Serial-Tracked Items

I've never seen that on the PO side, but I wonder if you used PO20.3 and track it in a user field if your EDI carrier will pick it up. I also wonder if the serial field you found is the receiving TRACKING field, that I believe is the package tracking field?

The serial numbers for items in inventory are stored in ITSERIAL.

To get it on the PO when replacing an item, you are probably limited to using a user field on the PO line. I'm not sure if that would come thru on the EDI file or not, but if not, it would require a modification to the PO EDI file generation program.

If you want to go the modification route, you could modify PO23 to have a drop-down from ITSERIAL for the item on each PO line. Then that selection could get written to either a custom table, a user field on the PO line, or to the comments. Then it would be a modification to the PO EDI file generation program to get that in the file.

Depending on how you print the POs, running them thru printing software you might have had some more flexiblity as to doing lookups, etc.

A Design Studio modification might be a little less intrusive (you wouldn't be modifying PO20/PO23 base code, you'd be layering on top of it ), which would help you from a support standpoint. In other words, if you modified the LID version, you'd have to reapply those modifications after installing CTPs and/or MSPs. Of course, you'd still have a customized version of the PO print programs.

Finally, one final point. ...the ITSERIAL table is just a list of serial numbers for items in the item master, so there's no way to attach a serial number to a particular item.

So, if you have Asset Management, that may be a better why to track the replacement:

Think about it this way.
Assets have asset items (not inventory items)
Assets can be tagged as being part of inventory (and can be printed on inventory reports)
Asset Items have serial numbers.
On AM20.6, you can specify an asset going out for repair and attach it to a PO.
You then use Crystal (or modify Lawson PO printing) to lookup the asset item's serial number (you'd probably want to add an index on AMASTRPAIR for PO fields).
When you receive the replacement, you can dispose of the old asset, and add the new asset.
Not sure if that works for you or not, but it's worth some thought.

I don't like the statement "the ITSERIAL table is just a list of serial numbers for items in the item master, so there's no way to attach a serial number to a particular item". The serial number (like the lot and bin number) are referred to in Lawson Inventory as Item Details. Such Details are processed on Walk-Thru screens in IC, WH, and PO. There is a flag on the PO Company that asks if you want to include Item Details on a PO, but that merely refers to the Requesting Location. There is no way to place a serial number on a PO because, typically, buyers aren't in a position to order by serial number. Rather, you record the serial number that is shipped as part of the Receiving Walk Thru procedure. So ITSERIAL is a detail file of ITEMLOC. For a given itemloc, you are able to see the serial numbers that comprise the itemloc quantity (by drilling on the item's details).

For this user's consignment related question, your drop down solution is ideal. I don't find the asset module particularly helpful because you'd need to have a template to record the incoming asset as well as an asset number for the outgoing one; I don't think Lawson will allow both on the PO line. It's not technically a repair. A newly ordered asset would have a new useful life to record (and perhaps a new cost). At the very least it would constitute an adjustment. Further, none of the asset stuff edi's.

Thanks, all. I'll look into the AM solution you suggested. Sounds like it's the way to go.