ME13 — Display Purchasing Info Record
ME13 is the display-only transaction for a purchasing info record, the vendor-material master combination that stores the last price, delivery data, and vendor-specific text used to default values into a purchase order or RFQ. It reads EINA and EINE; it cannot change anything. Use ME12 to edit and ME11 to create.
This page covers ME13, the display transaction for purchasing info records, and focuses on why the record often appears missing or shows the wrong price at PO creation time. It walks through the EINA/EINE data structure, the condition-technique link for pricing, and the most common diagnostic traps around plant-level versus org-level records.
Reviewed by an ERPClimb SAP consultant on 15 Sept 2026· 1,208 words
Purpose
ME13 displays a purchasing info record: the stored relationship between one vendor and one material (or material group, for the generic variant) that carries the net price, price history, planned delivery time, vendor's material number, and any info-record-level texts. The one structural fact that explains most confusion is that an info record splits across two levels: EINA holds vendor/material-independent general data, and EINE holds one row per purchasing organization, and optionally per plant, carrying the price and purchasing-org-specific fields. A record can exist at EINA level with no EINE row for the plant a buyer is working in, which looks like 'no info record' even though ME13 finds something. ME13 itself never writes; it is a read-only lens onto EINA/EINE and the linked condition records.
When it is used
A consultant reaches for ME13 when investigating why a purchase order defaulted (or failed to default) a particular net price, delivery time, or vendor material number, or when confirming whether an info record even exists before troubleshooting source list or contract determination. It sits upstream of PO creation in the sourcing determination logic: when a buyer creates a PO line, the system checks for an info record to propose price and lead time before falling back to the material master or manual entry. In day-to-day work ME13 is used far more often than ME11/ME12, because most tickets are 'the price did not come through' rather than 'create a new record'. In S/4HANA the same investigation is increasingly done through the Fiori app for purchasing info records rather than the GUI transaction, though the GUI still works.
How to use it in practice
- Start ME13 with vendor and material (or vendor and material group for the generic info record) rather than the info record number, unless the number is already known from a PO history screen.
- On the initial screen select the purchasing organization and, if relevant, the plant; leaving plant blank pulls the org-level record, which is a different row in EINE than a plant-specific one.
- Choose the info record category if prompted: standard, subcontracting, pipeline, or consignment each point to a different underlying record even for the same vendor and material.
- On the overview screen check the 'General Data' tab for EINA fields (vendor material number, reminder days), then the 'Purch. Org. Data 1' tab for price, price unit, and validity.
- Use the conditions button on the org data screen to see the underlying price condition records rather than trusting the displayed net price alone, especially when scales or time-dependent conditions are involved.
Key data objects
- EINA - general info record data: info record number (INFNR), vendor (LIFNR), material (MATNR), info record category, deletion flag, vendor's material number, and reminder/tolerance fields.
- EINE - purchasing organization level data: info record number, purchasing organization, plant (blank for org-level), net price, price unit, price validity dates, planned delivery time, minimum order quantity, and the deletion flag at this level.
- KONH and KONP - condition header and item records for the price conditions attached to the info record (for example the standard PB00 price), reached through the condition technique rather than stored flat on EINE alone.
- A017 - the condition table linking the info record's key fields (vendor, material, purchasing org, plant) to the condition record number that resolves into KONP.
How to prove it in the data
In SE16N on EINA, filter by LIFNR and MATNR to get INFNR and check LOEKZ for a deletion flag. Take that INFNR into EINE, filter by INFNR together with EKORG and, if applicable, WERKS, and compare the plant-specific row against the org-level row (WERKS blank) to see which one a given PO would actually pick up. If the price looks wrong, take INFNR as part of the VAKEY on A017 to find the condition record number, then pull KONP filtered on that number and check KBETR, KONWA, and the validity dates DATAB/DATBI against the PO document date.
ECC vs S/4HANA
ME13 remains available and functions the same way in S/4HANA; the underlying EINA/EINE tables and the condition-technique pricing link are unchanged. A Fiori app for managing purchasing info records exists for browsing and editing this data in the newer UI, but the GUI transaction has not been withdrawn and most experienced buyers and consultants still default to it for quick lookups during an incident.
Common pitfalls and how to diagnose them
- Record appears missing: EINA exists but no EINE row exists for the purchasing org or plant being used. Check EINA first, then EINE filtered on the same INFNR to see which orgs/plants actually have data; a record can be fully valid for one plant and absent for another.
- Wrong or stale price on the PO: the EINE net price display can lag behind the real pricing outcome because pricing runs through the condition technique. Always chase INFNR through A017 into KONP and compare validity dates against the PO document date rather than trusting the ME13 header price field alone.
- Attempted edit through ME13: ME13 has no save option; a request to 'just fix the price in ME13' means the requester actually needs ME12, and the fix belongs there, not in ME13.
- Duplicate-looking records for the same vendor/material: different info record categories (standard, subcontracting, consignment, pipeline) can coexist for the same vendor and material as separate records; confirm which category the failing PO item is using before assuming duplication is an error.
- Deletion flag set at one level only: a record can be flagged for deletion at EINE (org/plant level) while EINA remains active, or vice versa; ME13 still displays it, so the flag must be checked explicitly rather than inferred from the record simply being visible.
- Source list or contract overriding the info record: even a perfectly correct info record price will not appear on the PO if a source list entry or outline agreement takes precedence in sourcing; ME13 only proves the info record's own content, not that it was the source actually used.
Whose problem this is
This is a functional MM/purchasing issue, not Basis or ABAP, unless the underlying condition technique customizing (access sequences, condition tables) is suspect. A good handover states the vendor, material, purchasing org and plant involved, the INFNR found (or confirmation that none exists), and the specific EINE/KONP fields checked, so the receiving consultant does not repeat the same lookup.
Related SAP objects
Reviewed pages this object connects to in the ERPClimb knowledge graph.
Source: ERPClimb — https://erpclimb.com/sap-tcodes/me13ERPClimb is an independent platform and is not affiliated with SAP SE. Reference pages are written and reviewed by SAP consultants for learning and troubleshooting.