Serial numbers are used to uniquely identify items. In xentral, these can be entered in multiple operations and are primarily linked to items. Serial number management must therefore be activated beforehand in xentral for an item under Master data > Items > Details. In xentral, there is the option to use no serial number, your own serial number or the supplier's serial number.
Serial numbers can be recorded in the following operations:
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When storing delivered articles with serial numbers
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When numbering self-produced articles
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When installing parts with serial numbers in self-produced articles
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When selling/shipping items to assign serial numbers to customers
The serial numbers can be recorded under Master Data > Product in the master data in the Other Settings area of the respective article. The following settings are available in the Serial Numbers field in the drop-down menu:
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None: Disable serial number management for this item
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Generate own: Generate own serial numbers for this item. These can be created using a custom serial number generator. Serial numbers are linked to corresponding items. This means that, for example, when goods are moved, the serial number is also "moved". This is suitable for users who manufacture products themselves and want to assign them with their own serial numbers
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Use originals: Uses the supplier's serial numbers. The serial number must be stored in the delivery bill for information purposes to the recipient. No serial number is recorded during storage. This is suitable, for example, for intermediaries who do not need to manage serial numbers
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Store originals + use: Works similar to the option "create own", but is related to serial numbers of the supplier. I.e. when putting away and transferring the goods, the serial number must also be recorded. When the goods are booked out via the delivery bill, affected serial numbers must also be specified. This is suitable for all users who have to manage serial numbers of suppliers
Note
If a simple warehouse booking is used without any further process and the serial number recording is deactivated (Project > Settings > Logistics/Shipping), the serial numbers are assigned automatically during auto shipping. These are not visible in the delivery bill, but in the article under the Serial numbers tab. The allocation is done according to the FIFO principle or according to time stamp.
If the setting store original + use has been defined for an item under Serial numbers, the serial numbers of this item must be recorded during storage.
For items with this setting, the putaway process requires the corresponding number of serial numbers after specifying the quantity to be put away.
The serial numbers can be typed in, read with a barcode scanner, or punched in with the assistant.
In the goods receipt, remarks for the serial number can be specified, which then appear in 2 places:
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Master data > Products > Serial number > In stock
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Master data > Serial number > Warehouse
It is possible to activate the option for warning about duplicate serial numbers under Administration > Settings > System > Basic settings > Number ranges. At the bottom, a check mark can be set next to Duplicate serial numbers warning.
If you have set a duplicate serial number in one of your products, a warning will now appear in a red info box at the top of the page of the corresponding product.
For each article for which any type of serial number management is activated, the query of the number takes place during article shipping under Fulfillment > Shipping center. The serial number can be typed in here or captured with the barcode scanner.
Via Master data > Serial numbers > Customers, serial numbers can be entered or changed subsequently for articles from delivery bills via the pen icon.
In the view that appears, the serial number can be entered or changed.
For a production, you can define under Purchasing > Production > Details whether serial numbers are to be assigned for the produced items and whether the serial numbers for installed parts or assemblies are to be recorded during production. All entered serial numbers are then also automatically linked to the customer for which the production was created.
The serial number of the BOM item is pulled directly from the database. Serial numbers can then be created for all assemblies via Generate serial number.
This prevents duplicate serial numbers from being assigned due to redundant entries in the previous free text field.
If the serial number management is activated for an item, it is possible to find out which serial numbers have been delivered to which customers or which serial numbers are located where in the warehouse via the Customers and In stock tabs in the view Master data > Items > Serial numbers.
For articles with the setting Generate own under Serial numbers, in the tab Generator in Master data > Product > Serial numbers own serial numbers can be generated for printing on stock. To do this, the following parameters must first be set.
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Start number: first serial number from which incrementing is performed
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Number of consecutive number: maximum number of serial numbers that may be generated (→ Largest serial number = start number + number of consecutive number)
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Last assigned number: Serial number that was produced last
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Number of printouts per number: Number of labels printed per serial number
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Print labels: Print labels in the number set above per item
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Printer: Label printer on which the printout is made
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Store directly: Post items with the generated serial numbers directly to the specified storage bin
It should be noted that the generator only saves the last generated serial number. All other settings must be made again each time the generator is used. To avoid the generation of duplicate serial numbers, it is advantageous to embed the current date in the serial number (e.g. "YYMMDD000001" or similar). As soon as Create serial numbers now is clicked, the serial numbers are generated in the predefined number and printed or posted to the warehouse if the appropriate settings have been made.
In addition to the products with serial numbers, a best-before date and / or a batch can also be displayed. The prerequisite for this is that the best-before date/batch management have been activated in the product master data in the Other Settings area and the items have been posted to the warehouse with a best-before date/batch accordingly.
You can now see the best-before date/batch for the stored items with serial number in these areas:
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Master data > Serial Numbers > Stock area
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Master data > Product > *open product* > Serial number > in stock