Material doc. list and purchasing process

Question

Hi Gurus,
Can anyone please tell me how can Material Document List can be used to support the purchasing process (what decision(s) would this information support, and/or how could it improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the process

Answer 1

Hi Priya,
Material Document list are basically used for reporting in Inventory Management.
To simplify your day-to-day work with the Inventory Management component, there are a range of functions and reports that provide extensive information on all materials and their stock data.
This section provides an overview of the reporting function in Inventory Management. For more information, see the documentation on each function or the relevant report documentation.
Features
Environment Menu
List displays
This provides reports for documents posted in Inventory Management. Example: Material document list (MB51).
Stock
This provides information on a materialu2019s stocks. Example: Current stock/requirements list (MD04).
The Stock Overview (MMBE) provides an overview of all stocks of a material over all organizational levels (see also Stocks, Plant and Storage Location).
Information
This allows you to display data (master data, transaction/movement data) from other applications. Example: Displaying a purchase order.
Balance display
This provides reports on the GR/IR clearing account (MB5S).
Consignment
You can use this to display all information on consignment stocks. Example: Displaying vendor consignment stocks (MB54).
Batch where-used list
This provides all the functions on the Batch Where-Used List.
Batch search strategy
You use this to define the strategies for Batch Determination.
Inventory Controlling
You can also analyze and evaluate material stocks using Inventory Controlling. For more information, refer to the LO u2013 Logistics Information System component.
Periodic Processing Menu
List of stock values (MB5L)
This report is used to display the total stock quantity and the total stock value for a material at plant and storage location level.
Consistency check (MB5K)
You can use this to check the consistency of your stocks at company code level, valuation area level, and material level.
Managing held data (MBPM)
When you enter a goods receipt, this function allows you to display and delete data that you have held for further processing but not yet posted.
Analysis of rounding differences (MB5U)
This function allows you to analyze rounding differences that resulted from conversion between units of entry and base units. This applies when you work with a material with metric and non-metric units of measurement, for example.
Activities
For the reports that work with the SAP List Viewer, you can configure the output list as you require, to display and evaluate further data. To extend the current layout (basic list) or select another existing layout, choose Settings ® Layout. You can also create your own layouts and choose them on the initial screen. For more information on the SAP List Viewer, see the SAP List Viewer component.
To recognize any data inconsistencies in your system early on, we recommend you run the following reports regularly, for example, monthly or at year-end closing:
List of stock values: Balance display (MB5L)
See also Carrying Out Year-End Closing.
Consistency check (MB5K)
Check Under Help.sap.com  "Reporting in Inventory Management "