Barcode Serial Numbers
If a company resells serial numbered products, it is often the case that the serial numbers are already printed on or attached to the products as barcodes when the company receives them from its supplier. Thus it is common to use barcode serial numbers for internal stock record-keeping also, rather than assigning new serial numbers.
The time at which you typically record these serial numbers into your inventory records is when you receive the products into your inventory as a shipment. As you unload boxes from the truck or unpack items from a box, you barcode serial numbers and associate them with the items in the inventory system that they represent.
How to Keep a Serial Number but Change the Product ID
Hi everyone, this is Jacie with Finale Inventory and today in this video I'll introduce you to the change item state feature in the Finale Inventory barcode scanning app. This tool allows you to reassign inventory from one product ID to another while keeping the same lot or serial number attached. This is especially useful when products are evaluated or reclassified. For example, in graded electronics, each device has a unique serial number. You might receive items under a generic ungraded product ID, and after inspection, you'll want to move each device to the correct graded product ID, like grade A, grade B, or grade C. Instead of creating new inventory records, Finale lets you seamlessly transfer the lot or serial to its proper product ID. Here's how it works. Here I have an ungraded product in Finale. Here's a serial number. If we scroll down to the product lookups, we can see a specific lot ID or a serial number assigned to this product ID. In the barcode scanner app, select change item state.
Scan or enter the short code of the product you want to update. Finale will show the current product ID tied to that lot. Select the new product ID you want the lot or serial assigned to. For example, moving lot 123 from ungraded to grade A.
Confirm the change and sync the scanner.
Finale instantly updates the product association while keeping the original lot or serial number intact. Here you can see the serialized stock has been moved to the grade A product ID. This ensures traceability while keeping your product catalog clean and accurate. And that's it. The change item state feature gives you the flexibility to reclassify items without losing important lot or serial information, making it ideal for businesses that grade, sort, or reassign products after they're received.