Here are a few items to contemplate:
1. Use special purchase orders or special indicators on purchase orders to indicate a specific order that contains serialized product. That will indicate to the manufacturer that an order specifically requires serialization. It signals back to the wholesaler/distributor that the shipment should go through a serialization-specific receiving process.
2. Coordinate with your customer service personnel when initial pilot orders are placed to permit such orders, even though they are for (smaller) nonstandard ordering quantities.
3. Coordinate and train warehouse personnel for pick/ship and receipt handling of the serialized product.
4. Create a process for bleeding out non-serialized inventory while you are introducing serialized inventory and managing what gets shipped to whom.
5. Store serialized product in specialized locations to help manage different processes for serialized versus non-serialized product.
6. Create differentiated processes for managing non-serialized and serialized product at the unit, case, and pallet level.
7. Create new GTINs for serialized goods. GS1 guidance recommends the GTIN change when labeling changes. The addition of a serial number and logistics data carrier such as a DataMatrix may dictate a change. The use of specific GTIN for serialized goods takes the guesswork out of identifying them.
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