MM / P2Pbeginner

MM Material Master Part 1: Views, Material Types and Organizational Levels

Key takeaway

The material master is the central record for everything you buy, make, store and sell. Learn its views, how material types (ROH, HALB, FERT, HAWA, NLAG, DIEN) control views and valuation, which organizational level each view belongs to, and how to create and extend materials.

What this complete series covers

Learn Material Master in a clear, practical sequence — from the basic idea to real project use, troubleshooting, and interview-ready understanding.

Who it is for: Best for SAP consultants, developers, and learners who want a practical understanding of Material Master.
Prerequisites: Basic SAP S/4HANA navigation and an understanding of the business process are helpful. Configuration or transaction steps require suitable access to a practice or project system.
Final outcome: By the end, you should be able to explain Material Master clearly, follow the main end-to-end flow, apply it in a project scenario, and troubleshoot the most common issues.

Part 1: MM Material Master Part 1: Views, Material Types and Organizational Levels
Understand how one material master is split into views and organizational levels so general data, plant-specific planning, storage, purchasing, sales, accounting, and costing can b
Part 2: MM Material Master Part 2: Purchasing and MRP Fields That Drive Procurement
Learn how purchasing and MRP fields in the material master influence procurement proposals, source selection, lot sizing, delivery planning, safety stock, order units, tolerances,
Part 3: MM Material Master Part 3: Material Type, Valuation Class and Accounting Control
Understand how material type and valuation data govern quantity/value updating and how valuation class becomes a key input to automatic G/L account determination for goods movements.
Part 4: MM Material Master Part 4: How Material Master, Info Records and Source Lists Work Together
Connect the material master with purchasing info records, source lists, quota arrangements, and source determination so procurement master data is designed as one sourcing model ra
Part 5: MM Material Master Part 5: S/4HANA Material Governance, Migration and Data Quality
Treat material migration as a governed business-data transformation: define field ownership, organizational extension, duplicate prevention, valuation controls, source dependencies

System and release assumptions: Examples focus on SAP S/4HANA. Exact apps, transaction codes, configuration paths, and field names can vary by release and deployment model.

Explanation

📌 KEY POINTS
✅ One material number, many views: basic data, purchasing, MRP, storage, accounting, costing, sales, quality.
✅ Views sit at organizational levels: client (basic), plant (purchasing, MRP), storage location, valuation area (accounting), sales area (sales).
✅ Material type controls allowed views, number range, quantity/value updating and default price control.
✅ A material must be extended to each plant/storage location/sales area where it is used.
⚠️ Choosing the wrong material type drives wrong postings and missing views — it is hard to change later.

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▶ WHAT THIS SERIES COVERS
Part 1: Views, material types and organizational levels
Part 2: Purchasing and MRP fields that drive procurement
Part 3: Material type, valuation class and accounting control
Part 4: How material master, info records and source lists work together
Part 5: S/4HANA material master governance, migration and data quality

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▶ 1. VIEWS

Basic data (description, base unit, material group, weight).
Purchasing, MRP 1–4, storage, accounting, costing, sales, QM.

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▶ 2. ORGANIZATIONAL LEVELS

Client: basic data. Plant: purchasing, MRP, storage (plant part).
Storage location: storage data. Valuation area: accounting.

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▶ 3. MATERIAL TYPES

ROH raw material, HALB semi-finished, FERT finished, HAWA trading goods, NLAG non-stock, DIEN service, ERSA spare parts.
Controls views, number range, quantity/value update, price control.

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▶ 4. CREATING AND EXTENDING

MM01 create, MM02 change, MM03 display; extend by creating new views for new org levels.
In S/4HANA: product master (Fiori apps) on the same data.

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▶ 5. MATERIAL GROUP AND UNITS

Material group for reporting and account assignment; base unit and alternative units (order unit).

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▶ STEP BY STEP

Create a ROH material with basic, purchasing, MRP and accounting views for plant 1000.
Extend it to plant 1100.
Display it in MM03 per org level.

✅ CHECKPOINT: the material can be ordered, received and valued in both plants.

Code example

ABAP Code

===== STEP 1: create =====MM01: material type ROH, industry sector MViews: Basic 1/2, Purchasing, MRP 1–4, Plant data/storage, Accounting 1/2 | org levels: plant 1000, sloc 0001 ===== STEP 2: material type examples =====ROH  raw material     | valuated, purchased, no sales view by defaultHALB semi-finished    | produced and purchasedFERT finished product | produced, soldHAWA trading goods    | purchased and soldNLAG non-stock        | not valuated (no stock value)DIEN service          | no quantity/value update ===== STEP 3: extend =====MM01 with existing material number → plant 1100 → select views

Real project scenario

A spare part was created as ROH instead of ERSA/its own spare type; stock posted to the raw-material inventory account and MRP planned it like production input. Reporting and costs were wrong for months. The company introduced a material type decision guide and a review step for new materials.

Common mistakes

Wrong material type.
Forgetting to extend to new plants.
Missing accounting view.
Inconsistent units of measure.
Descriptions without standards.

Best practices

Use a material type decision guide.
Extend views systematically.
Standardize units and descriptions.
Review new materials.
Use mass maintenance for extensions.

Interview angle

Questions: "What are material master views?", "What does the material type control?", "At which level is MRP data maintained?"
Strong answer: views per org level, material types controlling views/number ranges/value update/price control, extension to plants, S/4HANA product master.

Practice this lesson

Quick check

1. When creating a material master record, which combination of entries is mandatory to save the record successfully, regardless of views selected?

2. Which object mainly controls which views and number range a new material can have?

3. What happens if the 'Batch Management' indicator is activated in the material master after stock already exists for that material without batch management?

Interview questions

1. A business wants to introduce a new material type for 'non-stock service items' that should never carry inventory value but still needs purchasing master data (info records, source lists). How would you design this material type and what governance controls would you apply?

Answer it in your own words first, then compare.

2. A global rollout uses one material master field selection group across all plants, but a regional business unit now requires the 'country of origin' field to be mandatory only for materials manufactured in their plants, while other regions want it optional. How would you resolve this without breaking the global template?