The Stock requirement list is used to display the real time stock situation and all the demand and supply elements. This is (arguably) the most important report for the logistics function in SAP as it displays anything and everything happening in the logistics area. This is a dynamic list which displays real time situation every time the report is executed using the Transaction Code: MD04.

Demand Elements: MRP elements which generates the requirement for the material stock and thus credit (or reduce) the stock in the Plant or warehouse is called as Demand elements. Demand Elements are, thus, represented as ‘-ve’ stock in Stock Requirement list (Transaction Code: MD04).

Some of the most common Demand elements which are displayed in MD04 are as follows:

• Concrete demands for Finished Goods from customer in terms of Sales order or schedule lines
• Planned Independent Requirements for Finished Goods coming up from S&OP – Sales forecast.
• Material Reservations
• Dependent Requirements for a Semi finished or Raw material.

Supply elements: MRP elements which fulfills the requirements and thus debit (or add) the stock in the Plant or warehouse is called a supply element. Supply elements are represented with ‘+ve’ stock in Stock Requirement list (Transaction Code: MD04).

Some of the most common Supply elements which are displayed in MD04 are as follows:

• Purchase Requisition for externally procured materials which are then converted to Purchase order
• Planned order for inhouse produced materials which are subsequently converted to Production order.

Figure 1: Stock Requirement List

The first row always displays the ‘Stock’ which is the current stock in the plant.

The stock requirement list displays various fields like Date, MRP Element, MRP Element data, Rescheduling date, exception message, Receipt/Requirement Quantity, Available quantity, storage location and production version.  You can also display Vendor and customer.

Date displays the of the demand/supply element.

MRP Element displays the demand/supply element like independent requirement, planned order, sales order, delivery, production order etc.

MRP Element data displays a lot of information for the MRP element like:

• The customer order number, delivery number, planned order number, production order number etc.
• The requirement type for the Independent requirement like VSF, LSF etc. which displays if the requirement is for make-to order or make-to stock scenario.
• If the planned order is firmed.
• Displays the production order number and order type. It also displays if the order has been released.

Receipt/Requirement Quantity displays the quantity of the demand/supply element. Demand elements quantities are displayed as negative while supply element quantities are displayed as positive.

Available Quantity displays the net stock that would be available on a date based on demand & supply elements.

The system generates the exception messages to attract Planner’s attention. The planner can double click on the exception message and view the details of the exception message at the bottom of the screen. In the Figure 1, we can see the exception message ‘10’ which means ‘Reschedule In’ which is one of the most common exception messages a planner would observe. Another common exception message is ‘15’ which means ‘Reschedule Out’. For rescheduling exception messages, system proposes a date in the Rescheduling Date’ column.

Table below shows a list of exception messages available in Stock Requirement list together with the selection groups:

Table: Exception messages

Figure 2: Order Report

You can click on the button ‘Show Overview Tree’ to display ‘Order Report as shown in Figure 2. You can display all the components which are required for the order. This is a multilevel report which displays the components and their receipt elements. The order report can help you determine any potential issues in production of the assemblies or procurement of the components. The order report can also be executed using the Transaction Code: MD4C.

There is a common misconception that Stock Requirement list is relevant for production planners or production supervisor only. However, the fact is that MD04 is the most important report as it gives a quick snapshot of everything happing within the supply chain. It displays information not only for production but also from other business functions like sales and distribution, materials management, inventory management, quality management etc.