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SAP QM Material Master
SAP QM Material Master
The Material Master is the trigger point for inspection lot generation in SAP QM. Whether a goods receipt creates an inspection lot, what inspection plan is used, and whether a certificate is required — all of this is controlled from this master. This article covers the Material Master’s structure, views, organizational levels, and the field-level detail QM consultants must own.
Part 1: Material Master — Core Concepts (All Modules)
1.1 What Is the Material Master?
The Material Master is the central repository that stores all information about every material (item/product) a company handles — raw materials, semi-finished goods, finished products, consumables, and everything else that flows through the enterprise.
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Role | Single Source of Truth for all material attributes across the enterprise |
| Modules using it | MM (Purchasing, Inventory), PP (Production Planning, MRP, BOM), SD (Sales, Shipping, ATP), WM/EWM (Warehouse Mgmt, Putaway/Pick), QM (Quality Inspection, CoA), FI (Inventory Valuation, Auto Posting), CO (Standard Cost, Variance Analysis), PM (Plant Maintenance, MRO Procurement), PS (Project Procurement, Material Allocation), CS (Customer Service, Spare Parts), EHS (Hazardous Material Mgmt, Environmental Compliance), GTS (Trade Compliance, HS Code, Export Control) |
| Transactions | MM01 (Create) / MM02 (Change) / MM03 (Display) |
| S/4HANA change | Material number length extended from 18 to 40 digits (MATNR field) |
1.2 Three Defining Axes: Material Type × Industry Sector × Views
The structure of a Material Master record is determined by the combination of three axes:
| Axis | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Material Type | Classifies the material. Controls screen layout, number assignment, and valuation method | ROH, FERT, HALB |
| Industry Sector | Industry branch. Controls which fields are displayed based on industry characteristics | M (Mechanical), C (Chemical), A (Automotive) |
| Views | Data sets organized by department. Only relevant views need to be extended | Basic Data, MRP, Accounting |
Important: Once created, Material Type and Industry Sector cannot be changed as a general rule. Lock these in during design.
1.3 Key Material Types
| Code | Name | Use Case | Stock-Managed | Qty / Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROH | Raw Material | Input materials | Yes | Both |
| HALB | Semi-Finished | Internally produced intermediates | Yes | Both |
| FERT | Finished Product | Internally produced / sold goods | Yes | Both |
| HAWA | Trading Goods | Buy-and-sell merchandise | Yes | Both |
| HIBE | Operating Supplies | Indirect materials, consumables | Yes | Both |
| DIEN | Service | Service items | No | Value only |
| NLAG | Non-Stock | No inventory management | No | — |
| UNBW | Non-Valuated | Quantity tracking only | Yes | Qty only |
1.4 View Structure
The Material Master is divided into department-specific Views. Only the views required by each department need to be extended. Approximately 30 standard views exist; the views to extend are selected based on Material Type and business requirements.
| # | View | Owning Dept | Key Fields | Org Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basic Data 1 | Cross-module | Material description, Base UoM, Material group, Weight/Volume | Client |
| 2 | Basic Data 2 | Cross-module | Dimensions, EAN/UPC, Old material number, Division | Client |
| 3 | Classification | Cross-module | Class assignment, Characteristic values | Client |
| 4 | Purchasing | Purchasing (MM) | Purchasing group, Order unit, GR processing time, Source list required flag | Plant |
| 5 | Purchase Order Text | Purchasing (MM) | PO text, Text ID, Language | Plant |
| 6 | Foreign Trade: Import | Purchasing (MM) / GTS | Country of origin, HS code (import), CAS number, Import license | Plant |
| 7 | MRP 1 | Purchasing / PP (MM/PP) | MRP type, MRP controller, Lot size, Reorder point | Plant |
| 8 | MRP 2 | Purchasing / PP (MM/PP) | Procurement type, Special procurement, Planned delivery time, Safety stock | Plant |
| 9 | MRP 3 | Purchasing / PP (MM/PP) | Strategy group, Consumption mode, Availability check | Plant |
| 10 | MRP 4 | PP-oriented | BOM selection, Individual/collective requirements, Discontinuation flag | Plant |
| 11 | Forecasting | Purchasing / PP (MM/PP) | Forecast model, Historical/forecast periods, Smoothing factors | Plant |
