Customer serial number in delivery

[Former Member]

Hello,

Our customer sends us a serial number which we have to paste it on our product & deliver it to the customer. This serial number has to appear on the delivery note. One line item can have many quantities.

Is there any way by which we can enter the serial number in delivery document or get it on the output? We have not configured serial number management.

Thanks for your answers.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

I think that most of the other posters are being thrown off by your use of the term "serial number".  Before you go down the path of activating serialization, can you confirm what business process of yours will be based on these identifers (returns, warranty management, tracking of installed base, repair processing etc.)?  If the answer is "this is the customers id number used in their internal processes and we'll do nothing with it in the future" then this sounds more like a customer specific labelling requirement, and I would go with a text type as was suggested in the reponse from "SAP Explorer".

Sean

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your reply.  Text is a solution but the limitation is that it cannot capture each number for each specific quantity.

[Former Member]

Hi Hussain,

You need to activate serial number management. Yes, serial numbers management does address your requirement because.. in the order it is linked to the item quantity... and so you have the option to enter each serial number for the number of quantity.... check transaction : OIS2 where you need to define the procedure first.

Regards

Vamshi

[former_member205178]

Hi,

Sean has already indicated about the point of implementing Serial Number Management [which you have rightly mentioned is done through T. Code : OIS2].

Activating Serial Number Management is just part of the picture which might address part of the problem but the big picture is what is still needed to me looked at, after a lot of thought keeping in view things like returns, warranty management, tracking of installed base, repair processing,  Reports,  Etc. before being implemented.

Thanks.

[Former Member]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for your inputs. The functionalities mentioned are not being implemented.

[former_member205178]

Hi,

What Sean and I have advocated is that we need to look at the full picture. It need not be a knee jerk reaction here.

I am sure you understand what we mean by full picture is not that you have to implement those functionalities but that if they are implemented in future, your current solution should smoothly fit in. Do you know for sure that this is the case.

Of course some of those things that have been mentioned are based on the type of industry, pro activeness of management, ability of the management to look into future, modules already implemented, etc.

As a consultant it is our job to look at those and not look at short cut solutions.

My two cents. I rest my case.

All the best in solutioning.

Thanks.

[Former Member]

I'd hesitated to weigh in too heavily on this one because it is philosphical in nature, but I'm encouraged by the feedback from SAP Explorer which aligns with my own views.

What we are advocating is that you should think about the current and future process of serialization AS A BUSINESS PROCESS and not just the technical design / cardinality between LIPS and SER01 when you are evaluating using the serialization functionality.  Remeber the serial # profile is not part of the customer material info record-  it is maintained at the material+plant level (MARC), so you will either be making config decisions that impact other customers (as they order the material which is now serialized), or you will have to create a separate material master assigned to your new profile and used exclusively by this customer (to illustrate, assume you want to make the serial number mandatory on the delivery... but only for your customer.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to have a unique material master with a profile that makes the serial number mandatory on the delivery).  Of course, creating new material masters for reasons other than form, fit and function has implications on planning, manufacturing inventory management etc.

Also, one other concern is that the customer is providing the identifiers, so you are carving out a range of numbers that could overlap with your own intended use in the future.  Remeber these serial numbers will exist as data objects until archived... even though you have no real use for them as a business object in a business process (not used in returns, warranties, installed base tracking etc.).

Net-Net - the customer is asking for a label and you are using a functionality that has long-term process and data maintenance implications, so we are just cautioning you to do your homework.

Sean

[former_member205178]

Hi,

I can understand if it is only one or two customers which require this then you don't have to trigger the serialization.

If in case, this is for a number of customers and is a frequent requirement I would recommend triggering Serial Number Management. It is the best bet and practice no argument for that.

Based on my experience, I can state that the moment you try to use another custom process of somehow getting the Customer Serial into delivery, there might come something else, like for example somebody wanting to have Serial Number in a Report, Track Serial Number on Returns, Etc. which again you might have to code and things pile up to have a messed up solution.  

For exceptions, like Serial Number needed for  look at the Standard Texts which are in the Sales Order like for example Shipping Instructions, Etc. These get copied to delivery and are standard things in the output.

Hope that helps you in your solution.

Thanks.

[Former Member]

Thanks for your quick reply. Text is a solution but the limitation is that it cannot capture each number for each specific quantity.

[moazzam_ali]

Hello Hussain

For your scenario you have two options. You can use serial number management or batch management but I would suggest you to use serial number because this is easy to use and maintain. You can add any number of serial numbers in delivery and you can also print on delivery note smartform. Apart from this there are all Z solutions like to maintain a Z table in which you can maintain serial numbers and print on delivery notes.

Thank$

[Former Member]

Thanks MoazzaM for your quick reply.

Z-development is a solution, however i am trying to figure out if any standard functionality is possible.

Thanks again for your help.