 7 — Invoice Verification: the GR you post here is one leg of the 3-way match.
- Phase 11 — MRP: planning reads your stock figures to decide what to buy.
- Phase 3 — Master Data: stock always sits against a material + plant + storage location.
🎓 Cert focus & quick recall
C_TS452 area ④. Expect questions on what a given movement type does, stock-type transitions, and the physical-inventory sequence.
Which movement type posts a goods issue to a cost center, and what's the accounting?
201 — Consumption (expense) debit, Inventory credit; charged to the cost center. (261 is the same but to a production order.)
Why does a 311 transfer post no accounting document?
It moves stock between storage locations within the same plant — valuation is at plant level, so the value doesn't change; only the storage-location quantity updates.
Walk through the physical inventory cycle.
MI01 create count doc → MI04 enter counted qty → MI07 post difference (book stock corrected via 701/702, value gain/loss to P&L). MI20 lists differences.
Name the three main stock types.
Unrestricted (usable), Quality Inspection (blocked pending QM), Blocked (rejected/on hold).
✅ You're ready to move on when…
- You can name what 101/122/201/311/561/701 each do without looking.
- You've posted a goods issue, a transfer, and a physical-inventory difference in IDES.
- You can explain why a transfer (311) has no FI impact but an issue (201) does.