How serial tracking works

Kinetic + Classic

Epicor’s serial number behavior is driven by a few settings made once per site and per part. Knowing what they do explains most of what users experience: why a screen suddenly demands serial numbers, why a serial disappears from a list, and why the order of transactions matters.

Settings that control tracking

Site: how much to track

In Site Configuration, on the serial tracking settings for inventory, each site chooses one of:

Option	Epicor asks for serials…	Suits
Full Serial Tracking	On every transaction for a serialized part: receipts (purchase, transfer, job, RMA), adjustments, counts, issues, moves and shipments	Sites that need full traceability inside the building
Outbound Serial Tracking Only	Only when the part ships, to a customer or on a transfer order	Sites that only need to know which serial went to which customer
No Serial Tracking	Never	Sites that don’t serialize

A separate Record Serial Numbers on Inventory Move setting decides whether moving a serialized part between bins in the same warehouse also needs serials. Moves outside that always do.

Site: components inside assemblies

The lower level serial tracking option decides whether Epicor keeps the parent/child link between a finished unit and the serialized components built into it:

Full lower level tracking: when you receive a serialized job, Epicor looks for serialized materials on the job and asks which component serials went into each parent serial.
Outbound only: the component serials are asked for when the product ships.
None: no component link is required (you can still record one in Serial Matching).

The serial matching warning setting decides what happens when components aren’t matched at job receipt: no warning, a warning you can override, or a hard stop until everything is matched.

Part: is it serialized?

A part is serialized when Track Serial Numbers is selected in Part Maintenance. Its serial format (the mask or prefix used to generate numbers) is set from the same screen. See Serial number masks and prefixes.

Operation: from when does the job need serials?

On a job or part method, an operation can have Serial Numbers Required From This Operation selected. From the moment that operation is completed, every later transaction for the job’s parts needs serial numbers: the labor that completes it asks for the serials of the units being finished, and so do receipts and shipments after it.

Put the flag on the operation where a unit first becomes identifiable, typically where the serial plate or label is applied.

Serial number statuses

Every serial number has one status at a time. The ones you’ll meet most:

Status	Meaning
`WIP`	Assigned to a job in progress (either a parent being built or a component issued to it)
`Inventory`	In stock, available to issue, pick or ship
`Consumed`	Built into a parent through serial matching, or issued to a job where no matching is done
`Picked` / `Packed`	On a customer order, being prepared for shipment
`Shipped`	Shipped to the customer
`Inspection` / `DMR` / `Rejected`	Held in inspection, on a DMR, or rejected
`Unassign`	Taken off a job after activity had already been recorded against it
`Adjusted` / `Misc-Issue`	Adjusted out of stock, or issued as a miscellaneous issue

The status is what makes serial problems feel stubborn. Screens only offer serials in the status they expect: Available to Match only shows component serials that are still in WIP on the job; a shipment only offers serials in inventory (or on the job, for shipments from a job).

Where serial numbers come from

Serials can be generated or entered at:

Purchase receipts and transfer order receipts
Jobs: in Serial Number Assignment before or during production, or at labor for the serial-required operation
Job receipts to inventory, to another job or to salvage
Quantity adjustments and cycle counts
RMA receipts
Customer shipments, when the site tracks outbound only

Design considerations

Customer-supplied serials. If the customer supplies the serial numbers and the parent and its components carry the same number, the relationship is already obvious from the numbers. Ask whether you need lower-level matching at all before building a process around it.
Uniqueness. Masks can build serials from several elements (prefix, sequence, date, part number). The more of them you use, the easier it is to keep serials unique across parts and sites, and the longer the numbers get. Decide on the format before go-live; changing it later is painful.
Match at the right time. Matching has to happen while component serials are still in WIP. See Serial matching and shipping.