Serial Tracking
Track individual units with unique serial numbers for complete lifecycle traceability.
What is Serial Tracking?
SERIAL TRACKING CONCEPT
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SERIAL NUMBERED INVENTORY │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Same Item, Unique Serial Numbers (1:1 relationship): │
│ │
│ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ │
│ │ Laptop │ │ Laptop │ │ Laptop │ │ Laptop │ │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ │ SN: LT-00001 │ │ SN: LT-00002 │ │ SN: LT-00003 │ │ SN: LT-00004 │ │
│ │ Qty: 1 │ │ Qty: 1 │ │ Qty: 1 │ │ Qty: 1 │ │
│ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Key Difference from Lots: │
│ • Lot: Multiple units share same lot number │
│ • Serial: Each unit has unique serial number (quantity always = 1) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Lot vs Serial Comparison
| Feature | Lot Tracking | Serial Tracking |
|---|---|---|
| Units per number | Multiple (batch) | One (individual) |
| Quantity per entry | Variable (1-n) | Always 1 |
| Use case | Batches, perishables | High-value, unique items |
| Traceability | Batch level | Unit level |
| Data entry effort | Lower | Higher |
| Examples | Chemicals, food | Electronics, machinery |
When to Use Serial Tracking
SERIAL TRACKING USE CASES
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
High-Value Items:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ • Computers and electronics │
│ • Machinery and equipment │
│ • Vehicles │
│ • Jewelry and watches │
│ • Musical instruments │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Warranty Tracking:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ • Link warranty to specific unit │
│ • Track repair history by serial │
│ • Validate warranty claims │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Regulatory Compliance:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ • Medical devices (FDA UDI) │
│ • Firearms tracking │
│ • Aerospace components │
│ • Automotive parts (recalls) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Asset Management:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ • Fixed asset tracking │
│ • IT equipment management │
│ • Tool tracking │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Setup Serial Tracked Items
Enable Serial Tracking
Navigation: Item Record → Inventory subtab
SERIAL ITEM SETUP
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Item Record Configuration:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Item ID: LAPTOP-PRO │
│ Display Name: Professional Laptop │
│ Item Type: Serialized Inventory Item │
│ │
│ Inventory Tab: │
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ ☑ Serialized Item │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ Serial Numbering: │ │
│ │ ○ On Receipt (assign serial when receiving) │ │
│ │ ● Auto-Generate (system generates serial numbers) │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ Serial Number Format: LT-{YYYY}{MM}-{####} │ │
│ │ Example: LT-202412-0001 │ │
│ │ │ │
│ │ ☐ Match Serial to Item Quantity (must match exactly) │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
⚠️ Note: Serialized items MUST have serial assigned for each unit
Serial Lifecycle
SERIAL NUMBER LIFECYCLE
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
1. CREATION (Receipt) 2. IN STOCK 3. SOLD (Fulfillment)
┌─────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────┐
│ Item Receipt │ │ Inventory │ │ Item Fulfillment │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ SN: LT-202412-0001 │ → │ SN: LT-202412-0001 │ → │ SN: LT-202412-0001 │
│ Status: Available │ │ Location: Main WH │ │ Customer: Acme Corp │
│ │ │ Bin: A-01-02 │ │ SO: SO-1234 │
└─────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────┘
│ │
│ │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
TRACEABILITY
Know exactly where every unit went
Serial Transactions
Receiving Serials
ITEM RECEIPT WITH SERIAL ASSIGNMENT
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Purchase Order: PO-1234
Item: LAPTOP-PRO (Serialized)
Ordered Quantity: 5 units
Item Receipt - Inventory Detail:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Serial Number │ Status │ Bin │ Notes │
├──────────────────┼───────────┼──────────┼──────────────────────────────────┤
│ LT-202412-0001 │ Available │ ELEC-01 │ │
│ LT-202412-0002 │ Available │ ELEC-01 │ │
│ LT-202412-0003 │ Available │ ELEC-01 │ │
│ LT-202412-0004 │ Available │ ELEC-01 │ │
│ LT-202412-0005 │ Available │ ELEC-01 │ │
└──────────────────┴───────────┴──────────┴──────────────────────────────────┘
Total serials must equal quantity (5 units = 5 serial numbers)
Fulfilling Serials
ITEM FULFILLMENT - SERIAL SELECTION
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Sales Order: SO-5678
Item: LAPTOP-PRO
Ordered Quantity: 2 units
Customer: Acme Corporation
Available Serials:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Serial Number │ Location │ Bin │ Select │
├──────────────────┼────────────────┼──────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
│ LT-202412-0001 │ Main Warehouse │ ELEC-01 │ ☑ │
│ LT-202412-0002 │ Main Warehouse │ ELEC-01 │ ☑ │
│ LT-202412-0003 │ Main Warehouse │ ELEC-01 │ ☐ │
