Understanding serialized items

Serialized items are items that have a unique serial number associated with them. Examples of serialized items include cell phones, laptops, tablets, modems, TV streaming devices, and certain types of cards (e.g., SIM cards, phone cards).

Most items will only have one serial number. Other items, such as cell phones, may have two or three serial numbers. RMH can record up to three serial numbers for serialized items.

You can configure RMH to require serial numbers to be recorded when receiving serialized items into inventory. This may be necessary to establish chain of custody in the shipping and receiving process for controlled items such as firearms or pharmaceuticals. However, requiring serial numbers to be recorded when receiving serialized items may be too time-consuming in a high-volume retail store that receives hundreds of serialized items in a single shipment, such as a large cell phone store or a big box technology store. For this reason, requiring serial numbers when receiving serialized items is an option that you can enable or disable in the store rules.

If serial numbers are recorded when receiving serialized items into inventory, the serial numbers are automatically added on the Serial tab in the Item window when the purchase order is received and the changes are committed to the store database. If the store does not record serial numbers when receiving serialized items, the store can record serial numbers on the Serial tab in the Item window after the items have been received, or they can enable a store rule that allows cashiers or salespeople to enter serial numbers in POS when serialized items are sold.