Setting up traceability

With traceability you record a lot for a product's stock: a lot number, an expiration date, or both. This article shows you how to turn it on, what you set per product and when you fill in the lot details.

Want to know what traceability entails first? Read the guide on lot numbers and expiration dates.

Turning traceability on

Go to Settings > Traceability. Switch the toggle on to enable traceability for your whole account.

While traceability is off, nothing changes about the way you work today. Only once you turn it on can you choose per product what you track.

If you turn traceability off again later, we'll ask you to confirm. The lot details on your current stock then disappear from your stock locations. Everything you have already processed is kept: the lot details on your picklists and receipts stay in place.

Setting it per product

Edit a product and look for the 'Traceability' heading. It holds two choices, each set to 'Yes' or 'No':

• Track expiration date (BBD): requires an expiration date when receiving this product.
• Track lot number: requires a lot number when receiving this product.

Set at least one of them to 'Yes' and the product becomes traceable. You only see the heading on products of the type 'Normal'. Compositions and products with unlimited stock cannot hold a lot.

Set either choice back to 'No' and we ask you to confirm. The matching lot details then disappear from that product's stock locations.

One lot per location

For a traceable product, one location always holds stock from the same lot. The same lot can sit on several locations, but multiple different lots can never share a location. Traceable products therefore always need a real location, because Picqer cannot keep a lot on 'No specific location'.

On the product page you see which lot sits on each location. If something is wrong, click the three dots behind that location and choose 'Edit lot'.

When you move stock between locations in the same warehouse, Picqer checks the target location as you go. If it already holds a different lot, you get a message telling you the stock of that lot cannot be moved there, so you can pick another location.

To move stock to another warehouse, create a movement and leave 'Execute in steps' ticked. Each movement handles one lot per product at a time. When you put stock away, Picqer checks that the location is either empty or holds the same lot, so lots never get mixed up.

Completing existing stock

The stock already sitting in your warehouse when you turn traceability on has no lot details yet. Go to Products > Tools > Stock without lot. It shows you in one overview which traceable products have stock with incomplete lot details, so you can complete it per location without looking up every product separately.

For larger numbers, enter the lot details in bulk through the import for stock per location. Once traceability is on, that import gives you two extra columns you can fill in: 'Lot number' and 'Expiration date'. That way you prepare a whole list in one go. With traceability off, these columns do not appear.

Filling in lot details when stock arrives

You fill in the lot at the moment stock enters your warehouse. After that there is nothing more to enter, because the lot details come along when you move, write off and pick. There are three moments where you fill it in.

Receipt

This is usually where it starts. When you receive a purchase, traceable products require a lot number and/or expiration date. If you receive a product onto a location that already holds a different lot, you get an error and pick another location to receive it on.

Return

Process a return and choose 'Add to stock', and you fill in the lot details there too before the stock goes back on the shelf.

Manual stock change

Here filling it in is not mandatory. Book stock onto an empty location and the stock lands there straight away, so you can add the lot details afterwards. That keeps your operation running while you get your warehouse in order, but it also means you have to remember it yourself. The same applies to the quick stock change.

Picking and shipping

While picking, Picqer records which lot you hand over. This happens at the moment you pick the product, and what gets recorded then does not change afterwards. If a different lot ends up on that location later, the picklist keeps showing which lot you sent that customer.

The lot number and expiration date appear on the picklist and on the packinglist. Picqer keeps a record per picklist of what went out, even once that stock has long left your warehouse.

One thing to keep in mind:

• Cancelling a picklist: the stock of traceable products returns to 'No specific location'. Move that stock back to the right location yourself, so the lot matches the location again.

Stock count

While counting stock, Picqer only asks for lot details when you count stock on a location where nothing has been filled in yet. That keeps a count a count instead of turning it into an audit of all your lots.

Fulfilment portal

If you work with fulfilment customers, they see the lot in the fulfilment portal. On the product page, 'Stock per lot' shows how much stock sits on each lot, and on their picklists they see which lot was picked for each product.