Master data includes things like material masters, vendor masters, and customizing data that provide the base information needed for transactions. Transactional data are the events like purchase orders and invoices that change over time. The key differences are that master data remains constant but needs periodic updates, while transactional data always has a time dimension and numerical value referring to objects. Examples of master data include vendor and material masters used to create purchase orders, while examples of transactional data are financial orders and invoices.

1. We can divide the data in three types:
1. Master data (material master, vendor master etc.)
2. Transactional data (purchase order, sales order, invoice etc)
3. Customizing data
Introduction to Master Data
Q1. What is Master Data?
Master data in SAP is used as a base for any transaction. If you are producing,
transferring stock, selling, purchasing, doing physical inventory, whatever your
activity may be , it requires certain master data to be maintained. We have material
master data, customer master data, vendor master data, pricing/conditions master
data, warehouse management master data (storage bin master data) etc.
The ones we will focus in MM module are material master and purchase info record.
Q2. What is the difference between master data and transaction data?
Master data Transaction data
1. Data that is created centrally and it is
valid for all applications.
1. Transaction datais described an event
that changes as a result of transaction.
2. It remains constant over the time but
we need to update it on regular basis.
Example: Vendor is a type of master
data that is used for creating purchase
orders or contracts.
2. Transaction data always has a time
dimension, a numerical value and refers
to one or more objects.
Example: Financial orders, invoices,
storage records etc.
Md. Shalehur Rahman Samy
Associate Consultant, SAPMM
IPE, SUST.
Mobile : +8801725444492
Email : shalehur@gmail.com