Requisition

A requisition is a formal written request from the end user requesting that a purchase order be raised for goods or services they need. While some organisations do not use formal requisitions, most create a formal system to allow budgetary approval of the proposed expenditure prior to the requisition being processed in to a purchase order. For example, the end user may state what they need, in terms of a description of the good or service, a quantity, the budget or expenditure code, and a required delivery date. Sometimes the user may suggest a supplier, though this depends on the context. Increasingly, end users are empowered to order directly goods and services that are already subject to a procurement arrangement without creating a requisition. Procurement cards may be used for this purpose, reducing non-value adding processes, or in the case of ERP or procurement systems, a software solution creates and manages the workflow automatically. The user’s requisition is routed to the appropriate approver, based on the system rules, and the approver approves or denies the request. For categories that are subject to existing contractual agreements, the system may create a purchase order automatically. This changes the role of procurement practitioners from managing individual transactions to a category-based approach to managing key spend streams. See also e-Procurement.