Section 1 of 6
Goods Movements: The Heart of Inventory Management
Every time stock moves in SAP — received, issued, transferred, scrapped — a goods movement is posted. Understanding goods movements is the foundation of inventory management.
The MIGO transaction
MIGO is the universal goods movement transaction in SAP. It replaced older T-codes (MB01, MB1A, MB1B, MB1C) and handles almost all movement types in one place.
MIGO screen structure:
- Action (top left): Goods Receipt, Goods Issue, Transfer Posting, Return Delivery, etc.
- Reference document (top right): Against Purchase Order, Against Order, Without Reference, etc.
- Header data: document date, posting date, text
- Item list: material, quantity, plant, storage location, movement type
Movement types — the key codes
Movement types drive the account determination — they tell SAP which G/L accounts to post to and what happens to stock. The most important:
| Movement Type | Description |
|---|---|
| 101 | Goods receipt against purchase order |
| 102 | Reversal of GR against PO |
| 201 | Goods issue to cost centre |
| 202 | Return from cost centre |
| 261 | Goods issue to production order |
| 301 | Transfer posting plant to plant (one step) |
| 311 | Transfer storage location to storage location (one step) |
| 551 | Scrapping (loss) |
| 561 | Initial stock entry |
| 601 | Goods issue for delivery (auto from VL02N) |
Stock types
Stock is not all the same in SAP. Multiple stock types exist within a plant/storage location:
| Stock Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Available for use — the normal stock type |
| Quality inspection | Goods received, pending QM inspection |
| Blocked | Not available — defective, held for investigation |
| Restricted | Batch-managed stock with restricted use |
| In transit | Stock transferred between plants, not yet received |
| Consignment | Belongs to vendor, stored at your site |
A transfer posting (movement type 322, 344, etc.) moves stock between stock types without creating a new goods document — useful when QM releases stock from inspection.