Serial number
Some products need a code that belongs to that one item alone, not to a whole delivery: a laptop, a power tool, a coffee machine. With it you can tell which exact unit you sold to which customer, and find it again for a repair, a warranty claim or a recall. That code is called a serial number.
A lot number is shared by every unit in a delivery; a serial number is unique to a single unit. If you record serial numbers when goods arrive and again when they are picked for an order, you can answer 'which unit did this customer get?' in seconds.
The manufacturer assigns the number. Scan it rather than typing it: one wrong character is as good as no record.
In practice
A shop sells electric drills. A customer calls: her drill stopped working after a month. The serial number on the box and in the order record shows it came from the March delivery and was sold on 2 April, which settles the warranty question and tells the shop whether other drills from that delivery need checking.
Further reading
Related terms
Ready to see BizBloqs on your own process?
Book a demo and we will walk your warehouse and order flow end to end — inbound, storage, picking, shipping, returns — and tell you honestly what BizBloqs would change.
Two questions about your own operation
How many of your articles sit in a pick location they empty less than once a month?
Part one: Laying out a warehouse does not start with the racking
After your last integration, how many systems hold a stock quantity for the same item? Name them.