As a 3PL warehouse, we are contracted by manufacturers or distributors to store and ship serialised products, but not to manage detailed inventory traceability at the serial level in-house. This applies for many goods such as low value consumer goods, white goods and solar panels.
In the case of solar panels, they are received in bulk quantities with pallet numbers. Panels are identified by SKU or model, but serial numbers are not captured at the time of receipt. When loose panels are shipped (e.g., to solar installers, contractors, or utility companies), the 3PL captures the serial numbers at picking or packing. Serial numbers are then reported back to the OEM/distributor or stored in the WMS for recordkeeping and downstream traceability.
In the case of white goods, white goods are generally large and often shipped in bulk packaging (e.g., stacked on pallets). The focus at the receiving stage is usually on ensuring the right model and quantity have arrived, not on individual serial numbers. Scanning serial numbers for large, bulky goods can be cumbersome and time-consuming, especially when volume is high and floor space is limited.
Business case:
Allowing serial numbers capturing in sale order processes supports:
Downstream Warranty & Compliance Requirements
Product Recalls
Regulatory Audits
Forcing inbound capture on solar panels is operationally inefficient. Solar panels and white goods are bulky and often arrive in full pallets with minimal visibility to the individual serial numbers during unloading. Capturing serials at the receiving dock would require:
Scanning every serial (for solar panels, there can be up to 30-36 serial numbers per pallet).
Visually scanning or manually recording serials.
Slowing down receiving processes.
Sometimes, 3PL's are not accountable for serial level inventory. The OEM/distributor retains responsibility for warranty and compliance and only needs to know what serials went to which end customer. Therefore, outbound-only capture satisfies the business need without overcomplicating operations.
Edit: The following Scenario we would like to achieve is that if a full Pallet is ordered no Scanning of individual Serial Numbers needs to be done, as there is a Pallet ID supplied by the manufacturer and that is a substantial reference. If less than a full Pallet is ordered then each Panel must be scanned.
Please also note that we do not capture the serial numbers on inbound only the Pallet ID supplied by the Customer. This is because there is no QR Code for multi capture and the volume inbounded is too large and time consuming to scan 1 by 1.
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