The first step when serializing a shop order is to verify that the components for the shop order have been completely pulled. You may only enter the serial number detail for a shop order when the pulled quantity in a shop order is equal to the ordered quantity.
If you need to serialize and complete a shop order that can only be partially pulled, you must split the shop order into a portion that can be completely pulled, serialized and completed, and then complete the order. The unallocated portion of the shop order can then be deleted, or it can be pulled and completed at a later time once the remaining components become available.
Once you have completely pulled the components for a shop order, you may enter the serial number information for serialized items in the shop order. This is done by first creating serial records for the top level items that are being built on the shop order.
The Serial Numbers option (which can be accessed using the Right Mouse or Context Menu in the Shop Order Management program) allows you to input the serial detail for the selected shop order.
When the Serial Numbers option is selected, the system first checks the top level item to see if the item is serialized. If the item is not serialized, the system displays a message, notifying you the item is not a serialized item. If you are building a serialized item (the Product Catalog record for the item has the Serial field set to Y), the system then checks the inventory record for the item to determine if the serial numbers for the item are automatically or manually assigned.
Automatic Serial Number Assignment
If the Inventory record for the top level item being processed has a non – zero value entered into the Serial No field, the system will automatically assign a serial number to each of the top level items in the shop order. The system assigns the top level serial numbers the first time that the Serial Numbers option is selected after completely pulling the components for the order. The system will also re-create the top level serial records (with the next available serial numbers) automatically if you delete the serial records for the top level items and re-select the Serial Numbers option.
When the automatic serial number assignment option is used, the system takes the value in the Serial Prefix field in the Inventory record for the item (this field can store non-numeric portions of the serial number to be assigned to the item) and it appends the value in the Serial No field to this prefix information. The resulting serial number is then assigned to the top level item and the numeric portion of the serial number is incremented by 1. This process is repeated once for each of the top level items being completed. As each serial number is specified, the system creates a record in the Serial Master file to track the Serial Number, and it creates a record in the Serial History file to record the creation of the serial number. The Serial Master record is created with a status of B (being built), and the Serial History record is created with a type of SF (indicating it was created by the shop floor system).
Please Note: When the automatic assignment option is used, the system assigns the next sequential serial number using a counter in the inventory record. Since the counter is in the inventory record and inventory items are location specific, and since each serial/item number must be unique, the Serial No field used for each item must be set differently in each location in which the item is produced. For example: If you build widgets in both your main inventory location and another inventory location, the Serial No field in each location should be set to a unique value that is not likely to overlap with the serial numbers being assigned in the other warehouse location.
Manual Serial Number Assignment
If the Serial Numbers option is selected in the Shop Order Management program and the Catalog record for the top level item has the Serial field set to Y (indicating that the item is serialized), and the Serial No field in the Inventory record for the item is not loaded (ie it is set to 0), the system will NOT automatically create serial records for the item and the serial numbers for the item must be manually input or assigned.
Top level serial numbers can be manually specified in the Shop Order Management program as follows.
• Highlight the appropriate shop order and verify the components for the order have been completely pulled.
• Select the Serial Numbers option. When you select the Serial Numbers option, the system displays the Shop Order Serial Number List. The Shop Order Serial Number list displays the top level serial records for the items being produced on the shop order, and it is also used to link the appropriate component serial numbers to each top level serial record.
• Use the Create Multiple Button, the Create One Button or the Insert option to input the serial numbers for each top level item being produced on the shop order. The shop order number, top level item and the quantity of serial numbers required for the item are displayed in the top section of the Shop Order Serial Number Linker program. Depending on the quantity of serial numbers required, the following options can be used to input the serial numbers.
• Create Multiple: This option allows you to specify the starting serial number to be used for the top level items on the shop order, and it creates the correct number of serial records for the order based on the quantity being processed. The first serial record is created using the specified number and the number is incremented by 1 for each following serial number. When this option is used, the serial number being input must be numeric only. Once you have entered the starting serial number and have pressed ok, the system creates the top level serial records with a status of B (being built) and it creates serial history records with type (SF) for each top level serial record.
• Create One: The Create One option allows you to specify the serial numbers for the top level items one at a time. When this option is used, the system prompts for the top level serial number (“Enter Serial Number”) and the system allows the serial number being input to include both numeric and ASCII characters. As each serial number is input, the system creates the top level serial records with a status of B (being built) and it creates serial history records with type (SF) for each top level serial record.
• Insert: The Insert Option is identical to the Create One Option. The insert option allows you to specify the serial numbers for the top level items one at a time. When this option is used, the system prompts for the top level serial number (“Enter Serial Number”) and the system allows the serial number being input to include both numeric and ASCII characters. As each serial number is input, the system creates the top level serial records with a status of B (being built) and it creates serial history records with type (SF) for each top level serial record.
Note: Regardless of whether the automatic or the manual top level serial option is used, the system verifies that the top level serial numbers do not already exist in the serial file and it displays an error message if a duplicate serial number is being input.