Lot and serial tracking from a handheld means a warehouse worker scans the lot or serial number once, at the moment the item moves, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central records it on the receipt, pick, count or shipment without anyone retyping it in the office. Business Central already stores and enforces lot numbers, serial numbers and expiration dates; what it does not do on its own is capture them at the dock door or the pick face. This article explains the standard item tracking model first, then what changes when a scanner does the capture at each step.
What does Business Central do with lot and serial numbers out of the box?
Business Central controls lot and serial tracking through the Item Tracking Code, a setup record you assign to each tracked item. Microsoft Learn describes it plainly: “An item tracking code reflects the different considerations regarding the use of serial and lot numbers for items moving through the inventory” (set up item tracking with serial, lot, and package numbers).
The fields on that page decide how strict the system is:
- SN Specific Tracking and Lot Specific Tracking require a serial or lot number on every inbound and outbound transaction, so the same number follows the unit for its whole life in inventory.
- SN Warehouse Tracking and Lot Warehouse Tracking extend that requirement to warehouse activity lines: put-aways, picks and movements.
- Use Expiration Dates, Require Expiration Date Entry and Strict Expiration Posting control whether an expiration date is stored, whether someone must type it at receipt, and whether expired stock can post outbound at all.
Once the code is assigned, every posting that touches the item goes through the Item Tracking Lines page. The person receiving a purchase order opens that page, enters the lot number and quantity, and the totals must reconcile to the document line before posting. Microsoft’s guidance on assigning serial and lot numbers on documents covers that page in detail.
A first-hand edge case: if Lot Specific Tracking is on but Lot Warehouse Tracking is off, a Warehouse Pick at a bin-mandatory location will not ask for the lot on the pick line. Someone at a desk assigns it at shipment posting, so the picker’s scan and the posted lot can disagree.
Why does lot and serial tracking break down when it lives on paper?
The standard model is sound; the failure is in how the data reaches it. Without scanning, the receiver writes lot numbers on the packing slip, a clerk types them into Item Tracking Lines later, and the picker copies a lot from a label onto a pick list. Every transcription is a chance for a 0 to become an O.
The consequences are specific: a recall becomes a search through paper, an expired lot ships because the picker never saw the date, and a warranty return shows a different serial than the one in the box. The existing article on compliance for lot and serial number tracking in Business Central covers the regulatory side of that problem; this one stays on the mechanics.
How does scanning lot and serial numbers change each warehouse step?
Scanning changes one thing: the lot or serial number is captured where the unit is, by the person touching it, and Business Central validates it at that moment. Mobile warehouse management for Business Central through Warehouse Insight follows the same pattern at every step: choose or scan the document, scan the bin where bins are mandatory, scan the item, capture the tracking, enter the quantity, post.
Receiving: capturing lot, serial and expiry at the dock
At receipt, Warehouse Insight captures lot, serial, package and expiry values in three ways: prefilled from the barcode, auto-generated from the number series, or read by OCR from printed text where no barcode exists. The values land on the Warehouse Receipt or purchase order line as item tracking, so the office never retypes them. Receiving is also where a lot label gets printed if the vendor did not supply one, which makes every downstream scan possible.
Picking: confirming the right lot before it leaves the bin
On a Warehouse Pick, the device shows the lot or serial that Business Central assigned to the pick line and asks the picker to scan it. A mismatch is reported at the scan, not ten minutes later. Where the Location Card has Pick According to FEFO enabled, Business Central sorts pick lines so the earliest expiring lot is picked first, provided the item tracking code has Lot Warehouse Tracking or SN Warehouse Tracking on, the stock was posted with an expiration date, and, for Warehouse Picks, the location has Bin Mandatory on. Microsoft documents the prerequisites in picking items by FEFO. Scanning is what makes that rule enforceable rather than advisory.
Counting: reconciling at lot level instead of item level
A count of a lot-tracked item is only useful if it records which lot was found in which bin. Warehouse Insight count sheets reconcile at lot level. For multi-user counts, formal recount sheets and a posting test report that flags missing item tracking before the batch runs, Advanced Inventory Count handles lot and serial number reconciliation during inventory counts. One boundary to state plainly: the Standard Count in WMS Express does not count lot or serial numbers; that capability requires Advanced Inventory Count.
Shipping: carrying lot and serial into the package
Once the pick is registered, the lot or serial is already on the shipment lines. Dynamic Ship extends that to the carton: its Package Worksheet verifies each item scanned into a box, and the package-level serial and lot tracking for Business Central page describes how that detail is kept per package. That package-level record is what feeds an EDI 856 Advance Ship Notice for customers who ask which lot is in which carton.
