Lot Tracking / Batch Tracking

Lot tracking – also called batch tracking – assigns a unique identifier to a group of products manufactured together under the same conditions, then follows that identifier through warehousing, transportation, and delivery. In food and beverage logistics, lot numbers are the primary mechanism for connecting a finished product on a store shelf back to its production run, ingredient sources, and the specific shipments that carried it.

A complete lot tracking system records which lots are stored at which warehouse locations, which lots are picked for which orders, and which lots are loaded onto which shipments. This data flows across multiple documents: the bill of lading, advance ship notice, and proof of delivery should all reference the lot numbers included in the shipment. When lot data is captured digitally and tied to shipment records, traceability becomes a query rather than a research project.

The business case for lot tracking is driven primarily by food safety regulations and recall preparedness. The FDA's FSMA traceability rule requires certain food categories to maintain detailed records that can trace products one step forward and one step back in the supply chain within 24 hours. Beyond regulatory compliance, lot tracking supports quality control – if a customer reports a product issue, the lot number identifies exactly which production run is affected and where the remaining inventory from that run is located.

For shippers managing lot-tracked products, the logistics challenge is maintaining lot-level data integrity across handoffs between ERPs, warehouse systems, and transportation platforms without resorting to manual re-entry at every stage.