Lot Traceability Software is typically searched by manufacturers who need to identify and recall certain products that they have produced. If the manufacturer is currently running a manufacturing software application and maybe a warehousing software application, Lot Traceability Software isn’t an application that manufacturers can add to their existing software. Why? Because at the heart of lot traceability is a comprehensive set of lot management functions that need to be supported in their existing manufacturing and warehousing application.
Lot management allows manufacturers to trace the origin and distribution of their products, as well as identify and track any quality issues or defects that may arise. A lot number is a unique identification number or code that is assigned to raw materials that were delivered by vendors and finished goods that were produced in batch production jobs.
Here the key warehousing and production related processes in which lot management plays a crucial role:
- Item Master: Identify if the item is to be lot tracked. Define the lot number generation criteria to create the unique lot number used in receiving or production.
- PO Receiving: Generate a lot number for the received raw material. Cross reference this internal lot number to the vendor lot number for that raw material
- Vendor Inspection: Perform qc tests against the raw material and assign a lot status / quality status to that inventory.
- Raw Material Storage: Capture and validate the lot number of the raw material being stored.
- Stability Testing of a Raw Material: Perform qc tests against stored raw material and assign a lot status / quality status to that inventory.
- Raw Material Allocation in a Batch Job: Allocate raw material by lot number in a batch job based upon its expiration date and quality status.
- Raw Material Retrieval: Capture and validate the lot number of the raw materials being issued (consumed) in batch jobs.
- Batch Production: Generate a lot number for the finished goods produced.
- Finished Good Storage: Capture and validate the lot number of the finished good being stored.
- Stability Testing of a Finished Good: Perform qc tests against stored finished goods and assign a lot status / quality status to that inventory.
- Finished Good Allocation in a Sales Order Shipment: Allocate finished goods by lot number in a customer shipment based upon its expiration date and quality status.
- Shipping of Finished Goods: Capture and validate the lot number of the finished good being shipped.
- Adjust Status, Expiration Date or other Inventory Characteristics: Search for and adjust the characteristics of specific lot controlled inventory.
- Cycle Counts against Inventory: Search for and schedule the cycle counting of specific lot controlled inventory.
- Disposition Inventory: Search for and schedule the movement of specific lot controlled inventory.
Lot controlled inventory data captured during these processes is recorded in the manufacturing application or ERP. To track and trace a suspect product, lot traceability reports and graphical mapping tools, connect the dots between the processes and provides visibility to users who are performing these activities:
- Search for a raw material from the point it was received then consumed in batch jobs and produced finished goods, which were then shipped to customers.
- Search for a finished product from a customer shipment to the batch job it was produced in, and then back to the raw materials consumed in those batch jobs and the vendor POs that delivered them.
- Drill down into the results of quality controls tests against a finished good in a batch job
- Drill down into the results of quality controls tests against a raw material when it was received and inspected during PO receiving.
- Generate a recall letter based upon the lot traceability data.
Overall, lot management is the critical process across all facets of a manufacturing facility that can ensure the safety, quality, and traceability of products.
When a company needs to track products throughout their supply chain, for example, a food manufacturer that is tracking products from farm to fork, they require a specialized Lot Traceability application. BatchMaster manufacturing app and ERP provides this type of lot traceability software application with the lot traceability details within the four walls of the facility that the application manages. To get visibility to the entire supply chain, the specialized Lot Traceability application requires inputs from additional 3rd party software applications used for distribution and transportation, and perhaps other manufacturing processes.
