SAP Serial Number

Serial numbers are unique identifiers used in the SAP system to track a company's products and items. They are typically assigned when an item is produced or acquired, and can be used to track inventory, stock movements, and business transactions related to a specific product or item. Serial numbers are also useful for tracking the history of a product and verifying its quality.

It is therefore an essential tool for tracking a company's products and items efficiently and accurately.

SAP Serial number - The modules concerned

Depending on the sector, the need to use a serial number is different. Some of the most commonly used modules include:

It allows you to track the inventory of products and items using serial numbers. It also allows you to plan stock movements and commercial transactions related to these products.

It uses serial numbers to track the products manufactured by the company. It allows to plan the production, to follow the manufacturing steps and to control the quality of the finished products.

The latter implements this functionality to track products and items from suppliers, but also to plan and manage deliveries to customers.

Similarly, it is possible to manage inventory and sales of these products or items efficiently, ensuring that each unit is tracked individually. This can also be useful for managing returns and complaints, allowing you to quickly trace the origin of a specific problem.

In short, a serial number can be involved in different business processes. This is set in the customizing.

SAP Serial Number - Serial Number Profile

To begin with, it is mandatory to assign a Serial Number Profile to the item we wish to serialize. Indeed, this operation is mandatory and will allow to define the functionalities linked to this serial number.

An important information is that this profile is affected for a Plant and can be different from one Plant to another.

Serial Number Profile Material Master Data

The question then arises: in which context will I need this serial number?

Do I want to sell a serialized item?
Do I want to manage its repair?
Produce it?
Etc.

Thus, the way you use this serial number will define its profile.

Serial Number Profile

SPRO : Plant Maintenance and Customer Service - Master Data in plant Maintenance and Customer Service - Technical Objects - Serial Number Management - Define Serial Number Profiles

Note: there are other paths, this is one of them.

Serial Number profile code and description
Specifies whether the serial number indicated in a business transaction must exist before, or will be created via this transaction when it is executed
Default value of the equipment category proposed when creating the serial number.
Stock check: checks (or not) the stock status when assigning a serial number. Allows, in case of problem, to display a warning or error message if an inconsistency is encountered.

Serializing Procedures

Note that in this part we will choose for which business procedures the use of serial numbers will be applied.

Defined in the Serial Number Profile
Business Procedure Code. This defines its context of use and when it will be asked to enter a serial number. Here is the list of available procedures below.
For each procedure, you must define its use. Is the serial number optional? Mandatory? Or automatic?
Finally, this option allows you to define whether a piece of equipment is automatically created in background when the serial number is created or whether the choice is proposed.

Thus, in the example presented, the serial number will be used when the article is received or taken out of stock (MMSL). Also in the production orders (PPAU and PPRL) but also in the quality department via the dedicated procedure (QMSL), to mention only these examples.

Serial Number Profile - Assignment

Once the profile is created, it is essential to assign it to a material in its Master Data record.

Transaction : MM02

Serial Number Profile Material Master Data

In order to serialize it, you must indicate the profile here.

The second field "SerLevel" allows to define if the created serial number will be synchronized with its equipment or not:

SAP Serial number - example

Thanks to this setting, we will now be able to make an example and receive the article analyzed previously.

The stocking of the article will generate in background the creation of an equipment synchronized with the serial number.

Goods receipt / creation

When our article is received, a new tab is displayed:

Here it is possible to indicate manually the serial number to be assigned, for each item, or to create it automatically via the available check box.

It is also possible to create it directly via the IQ01 transaction:

Created equipment

Following its creation, we can find the equipment and its Master Data :

It is in this tab that we find the different information of the serial number:

The general information of the article with its SAP number and its associated serial number
Its history (any action linked to a serial number is traced here)
More precise information about the stock (where it is located, its possible use, etc.)

Conclusion

To conclude, we can say that serial numbers are an important part of the SAP system, as they allow for unique and accurate tracking of products. They can be used to monitor the movement of products within the company, as well as to record important information such as production date and location.

By using the serial number management capabilities in SAP, companies can improve product tracking and meet regulatory requirements for traceability.

In addition, serial numbers can also be used to improve production planning and inventory management, which can lead to increased efficiency and reduced costs.

All this makes it an absolute must-have feature that should not be missed.

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