Serialized Cycle Counting
Cycle counting of serial items takes place within the standard cycle counting functionality in Inventory; however, the following sections discuss additional considerations specific to serialized cycle counting.
Defining Cycle Counts
All cycle counts are defined in the Cycle Counts window. See: Defining and Maintaining a Cycle Count.
Four options set in this window govern the handling of serial controlled items:
Count
Not Allowed: Serialized items are excluded from the cycle count.
One Per Request: A separate count request is generated for each serial number.
Multiple Per Request: Serial numbers for the same item/location are grouped in one count request.
Detail
Quantity and Serial Numbers: Serial number and quantity are required and are validated when entering counts.
Quantity Only: Serial number entry is required if the count quantity does not match the system quantity. Serial number entry is optional if the count quantity matches the system quantity, regardless of whether the serial numbers match. If you do not enter serial numbers, the count is marked as completed, and no adjustments are performed. If you do enter serial numbers, both quantity and serial numbers are validated when determining whether adjustments are required.
Adjustment
Review All Adjustments: No automatic adjustments are attempted. Serialized items that require adjustment must go to an approver for review.
Adjust if Possible: If a discrepancy exists between the count quantity and system quantity or if the entered serial numbers do not correspond to the serial numbers already in the specified location, then the system will attempt to make adjustments if the adjustment variance and value are within tolerances, as long as serial uniqueness constraints are not violated. These adjustments consist of receipts and issues of the appropriate serial numbers to and from the specified location and are applicable only to instances in which new serial numbers or shipped serial numbers are counted.
If the adjustment quantity or value for a serialized item falls outside the specified tolerances, the item is sent for recount or approval, just like a non-serialized item.
Discrepancy
Allow Discrepancies: When a count includes a serial number already assigned to the same item elsewhere in the system, an adjustment is created if it would be within tolerances. No adjustment is ever allowed for counts including serial numbers already assigned to another item.
Do Not Allow Discrepancies: Adjustments are not made for items not found in the specified location.
Scheduling and Generating Count Requests
Scheduling now includes serial numbers, as does the cycle count generation. If the Count option in the cycle count definition is set to One per Request, then one count request is created for each serial number for the item in a specific location. If the Count option is set to Multiple per Request, then one count request is created for all serial numbers in the specified item locations.
For the zero count generation of serial numbers, the only way to get a meaningful zero count entry for a serial number is to specify the serial number in the Manual Schedule Requests window. (See: Entering Manual Schedule Requests) Otherwise, zero count requests are created for serial controlled items, but they will not have a serial number tied to them.
Entering Cycle Counts
How you enter cycle counts depends on the Count and Detail option settings in the count definition. When the Count option is set to One Per Request and the Detail option is set to Quantity Only, the count request itself contains the serial number, and you enter a count quantity of either present or missing. When the Count option is set to Multiple Per Request and the Detail option is set to Quantity and Serial Numbers, the Serial Number field in the count request is disabled, and you must use the Cycle Count Serial Detail window to specify whether the serial number is present. If you selected Quantity Only as the Detail option, you must use the Cycle Count Serial Number Details window if there is a quantity mismatch.
On-hand quantities for serial numbers are retrieved when count requests are queried. Thus, it is possible to have count requests for serial numbers with an on-hand quantity of zero. If you mark the serial number as present, then you will need to make an adjustment.
Approving and Adjusting Counts
The approval process for serialized items differs from that for non-serialized items. Serial numbers that are misplaced (at a different location or for a different item) cannot be adjusted.
Counts in which there is a misplaced serial number are sent for approval, regardless of whether the adjustment variances fall within tolerance if discrepancies are allowed. However, if a count entry contains a serial number found in another location, the count request cannot be approved until the discrepancy is corrected. You can make the correction manually in the Transaction window, or you can cycle count the other location (performing an issue, adjustment transaction) and then recount the first location.
For serial numbers that do not appear in the cycle count request but are entered by the counter, adjustment transactions are considered receipts. These receipt transactions are allowed for the serial statuses where the unit is defined but never used and where the unit has been issued out of stores. For serial numbers that appear in the count request but are not marked as present by the counter, adjustment transactions are considered issues. These issue transactions are allowed for the serial status where the unit is received into stores. Count requests whose serial adjustments fall into these two categories may have adjustment transactions performed against them and may complete normally.
See Also
Entering Cycle Counts
Count Adjustments and Approvals
