BreakPoint

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

NI Serial Numbers and Delivery Notes

Question.

 

Is it just me that has this problem in the UK, or is it global?

 

I order a piece of hardware from NI, it gets delivered with a delivery note.

I send it on to the customer and the customer asks for a calibration certificate, so far so good...

I enter the Serial number on the deliver number in the calibration certificate page and it responds "Invalid serial number".

I go to the customers site, or ask the customer to read the serial number off the device, and the number I get back does not match the one on the documentation.

 

When it says "Serial number:" on the delivery note, I expect it to be the serial number, not some random NI tracking number. 

 

Hmmmm.

 

 

CLD; LabVIEW since 8.0, Currently have LabVIEW 2015 SP1, 2018SP1 & 2020 installed
0 Kudos
Message 1 of 10
(10,660 Views)

Hello James W,

 

I wanted to try to provide some detail that I think may explain this phenomenon. The printed invoice that comes with the product includes the part number for what we call the "shipping kit", which is the part number that is on the web and on the printed quote. This shipping kit contains the actual product, but also includes the manuals, driver media and packaging. The serial number on the invoice is for the shipping kit.

 

The calibration certificate is linked to the serial number of the product itself since that is the calibrated component of the shipping kit. The serial number for the product is six or seven alphanumeric digits and can be located in a couple ways:

 

  1. The serial number is printed on the product itself. This information is located on a sticker that typically also includes a barcode.
  2. Products are delivered in antistatic bags that also bear a sticker with the serial number information.
  3. If you purchase your product as part of a system with the standard or premium system assurance programs, then the serial numbers are printed as part of the custom system documentation (which also includes hard copies of the calibration certificates themselves).


I apologize if this confusion has caused you any inconvenience. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

 


Thanks,


Matt Anderson

Hardware Services Marketing Manager
National Instruments
0 Kudos
Message 2 of 10
(10,627 Views)

Matt A wrote:

 

The serial number on the invoice is for the shipping kit.

 

The calibration certificate is linked to the serial number of the product itself since that is the calibrated component of the shipping kit. The serial number for the product is six or seven alphanumeric digits and can be located in a couple ways:

 

  1. The serial number is printed on the product itself. This information is located on a sticker that typically also includes a barcode.
  2. Products are delivered in antistatic bags that also bear a sticker with the serial number information.
  3. If you purchase your product as part of a system with the standard or premium system assurance programs, then the serial numbers are printed as part of the custom system documentation (which also includes hard copies of the calibration certificates themselves).  

So what you are saying Matt, is that if:

1) I don't have the part in front of me

2) I don't have the packaging

3) I didn't purchase the part as part of a system because I was purchasing it to build a system

 

I can't the the serial number for the part.

 

Is there anyway NI could provide a tool which allows Alliance members like myself and others to easily access the Part serial number from the Shipping kit serial number.

 

So far  I have to phone tech support every time I have this problem (2/3 times in 4 years) and ask them to search out the info for me, but they are not always able to find it.

 

(Surely this Info should be easy to provide as it should be documented during production and shipping as part of ISO9001:2000 part tracking)

CLD; LabVIEW since 8.0, Currently have LabVIEW 2015 SP1, 2018SP1 & 2020 installed
0 Kudos
Message 3 of 10
(10,606 Views)

For DAQmx there is also a property node to retrieve the serial number.

 

Felix 

0 Kudos
Message 4 of 10
(10,580 Views)

F. Schubert wrote:

For DAQmx there is also a property node to retrieve the serial number.

 

Felix 


 

Found that

 

The problem is that all of these systems assume you have access to the H/W!!

If you provide a customer with a solution and the customer asks for a calibration certificate AFTER delivery, then unless you thought to write down the serial number of the NI H/W, you have no documentation that can give you this information.

 

This is my issue.

 

The Serial number on the delivery note should be the serial number of the H/W as well as that of the shipping kit (if it is an NI requirement to put the shipping kit serial number on the delivery note.

 

The customer never asks for the box it came in from NI, why do we need a serial number that includes it?

 

How do other Alliance members get around this issue? (Even good documentation procedures fail occasionally because humans are involved.)

CLD; LabVIEW since 8.0, Currently have LabVIEW 2015 SP1, 2018SP1 & 2020 installed
0 Kudos
Message 5 of 10
(10,574 Views)

I'd make a small program that retrieves the SN via this property node and request the customer to run it and email me the text file with the SN (make it as easy for them as possible).

 

Felix

0 Kudos
Message 6 of 10
(10,564 Views)

Nice idea. Smiley Tongue

 

- but you still have to let the customer know you don't have all the info you should have. It might make them start wondering what other things you've forgotten to do. Smiley Sad - not good for customer confidence.

CLD; LabVIEW since 8.0, Currently have LabVIEW 2015 SP1, 2018SP1 & 2020 installed
0 Kudos
Message 7 of 10
(10,558 Views)

I think it depends what kind of product you sell, I'm far on the end of customized equipement so no problem to get away with such a minor issue (it's less than the one software bug that you always have). As you said it always can happen such a thing is missed. But I wouldn't call the CEO but the tech that actually operates the tool and chances are high that it's not passed up in hierarchy.

 

Felix

Message 8 of 10
(10,551 Views)

James W wrote:

Nice idea. Smiley Tongue

 

- but you still have to let the customer know you don't have all the info you should have. It might make them start wondering what other things you've forgotten to do. Smiley Sad - not good for customer confidence.


What have you forgotten to do?  You tell the customer that you documented the serial number, but it just so happens it isn't the one you need.  You didn't forget to do anything.  It shouldn't hurt customer confidence .

 

Now you've learned, and you'll set up your procedures for the future to document the correct serial number and even acquire a copy of the calibration certificate before you ship.

Message 9 of 10
(10,538 Views)

We are making a full MAX report for NI technical supprt before supplying a system. This zip-archive is part of the dataset togehter with the software and other documentation we archive ourself and deliver to the customer.

 

In case a system needs a replaced part or will be extended the MAX report is created again. In case the customer is doing this of his own he is instructed to create the MAX report and send it to us.

 

We do this because HW may be deliverd directly from NI to the customer and thats the only way to track such things.

Waldemar

Using 7.1.1, 8.5.1, 8.6.1, 2009 on XP and RT
Don't forget to give Kudos to good answers and/or questions
0 Kudos
Message 10 of 10
(10,406 Views)