ME11 — Create Purchasing Info Record
ME11 creates a purchasing info record, the vendor-material-purchasing organization combination that stores default price, vendor material number, delivery data and texts used to propose data on RFQs and purchase orders. The structural trap: the net price entered is not stored as a flat field but generated as a time-dependent condition record, so overlapping or expired validity periods are the usual reason a saved info record does not produce the expected price.
This page covers ME11, the transaction for creating a purchasing info record in MM procurement, and explains why the price behaves like a condition record rather than a static field. It focuses on the recurring diagnostic problems: deletion flags, category mismatches, validity gaps, and priority conflicts with contracts or source lists.
Reviewed by an ERPClimb SAP consultant on 15 Sept 2026· 1,188 words
Purpose
ME11 creates a purchasing info record: master data that ties a specific vendor to a specific material (or a vendor to a material group, for the general info record) at purchasing organization and optionally plant level. It stores the vendor's material number, delivery time, minimum order quantity, tax indicator, texts, and the price the vendor charges. The one fact that explains most confusion: the price is not a static field on the info record itself. Entering a net price on ME11 generates a condition record (price condition type PB00) with a validity period, stored separately from the info record header and org-level table. That means a single info record can have several price entries over time, and the price actually offered on a PO depends on which condition record is valid on the pricing date, not on what was last typed into ME11.
When it is used
ME11 is used during procurement master data setup, typically after the vendor master and material master already exist, to give buyers a default price and lead time before a purchase order is raised. It is also generated automatically in the background when a quotation from an RFQ is accepted, so consultants sometimes find an info record they never manually created. A consultant reaches for ME11 when a new sourcing relationship starts and no contract or scheduling agreement will govern pricing; if a contract or scheduling agreement exists, that document normally takes priority for price determination and the info record becomes a fallback. On S/4HANA the same transaction is used from SAP GUI; a Fiori app for managing info records is also available for browser-based maintenance, but the underlying object and table structure are identical.
How to use it in practice
- Enter vendor number, material number, purchasing organization, plant (leave blank for a plant-independent record), and select the info record category: standard, subcontracting, pipeline, or consignment.
- On the general data screen, enter the vendor's own material number, origin data, and reminder (expediting) days if relevant.
- On purchasing organization data 1, enter net price, price unit, minimum order quantity, purchasing group, and incoterms.
- On purchasing organization data 2, review or set standard quantity, pricing date control, and vendor sub-range if applicable.
- Add PO text or info memo text if buyers need a default note to appear on purchase orders.
- Save. If a price was entered, the system generates a PB00 condition record with a validity period behind the scenes; this is not visible on the entry screen unless the conditions button is used explicitly.
Key data objects
- EINA - client-level info record header: info record number, vendor, material, deletion flag, origin, info record category.
- EINE - purchasing organization data: one row per purchasing org and plant combination, holding price unit, planned delivery time, effective price, and its own deletion flag.
- KONH and KONP - condition header and item records that actually carry the price (PB00) and its validity dates, linked back to the info record through the pricing access sequence rather than through a direct foreign key on EINE.
- EORD - source list entries; not written by ME11 itself but frequently checked alongside it when diagnosing why a price did not default.
How to prove it in the data
Start in SE16 on EINA filtered by vendor (LIFNR) and material (MATNR) to get the info record number (INFNR) and check the deletion flag. Take that INFNR into EINE filtered by purchasing organization (EKORG) and plant (WERKS) to see which org-level record exists, its price fields, and its own deletion flag. To see the real price picture, check KONP for condition records referencing that info record's access data and compare the validity dates (DATAB, DATBI) against the PO's pricing date; more than one overlapping PB00 record is the usual explanation for an unexpected price.
ECC vs S/4HANA
The transaction, its screens, and the underlying tables (EINA, EINE, KONH, KONP) are unchanged on S/4HANA. A Fiori app for managing purchasing info records is available for browser-based creation and maintenance and is functionally equivalent, useful mainly when buyers work outside SAP GUI. No data model or pricing-logic change accompanies the move to S/4HANA for this object.
Common pitfalls and how to diagnose them
- Wrong category selected: a subcontracting or consignment info record exists for the vendor-material pair but the buyer needed a standard one, or vice versa. Each category is a separate record; check EINA for the category field before assuming none exists.
- Deletion flag set, record still visible: LOEKZ set at EINA or EINE level means the record will not be proposed on a PO even though it displays fine in ME13. The system message on PO creation ('no info record found') is misleading because the record technically exists.
- Price not defaulting despite an active record: the condition record behind the price has expired or has not started yet. Check KONP validity dates against the PO's pricing date before assuming master data is missing.
- Price unit mismatch: the info record's price unit differs from the order unit used on the PO, producing a price that looks a factor of 10 or 100 off. Compare price unit and order unit rather than assuming the vendor quoted incorrectly.
- Priority conflict: a contract or scheduling agreement exists for the same vendor-material combination and is picked up ahead of the info record through the source list, so changing ME11 has no visible effect on the PO. Check the source list and any active outline agreement before touching the info record again.
- Duplicate condition records from repeated re-entry: instead of extending validity through the change transaction, someone re-ran ME11 or re-entered a price, creating a second PB00 record with overlapping dates. The fix is to correct validity through the change transaction, not to create another record.
Whose problem this is
This is functional MM/procurement master data, owned by the buyer or procurement master data team, not Basis or ABAP, unless a custom pricing BAdI or condition exit has been layered onto standard price determination. A clean handover includes vendor, material, purchasing org and plant, the info record category, and the condition type and validity dates in question, not just a screenshot of the ME13 header.
Related SAP objects
Reviewed pages this object connects to in the ERPClimb knowledge graph.
Source: ERPClimb — https://erpclimb.com/sap-tcodes/me11ERPClimb is an independent platform and is not affiliated with SAP SE. Reference pages are written and reviewed by SAP consultants for learning and troubleshooting.