Serial Numbers in

EWM
Supply Chain Execution
SCM 5.0

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 Serial Number Support

Def. Serial number: Serial numbers are digit and/or character combinations (length
30), assigned to a product for the whole lifecycle to differentiate that item from items
of the product. The combination of product and serial number is unique.

Def. Serial number profile: Combined data, grouped in a four-figure abbreviation,

that determines the conditions and business transactions for issuing serial numbers
to serialized products.
You must enter the serial number profile in the product master records for products
that need serial numbers.
In ERP a global serial number profile has to be defined. Within EWM a warehouse
number dependent profile can be defined: EWM will search – for a product with
assigned serial number profile – first for the warehouse dependent profile and if not
found EWM will take the global profile.

Following serial number requirement types are available:

A Serial Numbers for Document Items
B Serial Numbers on Warehouse Number Level
C Serial Numbers in Inventory Management
D No Serial Number Requirement (only for redefinition necessary)

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„ You use serial numbers if you want to identify or trace single units in the warehouse. Extended
Warehouse Management (EWM) only controls the serial numbers until goods issue posting (as a
movement date). You can also extract the serial number as textual information from the delivery
document, meaning that further information is saved only by the ERP system.
„ If you use the data record for master data in the ERP system, you can carry out evaluations with
the serial number history and, for example, check partner data.
„ In EWM, you can specify a serial number with a maximum length of 30 characters. However, if
you want to use data records for master data in the ERP system, the serial number in EWM can
only have 18 characters. If necessary, you can use the BAdI /SCWM/EX_ERP_SN for mapping
the serial number between the ERP system and EWM.

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 Serial number requirement

A B C
Serial numbers on Serial numbers in
Document items warehouse number level Inventory Managment

Wareh. 0001 Bin 4711:

Inb. Delivery
Serial nr.:
Item 10: product x Product x, 2 PC:
SN x1, … SN x10 Product x:
SN x1, x5
Item 20: product y SN x1, x5, …
SN 1, … SN 5 Product y, 1 PC
… Product y:
SN 4
SN 4, SN 5, …

Depending on DLV Serial number Serial number

item type must or necessary for every necessary given for
possibility goods receipt/issue every movement

Control of SN Information, which Exact information

possible, e.g. in SNs are available in where SN is located
returns process warehouse in warehouse

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„ You can have the serial number control on the document level, the warehouse number level, or
the bin level (inventory management).

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 Process Flow for Individual Serial Number Requirements

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„ If execute a change in stock, EWM identifies the serial number profile that belongs to a product.
Depending on your Customizing, this serial number can be warehouse number dependent or
independent.
„ EWM copies either the serial number from the ERP system or you enter it manually.
„ EWM saves the serial number.

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 Serial Number Entry Points

Serial Number Entry of Serial Number in Entry of Serial Number in Entry of Serial Number in Information
Requirement Goods Receipt Goods Issue Internal Warehouse
Movements

Serial number for Serial number with Serial number with No entry possible Check with serial
document items advanced shipping advanced shipping number possible, for
notification by scanning or notification; mandatory if the example, in the
entering manually; item type of the delivery has returns process.
mandatory if the item type of been determined in
the delivery has been Customizing
determined in Customizing

Serial numbers at Serial number with Serial number by scanning No entry possible Information on which
warehouse number advanced shipping or entering manually serial numbers are
level notification by scanning or available in which
entering manually warehouse.

Serial Numbers in Serial number with Serial number by scanning If Handling Unit is only Exact storage bin or
Inventory Management advanced shipping or entering manually partly confirmed, serial stock information
notification by scanning or numbers by scanning or
entering manually entering manually

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„ If you choose the serial number requirement, you have to weigh the administrative expenditure
against the degree of detail of the information.

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 Integration of Serial Number in Delivery - Receipt

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„ In the goods receipt process, EWM can copy the serial number for document items (at
warehouse number level and in inventory management) from the ERP system to the delivery. In
doing this, it checks the data for the serial numbers for errors.
„ If there are no errors in the data from the ERP system, EWM copies it to the inbound delivery
notification.
„ If the data in more than one delivery item contains the same serial number for a product, EWM
does copy this data to the inbound delivery notification, but then you cannot activate the
respective delivery. You can display the inactive delivery document, choose the change mode
and activate the delivery document.
„ Once EWM has copied data from the ERP system to the inbound delivery notification, it carries
out one of the following possible activities:
„ If you determined the serialization for the product in the serial number profile, EWM copies the
serial number from the inbound delivery notification to the inbound delivery.
„ If you did not determine a serialization for the product, EWM does not copy the serial number to
the inbound delivery.

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 Integration of Serial Number in Delivery - Issue

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„ In the goods issue process, EWM does not copy serial numbers from the ERP system, so the
outbound delivery requestdoes not contain any serial numbers. Instead of this, EWM receives
serial numbers in one of the following ways:
„ You manually enter the serial numbers for document items for picked quantities in the outbound
delivery orderor you scan them in.
„ If you have set the indicator SN for specific item types (in addition to the serial number
requirement Serial Number for Document Items), you must specify serial numbers. If you are
only working with the serial number requirement Serial Numbers for Document Items, you can
specify serial numbers. For more information on the prerequisites for serial numbers for
document items, see Using Serial Numbers.
„ You manually enter the serial numbers (at warehouse number level) for document items for
picked quantities in the in the outbound delivery order or you scan them in. In addition, EWM can
also copy the serial number from your warehouse task (WT) or the handling unit (HU). EWM
copies the serial number with the delivery item to the outbound delivery.
„ EWM only copies the serial numbers in inventory management from your WT or HU. EWM
copies the serial number with the delivery item to the outbound delivery.

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