| 12 | Work Scheduling | Production (PP) | Production unit, Receiving storage location, In-house production time | Plant |
| 13 | Production Resources/Tools | Production (PP) | Production resource/tool data | Plant |
| 14 | General Plant Data / Storage 1 | Inventory (MM) / EHS | Plant-specific material status, Storage conditions, Hazardous material number, EHS hazard data | Plant |
| 15 | General Plant Data / Storage 2 | Inventory (MM) | Shelf life management, Minimum remaining shelf life, Temperature conditions | Plant |
| 16 | Warehouse Management 1 | Warehouse (WM/EWM) | Warehouse number, Storage type, Storage section | Warehouse |
| 17 | Warehouse Management 2 | Warehouse (WM/EWM) | Picking type, WM unit of measure | Warehouse |
| 18 | Quality Management | Quality (QM) | QM procurement key, Inspection type, Certificate type | Plant |
| 19 | Accounting 1 | Finance (FI) | Valuation class, Price control (S/V), Standard price / Moving average price | Valuation Area |
| 20 | Accounting 2 | Finance (FI) | Tax-based valuation, Commercial valuation, Devaluation flag | Valuation Area |
| 21 | Costing 1 | Controlling (CO) | Costing lot size, With/without quantity structure, Variance key | Plant |
| 22 | Costing 2 | Controlling (CO) | Standard cost (Future/Current/Previous), Costing status | Plant |
| 23 | Sales: Sales Org 1 | Sales (SD) | Sales unit, Tax classification, Item category group | Sales Org / DCh |
| 24 | Sales: Sales Org 2 | Sales (SD) | Material statistics group, Material group 1–5 | Sales Org / DCh |
| 25 | Sales: General/Plant | Sales (SD) | Delivering plant, Transportation group, Loading group, Profit center | Plant |
| 26 | Sales Text | Sales (SD) | Sales/shipping texts | Client |
| 27 | Foreign Trade: Export | Trade (SD/GTS) | HS code (export), Export statistics group, Preference status, Export control | Plant |
| 28 | Plant Stock | Reference (display only) | Plant stock quantity / value (read-only) | Plant |
| 29 | Storage Location Stock | Reference (display only) | Storage location-level stock (read-only) | Storage Loc |
| 30 | Environment (EHS) | EHS | Hazardous substance regulations, Waste code | Plant |
1.5 Organizational Levels and Data Hierarchy
Each view stores its data at a different organizational level. This is the core design challenge of the Material Master.
Client (300)
│
├── Basic Data, Classification ← Client-level (one record for entire enterprise)
│
├── Plant (1000, 2000, ...)
│ │
│ ├── MRP, Purchasing, Work Scheduling ← Plant-level
│ │
│ ├── Storage Location (0001, 0002, ...)
│ │ └── Storage Data ← Storage Location-level
│ │
│ └── Warehouse Number (WH1, ...)
│ └── WM Data ← Warehouse-level
│
├── Valuation Area = Plant ← Accounting is typically at Plant level
│ └── Valuation class, Standard cost
│
└── Sales Org × Distribution Channel
└── Sales Data ← Sales Org-level| Org Level | Primary Use | Representative Fields | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client | Enterprise-wide common attributes | Material description, Base UoM, Classification | One record shared across entire enterprise |
| Company Code | Financial accounting unit | Accounting View (valuation class, price control) | When Valuation Area = Company Code |
| Controlling Area | Management accounting unit | Costing View (cost estimate, variance analysis) | May span multiple Company Codes |
| Purchasing Organization | Purchasing org unit | Purchasing Info Record (price, conditions) | Material Master itself is at Plant level; purchase conditions are at Purch. Org level |
| Plant | Factory / site unit | MRP, Purchasing, Work Scheduling, General Plant Data | The primary level with the most views |
| Purchasing Group | Buyer group | Purchasing View: Purchasing Group (EKGRP) | Buyer group within a Plant; starting point for PO release strategy routing |
| Valuation Area | Inventory valuation unit | Accounting 1 (valuation class, standard price) | Typically = Plant; Company Code-level valuation is also configurable |
| Storage Location | Storage area unit | General Plant Data / Storage (storage location stock) | Warehouse / bin area within a Plant |
| Warehouse Number | Warehouse management unit | WM View (storage type, picking strategy) | Used in Plants with WM/EWM |
| Sales Organization | Sales org unit | Sales: Sales Org View (sales unit, tax classification) | Keyed together with Distribution Channel |
| Distribution Channel | Distribution channel unit | Sales: Sales Org View | Extended in combination with Sales Org |
