We study transport in quantum systems consisting of a finite array of N identical single-channel scatterers. A general expression of the S matrix in terms of the individual-element data obtained recently for potential scattering is rederived in this wider context. It shows in particular how the band spectrum of the infinite periodic system arises in the limit N. We illustrate the result on two kinds of examples. The first are serial graphs obtained by chaining loops or T-junctions. Another example concerns geometric scatterers where the individual element consists of a surface with a pair of leads; we show that apart from the resonances coming from the decoupled-surface eigenvalues, such scatterers exhibit the high-energy behavior typical for the interaction for the physically interesting couplings.