Industries · Food processing

Trace a batch back to the lot and forward to the customer.

Food processors need incoming materials, production and dispatch on one connected record. We build the operational and commercial software around that chain, and your QA team defines the safety records it must hold.

The chain we would model

Five links from supplier to shelf.

01 · RECEIVE

Supplier lot arrives

The delivery is checked against the PO and given an internal lot number, with supplier documents and test results attached. Material can sit on QC hold until released.

02 · STORE

Stock by lot and date

Raw material is stored and issued by lot, with expiry or best-before dates deciding which lot is used first.

03 · PRODUCE

Batch consumes lots

Each production batch records which lots it used and how much, against the recipe version in force that day.

04 · RELEASE

QC signs off

Your QA team records the checks it requires, then releases or holds the finished batch.

05 · DISPATCH

Batch meets order

Customer orders are filled from released batches, and the dispatch carries batch numbers through to the distributor or retailer.

Where traceability breaks down.

01

Units change along the way.

Material arrives in bags, is issued in kilograms and leaves in cases. Conversions have to be defined once, or yields and balances wander.

02

Lot numbers get rewritten.

Supplier lot, internal lot and batch number need clear relationships, so staff aren't inventing a mapping on a whiteboard.

03

Corrections erase history.

When a quantity is corrected, the original entry and the reason should stay visible. That is what makes a trace believable.

04

Recipes change quietly.

A batch made on an older recipe version needs to say so, or a later complaint can't be explained.

Answering a complaint about one batch.

With separate records

A morning of phone calls

Picture a snack maker receiving a quality complaint that quotes a batch code. QA pulls the batch sheet from a binder, finds lot numbers in a production register, checks the stores ledger for supplier details and emails dispatch to ask which distributors received that batch.

  • Each step depends on someone being in
  • Handwriting and copying errors
  • Hard to show the trace to a customer or inspector
With a connected record

One search, both directions

QA enters the batch code and sees the supplier lots it used, their documents, the QC checks on the batch and every dispatch that carried it. If action is needed, the affected customers and remaining stock are already listed.

  • Backward trace to supplier lots
  • Forward trace to customers
  • Corrections and approvals on record

Your team defines, we build.

  • Identifiers for materials, lots, batches and finished goods, and how they are printed on labels
  • Units of measure at each stage and the conversions between them
  • Which checks and documents your QA team needs at receipt, in production and at release
  • Who may correct a record, and who must approve the correction
  • Which records suppliers or co-packers upload, and how they are reviewed
  • Which production or ERP system stays, and what moves between it and the new tool
Will this make us compliant with food safety rules?

Software holds and organises the records; compliance stays with your QA and regulatory team. We build what they specify and make it quick to retrieve when an auditor or customer asks.

Can suppliers upload certificates and test reports?

Yes. Suppliers can get a controlled upload screen, and documents stay pending until your team reviews and accepts them.

We already run an ERP. Does it get replaced?

Usually not. We review its integration and export options and fill the gap, which is often lot-level tracking on the production floor.

Where could AI help?

Reading supplier certificates of analysis and delivery notes into draft receipt entries is a reasonable place to try it, with a person checking each one before it counts. Release decisions stay with your QA team.

Contact

Bring us your last difficult trace.

Walk us through how a recent batch query was answered, and we'll show where a connected record would help.

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