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Serialization & Track-and-Trace — Overview & module guide

Module: Serialization & Track-and-Trace v1.4.0

Serial number registry, generation rules, and chain-of-custody traceability for BIXCRM

Screen-by-screen guides (each tab explained)

Click a menu item below for step-by-step instructions on that Serialization & Track-and-Trace screen:

How to use in BIXCRM (daily operations)

  1. Sign in to the admin area with a role that includes Serialization & Track-and-Trace permissions.
  2. Open Serialization Track Trace (sidebar) or search for Serialization & Track-and-Trace in the admin menu.
  3. Start on the Dashboard (if available) to see open tasks, pending approvals, and KPIs.
  4. Review Settings after upgrades — new options may need defaults for your company.
  5. Create or import master data first; most modules block transactions until masters exist.
  6. Run the main business flow (create → submit → approve → post/complete) using the screens listed in Admin menu below.
  7. Use Reports / Analytics screens to reconcile stock, finance, compliance, or SLA metrics.
  8. For integrations (API, EDI, gateways, tax), confirm credentials in Settings and monitor logs or webhook delivery screens.
  9. Train staff with role-based access — give approvers approve permissions only, operators create/edit on their area.
  10. If something fails overnight, check BIXCRM cron ran and open the module log / failed queue screen if present.

Admin menu — where to work

Open the Serialization & Track-and-Trace section in the admin sidebar. Screens your staff may use (depending on role):

  • EPCIS Export
  • Product Recalls
  • Product Trace Lookup
  • Quarantine Holds
  • REST API
  • Serial Generation Rules
  • Serial Labels
  • Serial Numbers
  • Settings
  • STT Dashboard
  • Trace Lookup
  • Track & Trace

Detailed guide — features, workflows, API & FAQ

Phase 5 Features — REST API, Manufacturing & Portal

  • REST API — Authenticated JSON endpoints for serial lookup, trace chain, recall status, and event posting
  • API Keys — Admin-managed keys with read / read-write scopes and rate limiting
  • Manufacturing Integration — Auto-register serials from production receipts; trace events on WO completion
  • Customer Portal — Public serial verification page and logged-in client trace lookup
  • Portal Security — Optional signed verify tokens for public links

Phase 4 Features — GS1 / EPCIS & Labels

  • GS1 GTIN, SSCC, EPC URI on serial records
  • EPCIS JSON/XML export, barcode/QR label printing
  • Optional EDI B2B Hub push on trace events

All Features (Phases 1–5)

  • Phase 1: Serial registry, rules, trace lookup
  • Phase 2: GRN/WMS/Inventory integration hooks
  • Phase 3: Recalls & quarantine
  • Phase 4: GS1/EPCIS, labels, EDI
  • Phase 5: REST API, manufacturing, customer portal

REST API Quick Start

  1. Settings → enable REST API
  2. REST API menu → create API key (save token immediately)
  3. GET /serialization_track_trace/api/serial/{number} with header Authorization: Bearer {token}

Customer Portal

  1. Settings → enable Customer Portal
  2. Public page: /stt/verify
  3. Clients area: Product Trace Lookup (when logged in)

Database Tables

  • stt_api_keys, stt_api_request_logs, stt_portal_verifications (Phase 5)
  • Plus all Phase 1–4 tables

See [docs/ROADMAP.md](docs/ROADMAP.md) for full migration history.

Features

Serial number registry, generation rules, and chain-of-custody traceability for BIXCRM

  • **REST API** — Authenticated JSON endpoints for serial lookup, trace chain, recall status, and event posting
  • **API Keys** — Admin-managed keys with read / read-write scopes and rate limiting
  • **Manufacturing Integration** — Auto-register serials from production receipts; trace events on WO completion
  • **Customer Portal** — Public serial verification page and logged-in client trace lookup
  • **Portal Security** — Optional signed verify tokens for public links

Permissions

Granular staff capabilities are registered on activation. Assign them under Setup → Staff → Roles for the Serialization & Track-and-Trace capability group.

Typical capabilities include view, create, edit, delete, plus module-specific actions (approve, export, settings, API access).

Cron Jobs

Background tasks (if enabled) run through BIXCRM's main cron. Example crontab (every 5 minutes):

* * * * * php /path/to/bixcrm/index.php cron/index > /dev/null 2>&1

Check module settings for scheduled jobs (alerts, sync, reports, retention).

After activation — configuration checklist

  1. Go to Setup → Modules and activate Serialization & Track-and-Trace.
  2. If prompted, click Upgrade Database or reload admin — migrations run automatically.
  3. Assign permissions under Setup → Staff → Roles.
  4. Open the module menu and configure settings.
  5. BIXCRM 3.0+
  6. PHP 7.4+ (8.1+ recommended)
  7. MySQL 5.7+ / MariaDB 10.3+ (InnoDB)
  8. PHP extensions: mysqli, json, mbstring, curl, fileinfo

Staff permissions (from module)

Assign under Setup → Staff → Roles. Each feature can expose different actions:

FeatureActions
STT Dashboard
stt_dashboard		view
Serial Numbers
stt_serial_numbers		view, create, edit, delete
Serial Generation Rules
stt_serial_rules		view, create, edit, delete
Trace Lookup
stt_trace_lookup		view
Product Recalls
stt_recalls		view, create, edit, delete, activate
Quarantine Holds
stt_quarantine_holds		view, create, edit, delete, release
EPCIS Export
stt_epcis		view, export
Serial Labels
stt_labels		view, print
REST API
stt_api		view, create, delete
Settings
stt_settings		view, edit

One-time setup (first time only)

  1. Setup → Modules → activate Serialization & Track-and-Trace.
  2. Setup → Staff → Roles → assign Serialization & Track-and-Trace permissions (view, create, edit, delete, approve, export, settings as needed).
  3. Open Serialization & Track-and-Trace → Settings and complete company defaults, prefixes, integrations, and notification options.
  4. Create master data (warehouses, products, templates, accounts, routes, etc.) before processing live transactions.
  5. Enable BIXCRM cron (php /path/to/bixcrm/index.php cron/index) for sync, retries, alerts, and scheduled jobs.
  6. Optionally enable REST API / webhooks in module settings if you integrate external systems.

BIXCRM Knowledge Base — usage guide generated from module README and documentation.

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