| (GTS reference) | Trade compliance management | Foreign Trade View (HS code, country of origin, export control) | No GTS-specific org level key in Material Master; GTS references the Foreign Trade View data |
Part 2: QM-Specific View Details (Quality Management)
2.0 All Views × QM Involvement
| # | View | Primary Module | QM Involvement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basic Data 1 | Cross-module | ○ |
| 2 | Basic Data 2 | Cross-module | △ |
| 3 | Classification | Cross-module | ○ (batch classification for QM characteristics) |
| 4 | Purchasing | MM | ○ (GR triggers inspection lot) |
| 5 | Purchase Order Text | MM | × |
| 6 | Foreign Trade: Import | MM | × |
| 7 | MRP 1 | MM / PP | × |
| 8 | MRP 2 | MM / PP | × |
| 9 | MRP 3 | MM / PP | × |
| 10 | MRP 4 | PP | × |
| 11 | Forecasting | MM / PP | × |
| 12 | Work Scheduling | PP | △ (in-process inspection) |
| 13 | Production Resources/Tools | PP | × |
| 14 | General Plant Data / Storage 1 | MM | ○ (shelf life, hazmat) |
| 15 | General Plant Data / Storage 2 | MM | ○ (SLED management) |
| 16 | Warehouse Management 1 | WM / EWM | △ (inspection stock in warehouse) |
| 17 | Warehouse Management 2 | WM / EWM | △ |
| 18 | Quality Management | QM | ◎ (Owner) |
| 19 | Accounting 1 | FI | × |
| 20 | Accounting 2 | FI | × |
| 21 | Costing 1 | CO | × |
| 22 | Costing 2 | CO | × |
| 23 | Sales: Sales Org 1 | SD | × |
| 24 | Sales: Sales Org 2 | SD | × |
| 25 | Sales: General/Plant | SD | × |
| 26 | Sales Text | SD | × |
| 27 | Foreign Trade: Export | SD / GTS | × |
| 28 | Plant Stock | Reference | — |
| 29 | Storage Location Stock | Reference | — |
| 30 | Environment (EHS) | EHS | △ |
Legend: ◎ = Owner / Critical, ○ = Direct involvement, △ = Reference / Integration, × = Other module owns, — = Display-only view
2.1 Quality Management View
The control center for QM integration in the Material Master. Every field here directly determines whether and how inspections are triggered.
| Field | Description | Practical Usage |
|---|---|---|
| QM Material Authorization | QM active flag | Must be explicitly set per Plant to activate QM for this material. Without this flag, no inspection lot is created regardless of other QM settings. First checkpoint when “inspection lots are not being created” is reported. |
| QM Procurement Active | GR inspection activation | When checked, the system automatically creates an inspection lot at every GR for this material. The inspection lot places the received quantity in “Inspection Stock” — physically unrestricted but logistically blocked until a Usage Decision (UD) is posted. Unchecking stops GR inspection without affecting the material’s QM View setup. |
| QM Control Key | Inspection behavior bundle | A Customizing key that defines: whether a certificate is required at GR, whether the inspection lot is created automatically or manually, whether the stock is placed in restricted-use or unrestricted stock while inspection is pending, and whether a UD is mandatory before transfer to unrestricted. Design one Control Key per inspection scenario (e.g., critical supplier = mandatory UD + certificate required; standard supplier = auto-UD without certificate). |
| Inspection Setup — Inspection Type 01 | GR inspection from Purchase Order | The most common QM entry point. When activated here, every GR from a PO creates an inspection lot of type 01. Links to the Inspection Plan with Usage 5 (General) or Usage 2 (Plant Maintenance), depending on configuration. |
| Inspection Setup — Inspection Type 04 | GI inspection (outbound) | Activates quality gate at goods issue (e.g., before shipping to customer). Less common than GR inspection but used in high-spec manufacturing where outbound quality confirmation is contractually required. |
| Inspection Setup — Inspection Type 10 | Recurring (periodic) re-inspection | Triggers periodic re-inspection of stored stock based on the Next Inspection Date. Used for materials with defined stability periods (pharmaceuticals, adhesives, lubricants). Requires the “Inspection Interval” to be defined in the Inspection Plan. |
| Inspection Setup — Inspection Type 89 | Repeat re-inspection | Used when a previous inspection lot was rejected and needs to be re-inspected after corrective action. Manually triggered — not automatic. |
| Certificate Type | Required certificate at GR | Defines the type of certificate required from the supplier at goods receipt (e.g., Certificate of Analysis, Mill Test Certificate, Conformance Certificate). If the certificate is not received, the GR posting can be blocked or flagged. Links to the Quality Info Record per supplier. |
