Requisition, quotation, purchase order: three documents, one intent.
The requisition says we need it. The PO says we bought it. Everything that matters happens in between.
In short. A requisition is the internal plan to buy; a PO is the commitment to a supplier. What each contains, who owns it, and why tracking the gap between them (quotations, samples) is where most delays hide.
Purchase requisition
An internal record: a plant or a planner says what is needed, how much, by when, and roughly at what price. It is not sent to a supplier. It exists so procurement knows what to source and finance knows what is coming. In many companies it lives in the ERP; in many others it lives in a spreadsheet or an email from planning.
Quotation
The supplier's answer: price, currency, unit, incoterm, payment terms, validity. Negotiation happens here. On new products or new suppliers a sample and a certificate of analysis usually precede or accompany it.
Purchase order
The buyer's commitment: a numbered document from the ERP with product, quantity, price, incoterm, payment terms, delivery date, ship-to and invoice-to, required documents and often free time. Once the supplier signs it back — or acknowledges it — it is the contract for that order.
| Requisition | Quotation | Purchase order | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Planning / requester | Supplier | Procurement |
| Sent to supplier | No | From supplier | Yes |
| Binding | No | Offer | Yes, when accepted |
| Number | Internal | Supplier's | ERP PO number |
| Typical failure | Forgotten in a sheet | Compared badly across incoterms | Issued late; changes unsigned |
Why the gap matters
The weeks between requisition and PO are where samples wait for QA, quotations wait for comparison and suppliers wait for a decision. Most tools track POs only, so this period is invisible until the PO is late. Treating the order as starting at the requisition — with the sample and quotation as its first stages — makes the delay visible while it can still be fixed.
In Pacifica a procurement project holds requisitions; each line becomes a requisition record with its own page, showing need-by date, target price, likely supplier and the certifications the product requires. “Place order” turns it into an order at the Quotation stage; the PO number attaches itself when the ERP creates it.
Questions
Is a purchase requisition legally binding?
No. It is an internal request. The purchase order, once accepted by the supplier, is the binding document.
Can an order exist before a PO?
Yes. Samples and quotations often take weeks or months before a PO is issued. Tracking the order from that point keeps the history and the delays visible.
Who creates the PO?
Procurement, usually in the ERP, after the quotation is agreed and any internal approval is given.
Related
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