Serial Numbers in Handling Units (SAP Library - Handling Unit Management (LO-HU))

Serial Numbers in Handling Units

Use

If you are using the Serial Numbers application component (LO-MD-SN), you can assign materials with serial numbers in the items of handling units (HUs). If these handling units are used in deliveries or material documents, the serial numbers are copied automatically into the items of the subsequent documents.

HU requirement can be indicated for a storage location in Customizing. This means that only stocks that are in handling units can exist at this storage location. If a handling unit is at an HU-managed storage location, it has the movement status Available with stock information.

A serial number can only be found in a maximum of one handling unit with the movement status Available with stock information at any one time. The serial number can then only be reused via this handling unit.

A system status is set automatically in the serial number master record when the serial number is assigned to a handling unit at a HU-managed storage location. This status ensures that the serial number cannot be assigned again.

Prerequisites

In order to use serial numbers in handling units, the following prerequisites must be met:

A serial number profile must have been created with the serialization procedure HUSL in Customizing for Serial Number Management.

We also recommend that you set the stock check indicator for this serial number profile. This has the effect that when the handling unit is at an HU-managed storage location, a serial number can only be moved with the assigned handling unit. This prevents use of the serial number in material documents that do not have any reference to the handling unit.

The serial number profile that allows serialization in handling units must be entered in the appropriate material master record.
If you are working with movement types, batches or configurable materials, the valuation type, batch and configuration must already have been defined at the time of the serial number assignment in the handling unit.

Features

Creating and Changing Handling Units

You can specify materials with serial numbers in the items of handling units when you create handling units.

If the serial number usage of the serial number profile is set to Optional (02), you do not need to specify the full number of serial numbers. However, the full number of serial numbers must have been specified by the time the handling unit is used, meaning when a goods movement takes place.The system compares the number of assigned serial numbers with the quantity of items in the handling unit.

The system sets a system status of EHUZ automatically in the serial number master record when the serial number is assigned to a handling unit at an HU-managed storage location. If the serial number is deleted from this handling unit (for example, repacked at a storage location without HU requirement) this system status is canceled. You can also see in the serial number history to which handling units the serial numbers are assigned.

You can also see in the handling unit which serial numbers are assigned. However, after deleting a serial number from the handling unit, it is no longer possible to see to which handling unit the serial number previously belonged.

Goods Issue of a Handling Unit

When you post the goods issue of a handling unit from a storage location with HU requirement, the serial numbers of the handling unit are copied into the material document. You cannot enter any serial numbers manually in the material document. The system cancels the system status EHUZ in the serial number master record. You can see with which handling unit goods issue was posted in the serial number history.

If, when posting the goods issue to a delivery, you make reference to a delivery in which you entered serial numbers manually when creating it, the serial numbers of the delivery are automatically overwritten with the serial numbers of the handling unit.

Goods Receipt of a Handling Unit

When you post the goods receipt of a handling unit to a storage location with HU requirement, the serial numbers of the handling unit are copied into the material document. In this case, you cannot enter any serial numbers manually in the material document. The system sets the system status EHUZ in the serial number master record.

For more information, see Goods Receipt and Putaway.

Note

The system supports serial numbers in handling units when posting goods receipts with reference to production orders. For more information, see Packing in Discrete Manufacturing.

Repacking

You define a storage location without HU requirement for each storage location with HU requirement in Customizing for Handling Unit Management. This storage location is of significance when repacking handling units:

Unpack

When unpacking a handling unit, the system transfers automatically the goods from the storage location with HU requirement to the storage location without HU requirement. The system status EHUZ is deleted in the serial number master record.

For more information, see Unpack.

Pack

When packing a handling unit, the system transfers automatically the goods from the storage location without HU requirement to the storage location with HU requirement. The system status EHUZ is set in the serial number master record.

For more information, see Pack.

Stock transfer

When transferring a handling unit, the serial numbers of the handling unit are always copied to the material document. The following options are conceivable:

Transfer of	Transfer to	Effect in the serial number master record
Storage location with HU requirement	Storage location with HU requirement	The system status EHUZ remains set.
Storage location with HU requirement	Storage location without HU requirement	The EHUZ system status is deleted.
Storage location without HU requirement	Storage location with HU requirement	The EHUZ system status is set.
Storage location without HU requirement	Storage location without HU requirement	The system status EHUZ does not remain set.