--- title: "What Is a Purchase Requisition?" url: https://www.uncap.com/glossary/purchase-requisition author: "Denis Dyli" published: 2026-10-28 updated: 2026-10-28 summary: "A purchase requisition is an internal document that asks for, and once approved authorizes, the purchase of goods or services. Someone inside the buying organization lists what is needed, it moves through an approval workflow, and the approved requisition is used to generate a purchase order, the external document that goes to the supplier." --- # What Is a Purchase Requisition? > A purchase requisition is an internal document that asks for, and once approved authorizes, the purchase of goods or services. Someone inside the buying organization lists what is needed, it moves through an approval workflow, and the approved requisition is used to generate a purchase order, the external document that goes to the supplier. **Purchase requisition**: A purchase requisition is an internal document that asks for, and once approved authorizes, the purchase of goods or services. Someone inside the buying organization lists what is needed, it moves through an approval workflow, and the approved requisition is used to generate a purchase order, the external document that goes to the supplier. ## How it works Microsoft's documentation for Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management shows how requisitions work in that ERP. A user creates a purchase requisition and selects the items and services they require, either from a procurement catalog the organization created or, for items not in a catalog, by selecting a procurement category and entering the product details. A configured workflow then moves the requisition through review. **A purchase requisition from draft to purchase order** ### 1. Draft, Create the request The requisition is created and can still be changed, because it hasn't been submitted for review. ### 2. Review, Route for approval The workflow routes the requisition as one document, or line by line to the right reviewers. ### 3. Decide, Approve or reject Each line is approved or rejected. Rejected lines can be changed and resubmitted. ### 4. Order, Generate the purchase order After the requisition is approved, it is used to generate a purchase order for the supplier. Because lines can be reviewed one at a time, one line can be approved while another is rejected. The status of the whole requisition updates when the review is complete for all of its lines. ## Purchase requisition vs. purchase order The requisition stays inside the buying company. Microsoft describes purchase orders as the external documents that the purchasing department submits to vendors. The requisition asks and gets approval; the purchase order is what the supplier receives. The two documents also meet in punchout. The cXML specification describes a user opening a new purchase requisition in a procurement application, selecting a PunchOut item that opens the supplier's website, then clicking Check Out to send the cart back into the purchase requisition. When that requisition is approved, the procurement application converts it into a purchase order and sends it to the supplier. ## Types of purchase requisition In Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, each requisition has one of two purposes: - Consumption: demand for items or services the organization uses internally, always fulfilled by a purchase order. - Replenishment: demand to replenish inventory, expressed as a quantity rather than a monetary amount, and fulfilled by a purchase order, transfer order, production order or kanban. ## Example A plant maintenance planner raises one requisition with two lines: - Line 1: 6 boxes of nitrile gloves at $25 = $150 - Line 2: 4 drive belts at $30 = $120 The requisition totals $150 + $120 = $270. The reviewer approves line 1 and rejects line 2, because the belts are already on order. The approved line generates a $150 purchase order to the glove supplier, and the planner can change and resubmit the rejected line. ## On Shopify On the selling side, a Shopify B2B buyer checking out has the option to enter a purchase order number for the order, and can view it on the order status page. If a company location is set to allow only draft orders at checkout, the buyer clicks Submit for approval, and the order lands in your Drafts page. It is complete only when you create the order or the buyer pays the invoice you send. On the buying side, Shopify's purchase orders record the commercial agreements you make with your suppliers. You can save one as a draft and mark it as Ordered after your supplier confirms. Where a formal requisition and approval step is needed before the purchase order, ERPs such as Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management provide one. ## How Uncap helps Uncap's guide to [punchout catalogs for Shopify B2B](/post/punchout-catalogs-shopify-b2b) explains how a corporate buyer can leave their procurement system, shop your Shopify catalog with negotiated pricing already applied, and send the finished cart back to their own system as a requisition. The buyer's procurement platform stays the system of record for approval and purchase order issuance. Uncap's [guide to selling into procurement systems](/post/punchout-coupa-ariba-sap-procurement) covers the message side: the finished cart returns as a PunchOutOrderMessage that becomes a requisition on the buyer's side. ## Related terms - Purchase order - Procure-to-pay - Three-way match - RFQ (request for quote) - cXML - Material requirements planning (MRP) ## Sources - Microsoft Learn: Purchase requisition overview - cXML Reference Guide (cxml.org) - Shopify Help Center: Purchase orders ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between a purchase requisition and a purchase order? A purchase requisition is the internal request that gets approval to buy. A purchase order is the external document sent to the vendor. In ERP systems such as Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, an approved requisition is used to generate the purchase order. ### How to do a requisition? In an ERP or procurement system, create the requisition, add each item or service you need from the procurement catalog or by category with product details, and submit it to the approval workflow. Once it is approved, purchasing turns it into a purchase order. ### Which is a purpose of the requisition? Its purpose is to get internal approval before anything is ordered from a supplier: an approved requisition authorizes the purchasing department to buy the items or services. Dynamics 365 also tags each requisition with a purpose: consumption for internal use, or replenishment for inventory.