Requisition lists vs recurring subscriptions — when do you use each?
Different problems, different tools.
Requisition lists are for SKU lineups buyers reorder manually but frequently. The classic example: a hospital procurement officer maintains a "Monthly cleaning supplies" list with 47 SKUs. They open the list, click "Add all to cart", review quantities, place the order. Native Magento feature (Adobe Commerce); via Wyomind or Mirasvit on Open Source.
- Buyer is in the loop on every order
- Quantities can vary each cycle
- Lineup itself can be edited / shared with co-workers ("share with Procurement team")
- Multiple lists per buyer is normal (one for cleaning, one for office supplies, one for janitorial)
Recurring subscriptions are for SKUs that auto-replenish without buyer involvement. Example: a cleaning-services company auto-receives 20 cases of paper towels every Monday. No order placement, no buyer action — just a charge + ship event.
- Fully automated — buyer is not involved per-cycle
- Quantities are fixed (or fixed with skip-this-month buttons)
- Cadence is fixed: weekly / monthly / quarterly
- Best for fast-moving consumables with predictable burn
Stack: Magesterix Subscriptions, Aheadworks Subscriptions, or custom (built on Stripe Subscriptions or Razorpay for India). Avoid building from scratch — subscription billing has 30 corner cases (failed cards, prorated upgrades, paused subscriptions, regional tax).
Rule of thumb: ~70% of wholesale stores need only requisition lists. ~20% need both. ~10% (heavy MRO consumables) lean subscriptions.