SAP Material Master
The SAP material master is a central component of material management in an SAP system. The material master contains all relevant information about materials and products that a company procures, manufactures, stores or distributes.
As a central source of information, the material master ensures cross-departmental transparency and process efficiency – from design and purchasing to accounting.
What is the SAP material master?
The material master in SAP is a structured data record that uniquely identifies and comprehensively describes each individual material. In the system, each material unit is identified by a unique material number that can be assigned internally or externally. This prevents data redundancies and accelerates processing times.
Examples of insights from the material master:
| Department | Typical data examples |
| Purchasing | Order unit, purchasing group |
| Material Planning | Safety stock, delivery times |
| Warehousing | Shelf life expiration data, storage requirements |
| Accounting | Standard price, price management |
| Sales | Sales unit, minimum order quantities |
| Forecasting | Consumption data, forecasting parameters |
| Production Planning | Set-up and processing time |
Structure of the material master
The material master record is divided into different organisational levels based on the structure of the company:
1. Client (general data)
This is where data that applies to all plants and storage locations is maintained, such as design specifications or storage requirements (e.g. temperature, perishability).
2. Plant
The plant level contains data that is relevant for a specific production site, such as minimum and maximum order quantities, reorder points, or delivery times.
3. Storage location
This level contains location-specific inventory data. This allows you to analyse the stock levels of individual locations in a differentiated manner.
This structure enables modular and plant-specific maintenance of material master records while avoiding redundant data records.
In SAP S/4HANA, all material documents are contained in the new MATDOC table. It forms the foundation for material inventory management and evaluation. MATDOC replaces the previous tables MKPF (Header: Material Document) and MSEG (Document Segment: Material).
Blog post: Master data in S/4HANA
With the implementation of S/4HANA, users are facing a number of changes in purchasing – S/4HANA offers new functions that significantly enhance the user experience. The first part of our series of articles on digital procurement focuses on important innovations in master data, including the material master.
Usage & integration in the SAP system
The SAP material master is not only relevant for purchasing. It plays a central role in numerous areas of the company:
- Procurement: Streamlining of procurement processes
- Material Planning: Demand determination and scheduling
- Sales: Pricing and customer order processing
- Warehouse: Execution of warehouse logistics
- Forecasting: Predicting material demand
- Invoice verification: Basis for supplier invoices
- Production: Demand planning and production control
SAP material numbering – internal vs. external
Each material master record is identified by a unique material number. There are two options
- Internal number assignment: The system automatically generates a sequential number.
- External number assignment: The user assigns a meaningful number (e.g. PRD-2025-XY01).
The configuration is carried out in the SAP system configuration (Customizing). Companies can define individual specifications and restrictions.
Frequently used SAP transactions in the material master
| Transaction | Purpose |
| MM01 | Create Material |
| MM02 | Change Material |
| MM03 | Display Material |
| MMBE | Display Material Stock |
| MM04 | Display Material Change Documents |
| MM60 | Materials List |
| MMSC | Enter Storage Locations Collectively |
| MM50 | List Extendable Materials |
| MM17 | Mass Maintenance: Materials Industry |
These transactions provide users with efficient access to key material master data functions in day-to-day business.
SAP S/4HANA also offers Fiori apps that streamline the maintenance and visualization of material master data (e.g., Manage Product Master Data, Create Material, Change Material).
Maintenance challenges
One of the biggest weaknesses of many SAP environments is inadequate maintenance of material master data. Typical sources of error:
- Creation of duplicate materials
- Incomplete or outdated data
- Failure to clean up inactive data records
Best practices for prevention:
- Clear guidelines for the maintenance process
- Training for authorised users
- Technical checks (e.g. mandatory field checks)
- Tools for automated reorder point monitoring
Conclusion: Why the SAP material master is indispensable
A clean and well-maintained material master is the basis for smooth processes in procurement, warehousing, production and sales. It enables company-wide transparency and contributes to increased efficiency.
Companies that invest in professional master data management not only avoid errors – they also ensure long-term process reliability and competitive edge through stable, consistent processes.
