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.