Definition: A materials requisition form is a source document that the production department uses to request materials for manufacturing process. The production manager usually fills out the materials requisition form and delivers it to the materials or storage department where all of the raw materials are stored. Once the materials manager signs off on the request, the raw materials are moved from storage and placed on the production floor.
What Does Materials Requisition Mean?
A typical materials requisition form has the job number, date of request, material description, quantity, and proper management signatures. Depending on the size of the company, request forms are filled out weekly, daily, or even hourly.
Example
The materials requisition form has two main purposes. First, it’s used to record the movement of materials throughout the manufacturing process. When the company orders goods, they are delivered to the storage facility and the appropriate forms are filled out. This gives an audit trail that show when goods were purchased and when they were delivered. When the production floor needs more materials, it requests them from storage with the materials requisition form. This, again, adds a paper trail to show when the goods were moved from storage to manufacturing. These documents can also help managers determine when to order more materials. For example, if they see that goods are sitting in storage for months before making it into production, they will probably stop ordering those materials so often.
Second, the requisition form is used to allocate production costs to goods in process. Not all inventories in process will be finished in the current year. In other words, there will always be some goods in the production process. The requisition forms can help allocate costs and values to these materials.
Once the goods are transferred from storage to production the raw materials account is credited and the goods in process inventory account is debited.
