What Is SAP Material Master (MM01)?
Also known as: MM01, MM02, MM03, SAP material master data, SAP item master
Definition
The SAP material master is the central record for every item a company buys, makes, stores or sells. It is created in MM01 and organized into views by function, such as MRP, purchasing, sales, accounting and quality.
SAP Material Master (MM01) Explained
MM01 creates a material, MM02 changes it and MM03 displays it. The record is organized by organizational level: client level data in MARA (general data, base unit of measure), plant level in MARC (MRP and planning parameters), storage location level in MARD (stock) and valuation level in MBEW (price control and cost). Sales data lives in MVKE by sales organization and distribution channel.
The material type controls which views are available and how the material behaves. Common types are ROH (raw material), HALB (semi-finished), FERT (finished product), HAWA (trading goods), VERP (packaging) and DIEN (service). Industry sector and material group classify the item for reporting. Units of measure conversions, batch management and serial number profiles are set here.
The MRP views drive planning: MRP type (for example PD for MRP, VB for reorder point), lot size procedure, safety stock, planned delivery time, procurement type (E in-house, F external) and the MRP controller. The accounting view sets valuation class and price control (S standard or V moving average), which determines the ledger accounts that MIGO postings hit.
Because many views need different departments, completing a material usually involves engineering, purchasing, planning, sales and cost accounting. Mass maintenance is done with LSMW, the Legacy System Migration Workbench, or migration cockpit in S/4HANA, and bad master data is the leading cause of MRP and costing surprises.
Why It Matters
- MRP, costing, availability and valuation all read from the material master, so one wrong field changes plans and ledger postings.
- Price control and valuation class are hard to change after stock exists, so they must be right at creation.
- Incomplete views cause blocked transactions, for example a material that cannot be purchased because the purchasing view was never extended to the plant.
- Clean master data is a precondition for any AI or analytics layer, since natural language answers inherit the quality of the item record.
In Practice
A new machined bracket is created as FERT in plant 1000. The MRP 1 view sets MRP type PD, lot size EX (lot for lot), planned delivery time 5 days, and procurement type E. The accounting view sets price control S with standard price 18.40 USD. Without the work scheduling view, production orders cannot be released because production scheduling profile is missing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between MARA and MARC?
MARA stores general client-level data such as base unit and material type. MARC stores plant-level data such as MRP type, lot size, safety stock and procurement type.
What is price control S versus V in SAP?
S means standard price: stock is valued at a fixed price and differences go to variance accounts. V means moving average price: the price is recalculated on each goods receipt or invoice.
How are materials mass created in SAP?
Typically through LSMW, BAPI_MATERIAL_SAVEDATA, or the migration cockpit in S/4HANA, with validation of mandatory views per material type before load.
Related Terms
BOM (Bill of Materials)
A BOM (bill of materials) is the structured, hierarchical list of components, sub-assemblies, and quantities required to produce one unit of a parent item, and it is the primary input MRP explodes to calculate material requirements.
Routing
A routing is the ERP record that defines the ordered sequence of operations required to manufacture an item, specifying for each step the work center or machine, setup time, run time per unit, move and queue time, and any outside processing.
Lead Time
Lead time is the elapsed time between initiating an order and having the material available for use. In ERP it is the offset MRP applies when back-scheduling a planned order from its due date to its release date.
Safety Stock
Safety stock is buffer inventory carried above expected demand to protect against variability in demand and supply during replenishment lead time. In ERP it is netted out of available inventory so MRP plans replenishment before the buffer is consumed.
Lot Sizing
Lot sizing is the ERP rule that determines how much to order or produce in each replenishment, converting net requirements into order quantities by balancing setup or ordering cost against inventory carrying cost.
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