How to handle equipment records relating to scrapped materials

When a specific material/serial number combination is scrapped off, at present we are marking the associated equipment records with inactive and deleted. This geta bit confusing with other records that may get marked as inactive for other reasons. How does anyone else handle it? At pressent we dont have a scrapped status.

Should storemen have tha ability to mark the records as deleted or should our master data team do that.

Advice appreciated