Serial numbers are unique identifiers that are assigned to items during production or upon delivery. In EWM, they help to track the entire life cycle of an item – from goods receipt to delivery. No mixing up, no losing, no double bookings.

Serial numbers are primarily used when managing high-priced, safety-relevant or particularly important items. These can be electronic devices, medical devices or machine components. In EWM, you can determine whether a serial number should only be checked at goods receipt, during the entire warehouse process or also on delivery.

1. A service order is created in SAP S/4HANA Service or FSM and the required materials are stored in the order.
2. SAP checks whether the required materials are available in the warehouse. If material is missing, a procurement or stock transfer is triggered. The material requirement is then automatically transferred to SAP EWM as a warehouse requisition.
3. SAP EWM controls picking and goods issue and creates a delivery request for the service order. The warehouse staff carry out the picking.
4. The material is transferred to the service technician or the production line, who confirms the material consumption. The consumption posting is made in SAP S/4HANA. The stock is automatically updated in EWM.
5. The consumed materials are recorded in the service order. The costs are passed on and an invoice is created.
6. The order is completed.

The special thing about qRFC is the queue. Imagine if the system had to send information back and forth chaotically, without any order—it would be a disaster! qRFC ensures that data transmission is structured and processed step by step. If an error occurs, the process stops until the issue is resolved. This way, data remains consistent, and inventory records aren’t incorrectly updated.