Working With Serial Numbers (SAP Library - Serial Number Management (LO-MD-SN))

Working With Serial Numbers

Purpose

You use serial numbers to identify items of material, which enables you to distinguish between the individual pieces.

Process Flow

You create a serial number profile in Customizing for Plant Maintenance and Customer Service.

You create a material master record and enter a serial number profile.

You create a batch master record for the material if it is to be managed in batches.

You can create serial number master records in advance if you want to have a pool of serial numbers.

From a technical perspective, an "incomplete" equipment master record is created for this.

You can create configuration data for serial number master records.

You assign serial numbers to the material when business procedures take place (for example, a goods receipt):

Either you assign manually serial number master records that you created in advance, or
The system assigns automatically new serial numbers and creates new serial number master records for this

You add to the data of a master record to make it a "complete" equipment master record if it involves a piece of equipment that:

You want to maintain within your company
You have a maintenance contract for with your customer

You can access all maintenance and service processing functionality via the equipment master record.

You can also create serial number master records if no serial number profile is entered in the material master record. However, use in business procedures is only possible if the serial number profile has been entered in the material master record.