| Post to Inspection Stock | Stock posting behavior | Controls whether GR-inspected stock is posted to “Inspection Stock” (logistically visible but blocked for consumption) or directly to “Unrestricted Stock” (when Auto-UD is configured). Design the stock type behavior together with MM and warehouse teams — unexpected stock type assignments cause picking failures. |
2.2 Purchasing View — QM-Relevant Fields
| Field | Description | Practical Usage |
|---|---|---|
| GR Processing Time | Days for GR processing | For QM-inspected materials, this should reflect the inspection lead time (sampling + testing + UD). MRP uses this in planning calculations — underestimating inspection time causes material shortages because MRP does not account for stock sitting in Inspection Stock. |
2.3 General Plant Data / Storage 1 — QM-Relevant Fields
| Field | Description | Practical Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf Life Expiration Date Required | SLED entry at GR | When checked, the system requires entry of the expiration date (SLED) at GR. This data feeds QM’s recurring inspection trigger (Inspection Type 10) and FEFO picking in WM/EWM. Mandatory for pharma, food, and chemical materials. |
| Minimum Remaining Shelf Life | Acceptance threshold | If the incoming lot’s remaining shelf life is below this value, QM can block the inspection lot from being transferred to unrestricted stock. Works in combination with the QM Control Key that checks SLED at GR. |
| Hazardous Material Number | EHS reference | QM may need to define special handling procedures for hazardous materials during inspection (e.g., fume hood required, PPE specification). The Hazmat Number links to the EHS master for safety data. |
2.4 General Plant Data / Storage 2 — QM-Relevant Fields
| Field | Description | Practical Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Total Shelf Life | Total life from manufacturing date | Used to calculate the SLED when the supplier provides a manufacturing date but not an explicit expiration date. The system adds Total Shelf Life (days) to the manufacturing date to derive the SLED — verify this calculation with the QM team for each material category. |
| Period Indicator for SLED | SLED unit (D/M/Y) | Must be consistent with how the Inspection Plan’s recurring inspection interval is defined. Mixing day-based shelf life with month-based recurring inspection intervals causes incorrect next inspection date calculations. |
2.5 Classification View — QM-Relevant
Batch classification (Class Type 023) is the bridge between QM inspection results and inventory management.
| Field | Description | Practical Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Batch Class (Class Type 023) | Batch-level QM characteristics | Assign a Batch Class to the material to enable recording of QM result values (e.g., purity %, particle size) directly on the batch. These values can then drive FEFO-like selection based on quality criteria (e.g., always use the highest-purity batch first). Required for materials where inspection results must be searchable in batch inventory. |
| Characteristics (on Batch Class) | Measurable quality attributes | Examples: assay %, moisture content, viscosity, color index. Characteristics recorded on the batch during QM results recording become searchable and reportable across all stock — enabling quality-driven picking (not just FEFO but “best quality first” or “specification-matched”). |
What to Read Next
L1) Big Picture
| ID | Category | Title |
|---|---|---|
| qm-001 | Overview | What is SAP QM? |
L2-A) Master Data
| ID | Category | Title |
|---|---|---|
| qm-a01 | Overview | SAP QM Master Data: Overview, Hierarchy & Relationships |
| qm-a02-01 | Master Data | SAP QM Catalog |
| qm-a02-02 | Master Data | SAP QM Master Inspection Characteristic |
| qm-a02-03 | Master Data | SAP QM Inspection Method |
| qm-a03-01 | Master Data | SAP QM Sampling Procedure |
| qm-a03-02 | Master Data | SAP QM Dynamic Modification Rule |
| qm-a05-01 | Master Data | SAP QM Material Master |
| qm-a04-01 | Master Data | SAP QM Work Center |
| qm-a04-02 | Master Data | SAP QM Inspection Plan |
| qm-a05-02 | Master Data | SAP QM Quality Info Record |
L2-B) Transaction
| ID | Category | Title |
|---|---|---|
| qm-b01 | Overview | SAP QM Transactions: Process Flow, Hierarchy & Relationships |