Purchasing & suppliers
Purchase Requisition
By the Supply Chain Manager team · Updated October 16, 2026
A purchase requisition is an internal request to buy something, which is reviewed and approved before it becomes a purchase order to a supplier.
The requisition records the need; the PO records the commitment. Splitting the two lets a business control spending without everyone needing the authority to place orders.
Requisitions are most useful for spending that is not covered by an automatic rule: equipment, services, new products or one-off purchases. They create a record of who asked for what and why, which helps when reviewing spend later.
Purchase requisition example
Illustrative: the warehouse requests 10 replacement pallet racks. The requisition goes to the operations manager for approval, then purchasing turns it into a PO with the chosen supplier.
Why purchase requisition matters for distributors
For routine stock replenishment, a requisition step mostly adds delay. Many distributors reserve it for non-stock purchases and let approved reorder rules raise stock POs directly.
Common purchase requisition mistakes
- Routing every stock reorder through manual approval, which adds days to the lead time.
- Approving requisitions without checking stock already on order.
Examples on this page use made-up round numbers to show the calculation. They are not benchmarks or results from real businesses.