│ LT-202412-0004 │ Main Warehouse │ ELEC-01 │ ☐ │
│ LT-202412-0005 │ Main Warehouse │ ELEC-01 │ ☐ │
└──────────────────┴────────────────┴──────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
Selected: 2 serials (matches order quantity)
After Fulfillment:
- LT-202412-0001 → Shipped to Acme Corp (SO-5678)
- LT-202412-0002 → Shipped to Acme Corp (SO-5678)
- LT-202412-0003, 0004, 0005 → Still available
Serial Status Tracking
SERIAL NUMBER STATUSES
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Status │ Description │
├───────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Available │ In stock, can be sold │
│ In Transit │ Being transferred between locations │
│ Committed │ Reserved for sales order │
│ Sold │ Shipped to customer │
│ Returned │ Received back from customer (RMA) │
│ Scrapped │ Written off, no longer usable │
└───────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Serial Lifecycle Tracking:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Serial: LT-202412-0001 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Date │ Transaction │ Status │ Location/Customer │
├────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼───────────────────────────────────┤
│ 12/01/2024 │ IR-1234 │ Available │ Main Warehouse │
│ 12/05/2024 │ SO-5678 │ Committed │ Reserved for Acme Corp │
│ 12/10/2024 │ IF-2345 │ Sold │ Shipped to Acme Corp │
│ 01/15/2025 │ RMA-001 │ Returned │ Received for repair │
│ 01/20/2025 │ IF-3456 │ Sold │ Re-shipped to Acme Corp │
└────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────┴───────────────────────────────────┘
Returns and Repairs
SERIAL RETURN PROCESS
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Customer Return (RMA):
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ 1. Customer requests return for serial LT-202412-0001 │
│ │
│ 2. RMA Created │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ RMA-001 │ │
│ │ Customer: Acme Corp │ │
│ │ Item: LAPTOP-PRO │ │
│ │ Serial: LT-202412-0001 │ │
│ │ Reason: Warranty repair │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ 3. Item Receipt (Return) │
│ Serial LT-202412-0001 received back into inventory │
│ Status: Returned │
│ │
│ 4. Disposition Decision: │
│ ├── Repair and return to customer │
│ ├── Replace with new unit │
│ ├── Credit customer │
│ └── Scrap unit (if unrepairable) │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
SuiteQL for Serials
Serial Number Lookup
-- Find serial and its current status
SELECT
inv.inventorynumber AS serial_number,
i.itemid AS item,
i.displayname AS item_name,
l.name AS location,
b.binnumber AS bin,
inl.quantityonhand AS qty,
CASE
WHEN inl.quantityonhand > 0 THEN 'Available'
ELSE 'Sold/Transferred'
END AS status
FROM
inventorynumber inv
JOIN
item i ON inv.item = i.id
LEFT JOIN
inventorynumberlocations inl ON inv.id = inl.inventorynumber
LEFT JOIN
location l ON inl.location = l.id
LEFT JOIN
bin b ON inl.binnumber = b.id
WHERE
inv.inventorynumber = 'LT-202412-0001'
Serial History
-- Complete transaction history for a serial
SELECT
t.trandate,
t.type AS transaction_type,
t.tranid AS document_number,
COALESCE(c.companyname, v.companyname) AS entity_name,
i.itemid AS item,
inv.inventorynumber AS serial_number
FROM
inventoryassignment ia
JOIN
transactionline tl ON ia.transactionline = tl.id
JOIN
transaction t ON tl.transaction = t.id
JOIN
item i ON tl.item = i.id
JOIN
inventorynumber inv ON ia.inventorynumber = inv.id
LEFT JOIN
customer c ON t.entity = c.id
LEFT JOIN
vendor v ON t.entity = v.id
WHERE
inv.inventorynumber = 'LT-202412-0001'
ORDER BY
t.trandate, t.id
Serials by Customer
-- All serials sold to a customer
SELECT
inv.inventorynumber AS serial_number,
i.itemid AS item,
t.tranid AS invoice_number,
t.trandate AS sale_date
FROM
inventoryassignment ia
JOIN
transactionline tl ON ia.transactionline = tl.id
JOIN
transaction t ON tl.transaction = t.id
JOIN
item i ON tl.item = i.id
JOIN
inventorynumber inv ON ia.inventorynumber = inv.id
WHERE
t.type = 'ItemShip'
AND t.entity = 12345 -- Customer internal ID
ORDER BY
t.trandate DESC
Best Practices
SERIAL TRACKING BEST PRACTICES
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Serial Number Format:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Include meaningful information: │
│ • Product code prefix │
│ • Date component (year, month, week) │
│ • Sequential number with leading zeros │
│ │
│ Examples: │
│ • LAPTOP-2024-00001 │
│ • TV55-W52-001 (Week 52, sequence 001) │
│ • MAC-A1234-SN00001 (Model number included) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Data Entry:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ✓ Scan barcodes instead of manual entry │
│ ✓ Validate serial format on entry │
│ ✓ Prevent duplicate serial numbers │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Traceability:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ✓ Include serial on all shipping documents │
│ ✓ Record serial on customer invoices │
│ ✓ Link serial to warranty registration │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Next Steps
| Goal | Go To |
|---|---|
| Serial lifecycle details | Serial Lifecycle → |
| Lot tracking | Lot Tracking → |
| Bin management | Bin Management → |