Batch tracing - an absolute must for your food business

Every food business should be able to trace its products back to their origin. This applies to both manufacturing and processing companies. Lot or batch numbers enable traceability. What that Batch tracing is accurate and why it is important, we will explain to you in the following article. You'll also learn how to ERP software Helps with this and how do you batches in Freight pilot Put on.

What is a batch?

Die batch is a term from logistics for a number of similar products that come from the same production process and therefore have the same properties.

What are batch numbers?

Each batch gets a ticket number or batch number and is linked to a production or manufacturing process. Since a production process cannot be repeated exactly, each batch has a unique resp unambiguous number to avoid confusion. For example, the term is suitable for production date on.

treading production failure On, the entire quantity of a batch is likely to be affected. Therefore, batches are documented. What can be documented, for example, is the ingredients, where they come from and how they are delivered, in which shift and by which or which employee the batch is processed, and which product features a batch contains. In addition, where and when a batch product was manufactured and which machines were used.

If you document the desired information and summarize it under batch numbers, you can therefore easily determine where the error occurred in production or processing. This means that a recall of the food is then only necessary for the respective batch.

Batch tracing — what for?

In the case of necessary or ordered Product recalls Consumers need to know which products are affected. That is why food must traceable be. For example, if, as a result of production errors, allergens get into a product that are not declared on the list of ingredients, the food must be removed from circulation.

Because the food industry is very strictly regulated Is, do you have to prove upon request that you have the food safety Make sure. Otherwise, you could face fines or a loss of image. Die transparency The origin of ingredients or products is not only important because of the obligation to provide evidence. But also because your customers or potential customers are becoming more and more interested in where you get your products from. You can use their interest in this for your marketing by advertising with particularly good transparency.

Through the globalization The flow of goods has become significantly more complex. This is another reason why traceability must be guaranteed. This applies to every raw material and ingredient in a product. For this purpose, in the supply chain every previous step or supplier is documented. That is a legal requirement. However, gaps can easily arise in the supply chain. KoRo reports, for example, that they buy cashew nuts from a retailer in Vietnam, who in turn buys them in African countries. However, the retailer does not document the origin. That is why KoRo can only partially trace its products.

Want fantasies of the future? Some experts suspect that in future the tracing of supply chains via blockchaintechnology is guaranteed. Basic idea: The blockchain stores and encrypts all information as data blocks. The blocks are linked together via hashes. If a block is changed, the hash changes and no longer matches the following block. This invalidates the entire chain. Immutability therefore creates security and transparency.

However, blockchain technology has not yet been widely used in food production.

Who is required to trace?

Every company can, of course, use batch numbers. But there are also some obliges. This includes food processing companies, companies that produce animal feed and pharmaceutical manufacturers. The background is, of course, the consumer protection. Every product that consumers consume or ingest must comply with legal regulations regarding food safety fulfill. treading production failure on, they can cause damage to consumers' bodies. In order to protect them, food is also being recalled. To do this, they must be traceable.

Of course, you are also affected by the batch tracing obligation if you regional direct marketer selling dairy products, for example. Loose foods such as rolls or fresh foods such as fruit or vegetables are excluded. Even those who have a Best before date That is accurate to the day, you don't have to mark with a batch number.

Even in the textile sector It is common to use batch numbers. If T-shirts are made from a sheet of fabric that a customer complains about, the T-shirt can thus be returned to the web. If the fabric sheet is the problem of the complaint, it can be removed from the production process.

Batch tracing with ERP software

As a food retailer or producer, you should rely on ERP software right from the start. For example from Xentral, Weclapp Or just FreightPliot!

Administration is thus significantly easier and more secure. With the EPR software, you can for your inventory with batches Create, assign numbers to them and with a Best before date provided.

Create batches in FreightPilot

In the batch overview, go to”Create a new batch“and enter the product, the production quantity and define the batch number. There are no requirements as to what the batch number should look like. It must be unique and should be unique. You also enter the reference date and the expiration date. By clicking on the yellow icon, you can see from which batches your current inventory exists.

In the batch overview, you can also see which batches are used for which orders. To do this, fold the column”orders“off. If you click on the order number, you can download the delivery note. The feature helps you with your Trace batches.

As you can see, you decide for yourself what the batch number looks like. In our example, it is the date of production. Such an unambiguous system of documentation is certainly helpful. But you are completely free to design. The documentation also makes it easier for you to make complaints and customer inquiries about the warranty. In our help You can find more information about this.

conclusion

Die batch number Is in the food industry essential. It secures transparencybecause it summarizes all information about a product. But the batch number also ensures you something special trust with your customers. In the event of production errors, the batch can simply be recalled. This is easier than removing all products from circulation.

Phew, sounds good. But isn't creating and documenting batch numbers extremely complex? No! How good that there is FreightPilot! FrachtPilot supports you with many automatic functions during all work and documentation steps relating to traceability through batch numbers. But where would we be if there wasn't more. A lot more!

FrachtPilot supports you with all (ERP) tasksthat arise from your retail trade, your marketing of food. From online store with ordering app (Apple / android), via invoicing and inventory management, Route planning or Parcel delivery up to bookkeeping.

Want to find out more? Just get in touch with us! We would be happy to advise you on how FrachtPilot can move or push your business forward. Of course she is guidance free of charge and without obligation.

In addition, in an equally free and non-binding Test period Put the FrachtPilot through its paces for 30 days!