Purchase requisitions: controlling demand before it becomes spend

What the request must establish

A workable requisition states the need rather than a chosen product where alternatives exist, identifies the budget it draws on, gives the date by which it is required, and names the requester and approver. Requests that arrive as a supplier's quotation attached to an email have already made the sourcing decision, which removes any opportunity to consolidate demand or use an existing agreement.

Approval thresholds that reflect risk

Authority should scale with value and with category risk, and it should be delegated far enough down that routine, low-value needs do not queue behind senior calendars. A single threshold applied uniformly either strangles small purchases or waves through large ones. Where a category carries regulatory, safety or data implications, the relevant specialist review belongs in the route regardless of value.

Routing decides whether the control adds value

Once approved, the request should be directed by what is being bought. Items covered by an existing agreement can convert to a release with no sourcing effort. Items available in a catalogue can be ordered directly. Only genuinely new or significant requirements need a sourcing process. Sending everything down the same path is the usual reason a requisition system is experienced as an obstacle rather than a service.

Commitment visibility and the bypass problem

Approved requisitions and open orders together show what the business has already committed, which is more useful to a budget holder than invoiced spend that reports the past. Sustaining that view depends on preventing off-process buying, and the durable fix is speed rather than enforcement: when the authorised route is quicker than the workaround, compliance follows without policing.

Frequently asked questions

Do stock replenishment orders need a requisition?

Usually not individually. Planned replenishment against agreed parameters is authorised by the inventory policy itself, with the planning system generating releases. The requisition route is aimed at unplanned and discretionary needs, where no prior authorisation exists.

How do we stop people buying outside the process?

By finding out why they do. Most bypass is caused by approval delay, unclear routes or catalogues that lack what people actually need. Fixing those removes most of the volume; enforcement then only has to handle the remainder.

What does commitment accounting add over invoice reporting?

It shows money already promised but not yet billed. A budget that looks healthy on invoiced spend can be fully consumed by open commitments, and only the earlier view gives a manager time to decide differently.