Updating serial numbers on received purchase orders (POs) ensures precise tracking and inventory accuracy. You can add or modify serial numbers during the receiving process by scanning or manually entering them. Accurate serial number management is crucial for effective stock control and product traceability.
If you're already tracking serial numbers for products and you've kept that serial tracking information somewhere besides Katana (such as a spreadsheet or other system), you can use our import template to bulk-add serial numbers to fully received POs and outsourced purchase orders (OPOs).
To use serial tracking in Katana, you'll need to be on an Standard plan or higher. Upgrade from the Subscription page in Katana or by enabling a Standard feature (e.g. enabling batch tracking for an item in Katana).
Importing serial numbers
Download the template for serial numbers by heading to the Settings screen > Data import
Find the Update purchase orders with serial numbers section and click Download data.
This file includes the list of received POs that have:
Items with serial numbers assigned (if you've added serial numbers into Katana)
Items with serial number tracking enabled but no specified serial numbers. In this case, the Serial number field will be empty in the file.
Add serial number data to the file.
* = Required Field
*Katana ID: imported serial numbers are matched to existing PO rows in Katana by the Katana ID. These IDs are not visible within Katana and are used solely for matching rows. If the Katana ID field is empty or doesn't match an existing PO row in Katana, it will be skipped during import.
PO #: the received PO number which serial numbers will be attached to. This field is used as only as reference and will not be updated via import.
Note: The file considers PO row quantities and will display the connected amount of rows for each PO row based on the row quantity. For example, if a PO's row quantity = 30, then 30 rows for each PO row is displayed.
Received date: the date when a row was received. This field is used as only as reference and will not be updated via import.
Variant code: the SKU for the variant that the serial number is assigned to. This field is used as only as reference and will not be updated via import.
Variant code: the name of the variant that the serial number is assigned to. This field is used as only as reference and will not be updated via import.
*Serial number: a field that defines the serial number for each Item. Each row in the file is a specific serial number for an item variant.
For example:
If a Serial number field is empty, the row will be skipped during import.
In Katana, each serial number is unique for an item variant. A row will be skipped if the same serial number for a specific variant already exists. If you enter multiple rows for the an item variant with a matching serial number, only the last row for this group will be imported.
Import the completed template into Katana from the Settings screen > Data import by clicking Upload data under Update purchase orders with serial numbers.
Katana will review the file to see if it matches the import requirements (the required columns exist in the file) and will notify you if there is an issue.
If the import is successful, Katana will indicate how many rows were imported.
Once imported, purchase orders are updated with serial numbers.
You can also bulk update serial numbers on completed manufacturing orders using the Update manufacturing orders with the serial numbers template.
Your feedback is invaluable. Let us know your thoughts on this article or anything in Katana you'd like to see improved: [email protected]