Updated October 2026
A serial number only helps you if you know which unit went out on which order. Warranty claims and returns both start from that record, and it is made in the warehouse when the order ships.
Serial number tracking for electronics means capturing each unit's serial or IMEI at receiving and matching it to the order at ship, so every serial is tied to the order it went out on. Warranty traceability and accurate RMAs depend on that match. With it, a later claim, registration or return can start from one specific unit.
By The Fulfillment.com team
Most consumer electronics carry a unique identifier. On most devices it is a serial number, and on anything with a cellular radio it is an IMEI. It sets one physical unit apart from every other unit of the same product. Because of that, warranty claims, registration and activation questions, and returns can all point at the same device.
None of it helps unless you know which unit went to which customer, and the device can't tell you that. The warehouse records it when the order ships, so serial tracking comes down to how the warehouse works before any software is involved. A warehouse that records serials at receiving and never checks them at ship leaves you with a list of serials you once held and no proof of where any of them went. Closing that gap means reading the serial in, carrying it onto the order and scanning it again on the way out.
A unit's serial has to stay attached to it from the receiving dock until the carrier takes the parcel.
In a serialized program, each device's serial or IMEI is recorded as the unit is received, against its SKU and the inbound shipment, before the unit goes on a shelf. That way the serial is known the whole time the unit sits in stock, and a portal could show your on-hand inventory serial by serial. Ask any partner whether its portal shows that, and how.
When an order comes in, a good warehouse records which exact unit went into that box, not just which product. This is the step that turns a pile of serials into a record of who received what, so ask a partner whether it does this and where you can see the result. Scanning the barcode at the pick keeps that record right, so the unit named on the order is the unit that goes in the box.
Good practice is to scan the serial or IMEI again at the packing station and check it against the order before the box is sealed. Without that scan, a serial recorded at receiving only proves the unit was in stock at some point. The pack scan is where a mismatch shows up, and a mismatched unit should be stopped there, not shipped. Ask any partner whether it scans again at pack. Our orders and picks run on BestOMS, with Deposco behind it, and we'll go through with you whether and how serial capture would be set up there for your catalog.
The scans matter because of what you can see afterward: which serial went out on which order, and when. Later warranty, activation and return questions start from that record. Before you sign with anyone, check that they store serials and that you can look them up yourself.
Warranty traceability. A warranty covers a specific unit from a specific ship date. Honoring it cleanly depends on knowing which unit the customer actually received. With the serial or IMEI stored against the order at ship, a claim or registration can start from that unit instead of a best guess. Device activation and warranty registration start from the same record. Capturing and matching the serial is what they build on.
Accurate RMAs. When a device comes back, its serial links the return to the unit's history. If the serial was stored at ship, it can be read off the returning unit and matched to the order it went out on. Warranty status, ship date and order then come from that record instead of a guess, which helps keep a warranty credit from landing on the wrong unit. Inspection, grading and routing to restock, B-stock or RMA are on electronics returns and RMA. A clean serial record is what makes them accurate. The serial record feeds our returns and reverse logistics service.
When a shipment is questioned. Sometimes a customer or a card network disputes whether a device was sent, or which one. The serial stored against the order is what you'll want to pull up then, so make sure a partner keeps it somewhere you can see. The same scans help with high-value stock: a serial checked against the order at pack gives a mis-ship a chance to show up before the box is sealed.
People use "serial number tracking" for very different jobs. Tracking itself means recording the serial or IMEI at receiving, carrying it onto the order and scanning it again before ship, so each serial is tied to the order it shipped on. Warranty and RMA work start from that.
Deep serialization is work on the device itself, on top of that record:
Not every device program needs it, and not every 3PL does it. Before you assume any of it comes with serial tracking, ask each partner, us included, which of these they actually do. A brand that assumes it's all one service can be surprised when it moves its stock.
Each unit's serial or IMEI is captured when the unit is received. It is carried onto the order, then scanned again at pick and at pack, so the serial ends up tied to the order it shipped on and not only to the product. When you compare partners, listen for that check at ship. A weaker setup records serials at the dock and never looks at them again. Cables and accessories often have no serial at all, so how much gets captured depends on the SKU, and we can walk you through how it would run across your catalog. Activating a device or wiping its data is separate work from tracking it, and worth raising as its own question.
A warranty claim is easier to handle when you know which physical unit went out on which order, and on what date. For that, the serial has to be saved against the order when it ships, not only against the product. Then a later claim, registration or activation question can start from the unit itself instead of a guess. The rest of a warranty process is built on that one record, so find out from any partner whether they store serials and how you would see them.
Yes. A serial saved at ship gives a returned device a history to match against. When the unit comes back under an RMA, its serial can be read and matched to the order it went out on, provided the serial was saved when it shipped. Its warranty status, ship date and next step then come from that record instead of a guess, which helps keep a warranty return from being credited against the wrong unit. Ask any partner whether it reads returned serials and how you can see them. Inspecting, grading and routing the returned unit is a separate step, with its own page on electronics returns and RMA.
Those jobs go beyond tracking. Tracking records a serial or IMEI and matches it to an order. Activating an IMEI on a carrier network, securely wiping a returned device, and programming or reflashing a unit are work on the device itself, and not every program needs them or every 3PL does them. We receive, store and ship finished, sealed devices. If your program needs activation or data wiping, bring it up at the start and our team will tell you how it would be handled.
Inventory, orders and returns all show in the BestOMS portal. Deposco runs the warehouse behind it, and Dropstream connects your storefronts and marketplaces. How far that view goes down to the single serial depends on how capture is set up for your SKUs, so ask us to show you what serial-level reporting would look like for your catalog before you commit.