Serialized Items Overview

Track detailed information for items that are sold, rented, or serviced.

The Serialized Items module of EBMS is used to record detailed information for individual serialized items being sold. The serial number creates a unique record that can be referenced for history purposes. Item details, pricing, additional costs, and options can be recorded for individual products.  Equipment, vehicles, prebuilt buildings, kits, and other whole goods are some of the items that may be serialized.  This individualized information is required to properly process a warranty claim or review details about the unit. The service history of a unit is compiled by associating the work order to the specific serialized unit.

The Serialized Item module is a powerful tool to record the VIN number of vehicles or trailers, track the serial number of specific pieces of equipment, or create ID numbers for large manufactured items.  EBMS also contains the ability to decode the VIN number to list the vehicle's year, make, model, and copy the vehicle specifications from  NHTSA | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Review the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Decoding section for more details.

Scenario: An equipment manufacturing company builds material handling equipment for clients who crush and screen stone.  Each unit is identified with a unique serial number.   The model, size, and parts details are recorded for each unit at the time it is manufactured.  The customer service staff references the equipment by serial number or an alternative stock number to identify the status, the owner, purchase date, and warranty details about each piece of equipment.  Some serial numbers are purchased and used as kits within the finished goods solution.  The main unit’s serial number is created during the EBMS manufacturing process and includes subassemblies and replacement part details.

Scenario: A lift truck sales and service company identifies each unit using the truck’s serial number.  Each new lift truck’s serial number is recorded when the unit is purchased from the vendor.  Used vehicle serial numbers are recorded when the unit is traded in from the customer.  The cost and labor to refurbish these trade-ins and resell them are associated to the serial number.  All the customer’s lift trucks serviced by this company are serialized even though they were not purchased from the same company.  The equipment make, model, and specifications are recorded for all units including new, refurbished, and service only vehicles.  Lift truck details are recorded for all serialized units that are rented to customers.   This comprehensive serialized item process is important to manage all equipment being sold, rented, or serviced by the company.

Scenario: A mini barn dealership uses serial numbers to identify individual storage sheds.  The shed is serialized during the manufacturing process, used to identify the building during the sales, delivery, and rent-to-own process.  The unique number within building can be referenced for warranty or leasing purposes.   Warranty issues can be associated with each serial number to manage the mini barns after the sale.  The detailed specifications as well as any pertinent documents can be associated with the serialized item record.  Evaluating margins and job profits for individual buildings is an important step in managing the shed sales process.  Managing both custom and stock buildings are simplified by using the serialized item tool within EBMS.

Scenario:  An auto accessories dealer identifies the vehicle on the work order and sales invoice when billing aftermarket parts for customer fleets, trucks, and other vehicles.  The vehicle specs can identify the year, make, model, and other details of the dealer’s vehicles, company fleet vehicles, or the customer’s vehicle(s). These details are needed for the sales staff to quickly identify the correct accessory for a customer’s specific vehicle.  These VIN details are displayed on the work order allowing the technician to quickly identify the vehicle.

Insider Video: Power of Serialization

Serialized Item ERP Support Training

The following businesses would benefit from the serialized items module:

• Sales companies that need to track serialized products that are purchased, inventoried, and sold.

• Service companies that wish to track the service history for whole goods such as vehicles, small engines, air and heating systems, and other serialized goods.

• Sales companies that recondition trade-in units and resell them.

• Manufacturers that serialize the products they build or manufacture.

• Manufacturers that create made-to-order products that contain unique characteristics and details.

• Companies that sell items such as collectables, paintings, quilts, or other unique items that are tracked and priced individually.

• Companies providing warranty service on their products

Creating Serial Numbers

Serialized items can be added to the EBMS inventory using one of the following methods:

1. Items purchased: Review the Purchasing or Manufacturing an Item > Purchasing Serialized Items section for details in purchasing items.

2. Trade-in items: Review the Purchasing or Manufacturing an Item > Trade-in an Item section for trade-in steps.

3. Items manufactured: Review the Manufacturing a Serialized Item section for more details in creating items.

Larger kitted items are often serialized to identify the finished goods. Combining the serialized item option and the Configure-To-Order kitting option allows the user to customize and track individual pieces of equipment, mini buildings, or other types of large custom items. There are two powerful kitting processes that may be valuable to serialize. See the two options below:

1. Configure-To-Order (CTO): This option should be used when the serialized item is purchased as a complete unit rather than assembled by the user. Review the Configure-To-Order Kitting Overview section for more details on this process.

2. Made-to-Order (MTO): This option should be used to sell a serialized item that has been manufactured from individual components and assembled rather than a serialized item numbered by the vendor. Review the Made-to-Order Overview section for more details on this process.

Both serial numbers and internal stock numbers must be unique per product code.  

EBMS contains the ability to automatically create the serial number.  Review the Creating a Serial Number for more information on generating serial numbers manually or automatically.  

Review the Product Catalog > Changing and Item Classification for instructions to changing the Classification to a serialized classification.  

The serial number must be selected when a serialized item is sold. Review the Selling a Serialized Item section for more details on selecting the item at the time of sale.

Serialized items can also be displayed within an EBMS e-commerce website. Review [Sales] E-commerce > Creating Content > Template Options > Serialized Items for more details.

Details per Serial Number

Each serialized item record may also contain various descriptions, images, and user defined specifications for each serialized item. These descriptions are valuable when identifying individual items. Review the Serialized Item Specifications and other Item Details section for details on the various description options.  A VIN decoder can simplify creating specifications for vehicles.  Review Vehicle Indentification Number (VIN) Decoding for more details on this powerful built-in feature.

Costs can be added to a serialized item to track the total investment of a specific item before it is sold. Review the Adding Parts and Other Costs to a Serialized Item section for more details.

Serialized items can be priced individually rather than pricing based on the inventory item. Review the Selling and/or Associating an time with a customer > Pricing Serialized Items section for more details on pricing.

The history of an item can be tracked including details, history, and the ownership. Review the Viewing Item Details and History and the Changing the ownership of an item sections for more details.

To display component details within the Description of a serialized item to enable the ability to print it on the sales order review the Pricing Serialized Items section.

Lookup Serial Numbers

Lookup any serial number entered into the system by selecting Inventory > Serialized from the main EBMS menu to open the following serialized item lookup list:

Click on the Serial Number column to search by serial number or click on Internal Stock Number to search by the alternative serial number.

Select All Items to search for any serialized item.

Select Available for Sale to limit the items that are available to sell.    

Review Viewing or Changing Serialized Items from the Inventory Item for details on viewing serial numbers per product code.  

Review Viewing or Adding Service Only Items to a Customer for details on serialized items attached to a customer for service only purposes.

Review Scanning Serial Numbers for instructions on accessing items using a barcode.

The list may be limited to the serialized items within a specific warehouse by selecting a warehouse from the drop down.   Review Multiple Inventory Location Management for more details on this option.

Internal Stock or Alternate Serial Number

Some companies may need to record a pair of unique serial numbers for a vehicle or piece of equipment.  For example, a trailer manufacture may use an internal stock number to build a trailer and then attach a secondary VIN number for the unit when it is completed.  

A serialized item can be accessed on a look up dialog, sales selection list, or scanned barcode using the Internal Stock Number instead of the main serial number.  

Review Recording a Vehicle or Equipment by VIN Number for details.

Common use cases

Create Unique Records