SAP MARA
MARA is a key SAP table in MM (Materials). It stores general material master data, the client-level attributes of a material that are the same across all plants and organizational levels.
MARA is the anchor table of the SAP material master, one row per material keyed on MATNR, holding the client-level data that is true everywhere: material type MTART, industry sector MBRSH, base unit MEINS and material group MATKL. Plant data sits in MARC, descriptions in MAKT, sales data in MVKE, storage in MARD and valuation in MBEW.
- MATNR is the primary key.
- MATNR, material number (key).
- MARC, plant data for a material.
- Watch out: MARA is client level, and anything plant specific is in MARC and may not exist there.
What it stores
It stores general material master data, the client-level attributes of a material that are the same across all plants and organizational levels.
Key fields
- MATNR, material number (key).
- MTART, material type.
- MBRSH, industry sector.
- MEINS, base unit of measure.
- MATKL, material group.
Keys and relationships
MATNR is the primary key. MARA holds the client-level (general) data; plant-, sales-, and storage-specific data live in related tables keyed by MATNR plus the organizational level.
Working with it
MARA is the anchor of material master data; join it with MARC/MAKT/MBEW etc. for the full picture, or use the material CDS views in S/4HANA. View its structure in SE11 and its data (with authorization) in SE16N.
Common pitfalls
- Reading tables directly instead of using CDS/reports where appropriate.
- Ignoring header/item relationships.
- Performance: querying large tables without indexed selection.