UID Support > Serial Numbers

Serial numbers have been largely replaced by Item Unique Identifiers (IUIDs) in defense contracting. This is because SNs should only be used when it is important to differentiate between items, never simply as a way to enumerate a production run. When an item is deemed to be serially managed it generally requires a UID rather than SN. This is emphasized by lack of formal processing of SNs, which are ignored by WAWF, in that they are not formally processed in the same way the UIDs are. MIL-Comply still supports serial numbers for situations in which they are contractually required.

IMPORTANT: For shipments with UID requirements, enter only UID data, not serial number lists (never both).

Serial numbers for a line item (CLIN) may appear in any valid arrangement that suits the needs of the shipment, and will appear in the same format on printed DD250s and WA250s forms generated by Shipper.

Individual serial numbers may be separated by spaces, commas or carriage returns, and ranges of serial numbers by hyphens. For ranges it is important that a space appear on either side of the hyphen, otherwise, MIL-Comply will think the range is one serial number. For example, 'X0001-X0005' is one serial number whereas, 'X0001 - X0005' is five.

When serial numbers are transmitted to WAWF in EDI transactions they appear as part of the extended product description data, with all white space removed in order to fit within the limited space allowed by WAWF (which further compacts them)