Requisition

Last updated: June 20, 2026

A requisition is the internal request that starts a purchase: a department saying “we need this”. It is not yet an order and commits nothing to a supplier; it is the formal “please buy” that goes for approval before any money is spoken for, so spending begins with a decision, not a surprise.

What you will learn
  • Where a requisition sits in the procure-to-pay chain
  • What the requisition screen captures
  • How a need can be raised by hand or pulled in by demand
  • How one requisition becomes one or several RFQs
Requisitionthe needRFQask vendorsVendor Quotetheir pricePurchase OrdercommitGoods Receivegoods inPurchase Invoicethe billPLANone order, many receipts and bills
The procure-to-pay chain: a need becomes an order, which drives both receiving and the bill simplified mockup

Anatomy of the screen

  • Header – requisition number, date and the requestor.
  • Details – a preferred vendor (if any), the delivery location, a needed-by date, and a project to charge against.
  • The need – the purpose, and the requirements and specifications of what is wanted.
  • Remarks, notes and attachments.

Notice what is absent: there is no pricing. A requisition is about the need, not the cost; price enters later, from vendors.

How it behaves

An approval gate

A requisition runs Draft, Verify, Confirm, then can be Cancelled. The verify step is the point of control: a need is reviewed and approved before it is allowed to turn into spending.

Raised by hand, or pulled in by demand

You can raise a requisition directly, but it can also be generated automatically from a sales order or a production order, so that a customer commitment or a build pulls in the materials it needs. This is how demand on one side of the business becomes procurement on the other, without anyone re-keying it.

One requisition, several RFQs

From a confirmed requisition you generate a request for quote. You are not limited to one: a requisition can be split across several RFQs to different vendors, which is exactly how you shop a need around before committing.

Worked example

The warehouse is running low on a component and raises a requisition for 500 units, needed in three weeks. It is approved, then turned into RFQs to three shortlisted vendors so their prices can be compared.

Edge cases and good practice

  • Requisition is a request, not a commitment. Nothing is owed until a purchase order is raised downstream.
  • Let demand raise it where a sales or production order creates the need, rather than re-entering the requirement.
  • Split across vendors by issuing several RFQs from the one requisition.

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