Product Batches
Full batch traceability: which supplier and which purchase each one came in on, which warehouse it sits in, which customers it went to and what stock is left, with its expiry date.
The test of whether a traceability system works is a single question, and it always arrives on the worst day: "this batch has a problem, who did we ship it to?". Answering in seconds versus spending two days going through delivery notes is the difference between recalling five specific deliveries and freezing everything just in case.
The trail can be followed both ways: forward, from the purchase to the customers who received that batch; and backward, from a delivery to the supplier and the date it came in.
Expiry dates warn in advance, with the lead time you define per product family, so what is close to expiring can be moved before it has to be thrown away. It is a hard requirement in food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and any regulated sector, and a management advantage everywhere else.
The question you get on the worst day
"This batch has a problem: who did we ship it to?"
That is the only real test of whether a traceability system works, and it arrives at the worst possible moment: a supplier notice, a health alert or a complaint pointing to a manufacturing defect.
With batch traceability, the answer is a query: which deliveries contained that batch, which customers received them and how much is left in stock. You recall five specific deliveries and call five customers.
Without it, the only safe answer is to freeze the entire product and phone every customer who bought in that period. The difference between the two situations is not measured in working hours: it is direct cost and credibility with the customer.
Both directions
From supplier to customer and from customer to supplier
Traceability has to work in both directions, because the questions come from both sides.
Forward
From a purchase or a batch: which warehouses it sits in, which production runs used it, which delivery notes it left on and which customers received it. This is the path of a product recall.
Backward
From a specific delivery or a complaint: which batch it carried, which purchase it came from, from which supplier and on what date. This is the path of a root cause investigation, and what lets you claim against the supplier with facts.
When production is involved the trail is not broken: the raw materials consumed stay linked to the finished product batch that came out of them.
Expiry dates
Moving stock before you have to throw it away
Each batch carries its expiry date, and the system warns with the lead time you define per product family. A fresh product does not need the same notice as one with a two-year shelf life.
Advance warning is what makes action possible: moving that stock to another outlet, applying a promotion to it, or serving it first to the customer who gets through it quickly. Without it, expiry is discovered while picking an order, when the only option left is writing the goods off.
It is a hard requirement in food, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, where it also has to be provable. In other sectors it is not compulsory, but the waste it prevents shows up in the P&L just the same.
Clearing things up
Frequently asked questions
Answers to what we get asked most.
Can I find out which customers received a specific batch?
Yes, with a single query: which deliveries contained that batch, which customers received them and how much is left in stock. It is the difference between recalling five specific deliveries and freezing the whole product while phoning every customer from that period.
Does traceability work both ways?
Yes. Forward, from the purchase to the customers who received the batch; and backward, from a delivery or a complaint to the supplier, the purchase and the date it came in. The second path is what lets you claim against the supplier with facts.
Is traceability kept if I manufacture?
Yes, the trail is not broken: the raw materials consumed stay linked to the finished product batch that came out of them. That is exactly where most systems lose the chain, at the point where manufacturing starts.
Does it warn about batches nearing expiry?
Yes, with the lead time you define per product family, because a fresh product does not need the same notice as one with a two-year shelf life. Advance warning lets you move that stock, promote it or ship it first, instead of discovering the expiry while picking an order.
Warehouses, stock and manufacturing
Real-time multi-warehouse stock, locations, stock counts, transfers and traceability by batch or serial number, connected to purchasing and sales.
Warehouse Management
Define your warehouses and check at any moment what sits in each one, with stock updated by every real movement rather than by a count somebody keys in when they get a chance.
View moduleWarehouse Locations
Organise each warehouse by locations (aisle, rack, bin) and know exactly where each product is and how much sits in each place.
Stocktaking
Full or partial counts with automatic adjustment of differences against theoretical stock, without stopping operations.
View moduleTransfers
Goods movements between warehouses with their own document: what left, from where, to where, who moved it and when it was received.
Serial Numbers
Individual tracking of each unit by its serial number, from goods receipt until it is sold or installed at a customer.
Production
Planning and tracking of plant production: what is manufactured, in what order, with which resources and in which building, with input and output records for each process.
View module