Here’s a short introductory dialogue between consultant Julia and inventory manager Finn as they begin discussing the topic of serial numbers:
Master Data Relationships: Serial Numbers, Products, and Equipment
The diagram and the paragraph below highlight key features of serial numbers and illustrate how they are linked to both product master records and equipment master records.
Serial numbers are used to uniquely identify and differentiate individual units of a product. They are typically assigned during the manufacturing or purchasing process, ensuring each item can be tracked from the moment it enters the system.
Serial numbers can be used throughout most logistical processes to track stock movements and business transactions at the individual item level. In many cases, the unique combination of product and serial number within a specific plant is sufficient for accurate identification and traceability.
From a maintenance and service perspective, the combination of product and serial number may not always be sufficient -particularly when maintenance is required for individual components or when creating maintenance orders and plans.
To address this, each serial number can be linked to a unique equipment number. This equipment number can then be used in maintenance orders, maintenance plans, and to track the complete maintenance history of the item.
Note
An equipment master record corresponds to a unique physical asset, enabling the tracking of its lifecycle history for use in plant maintenance and customer service operations.
How can you determine that a material is subject to serialization?
You specify that a material is subject to serialization by entering a serial number profile in the product master record at the plant level.
This means that a specific serial number profile or no serial number profile can be assigned for an individual product in each plant.
In this way, a material can be subject to serial number management in one plant and not in another.
What exactly is a serial number profile?
A serial number profile is a set of data represented by a four-digit identification code. It defines how and for which business transaction serial numbers are assigned to individual items of a product.
Essentially, a serial number profile controls the following:
The business transactions for which serial number assignment is possible or mandatory. For example, serialization can be optional when creating a sales order or delivery, but mandatory when creating a goods movement.
Whether serial numbers can be created manually or automatically during a business transaction, or whether they must be created beforehand.
Whether an equipment master record is required in addition to the serial number.
Serial number profiles are maintained by your configuration expert in your configuration environment.