Can a GS1 barcode give me item and lot in one scan?
Yes, if the label carries a GS1-128 barcode with Application Identifiers. GS1 US notes that “the GS1-128 barcode can carry up to 48 characters of information,” and that the Application Identifiers tell the scanner what each segment means (what is a GS1-128 barcode). The common ones for warehouse work are (01) GTIN, (10) batch or lot, (17) expiration date and (21) serial number; the full list is in the GS1 Application Identifier reference.
In practice the worker scans one barcode and the device splits it into item, lot, expiry and quantity. Warehouse Insight uses Barcode Rules in Business Central to define how a scanned string is parsed, so a vendor label with a lot in AI (10) fills the lot field without a second scan. WMS Express parses lot, serial and package values from the barcode as well. If your own labels need to carry the same structure, Barcode Generator PowerTool adds GS1-128 symbology to Business Central reports. This is a completely free app from Insight Works for Business Central.
| Task | Typed from paper | Scanned on a handheld |
|---|---|---|
| Lot entry at receipt | Clerk reads packing slip, types into Item Tracking Lines | Prefilled from GS1 barcode, number series or OCR at the dock |
| Serial capture | One serial at a time, keyed by hand | Each unit scanned; scan behavior configurable per application |
| Expiration date | Typed if Require Expiration Date Entry is on | Parsed from AI (17) or entered on the device before posting |
| Pick verification | Picker reads and writes; office trusts the paper | Device compares scanned lot to the assigned lot at the bin |
| Count reconciliation | Item quantity only, lot sorted out later | Lot recorded per bin as counted |
| Package contents | Not recorded | Lot and serial recorded per carton for the ASN |
Do lot numbers flow through to inspections and labels?
They do, because Business Central treats the lot as a record. Quality Inspector generates a Quality Inspection Test when a purchase receipt or warehouse receipt posts, and the resulting grade is written to the lot. That grade governs whether the lot can be sold, purchased or consumed, and a failing grade can send the lot to a quarantine location or bin automatically. Quality control for Business Central therefore starts from the lot number the receiver scanned, and the Quality Inspector integration installed from the Warehouse Insight Add-On Catalog lets a worker open and complete that Quality Inspection Test on the handheld.
For labels, the lot captured at receipt is available to any Business Central report, so item, pallet and shipping labels can print the same lot in readable and barcode form. On Business Central online, the handheld does not print directly; the request goes through Business Central to a cloud print service.
What should I check before rolling out handheld lot and serial tracking?
- Open each Item Tracking Code and confirm Lot Warehouse Tracking or SN Warehouse Tracking is on for items scanned on picks and put-aways.
- Decide whether expiration is advisory or enforced: Use Expiration Dates stores the date; Strict Expiration Posting blocks expired outbound postings.
- Check the Location Card for Pick According to FEFO if shelf life drives picking order.
- Review vendor labels. If they carry GS1-128 with AI (10) or (21), configure Barcode Rules so one scan fills item and lot.
- Print your own lot labels at receipt for anything that arrives without a scannable lot.
- Test a full round trip in a sandbox: receive, put away, pick, ship, then trace the lot on the posted sales shipment.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check the expiration date as I scan, before posting? Yes. Warehouse Insight captures the expiry at receipt, either parsed from a GS1 barcode or entered on the device, and Business Central applies the Item Tracking Code rules at posting. The Warehouse Insight Add-On Catalog also lists an Enforce Expiry Entry add-on; the catalog page carries its details.
Can I skip the serial number scan? Scan behaviors are configurable per application, including a setting that forces every unit to be scanned. Whether a serial can be omitted at all depends on the Item Tracking Code: with SN Specific Tracking on, Business Central will not post the line without one.
Can I read a GS1 barcode to get item and lot in one scan? Yes. Barcode Rules parse the Application Identifiers so a single GS1-128 scan populates item, lot, expiry and quantity. WMS Express parses lot, serial and package from the barcode as well.
Do lot numbers flow through to inspections? Yes. Quality Inspector attaches a test to the receipt and writes the grade to the lot, which then controls whether that lot may be sold, purchased or consumed.
Does this require Directed Put-away and Pick? No. Item tracking works at any location type. Directed Put-away and Pick adds bin ranking and zones; it is not a prerequisite for scanning lots or serials.