ERP

Lot and Serial Tracking in ERP: Compliance, Recalls and Customer Confidence

When Traceability Isn’t Optional

In industries like food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, aerospace and medical devices, lot and serial traceability isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a regulatory requirement. Even in less regulated sectors, customers increasingly expect detailed tracking for quality and warranty purposes. A modern manufacturing ERP solution provides end-to-end lot and serial tracking across purchasing, production and shipping.

Lot Tracking from Receiving to Shipping

ERP lot control features allow you to:

Assign lot numbers to raw materials at receipt.
Track lot usage in production via work orders and BOMs.
Capture lot numbers on finished goods and shipments.

This record chain supports both backward trace (source of a problem) and forward trace (who received affected products).

Serial Number Tracking for High-Value or Regulated Products

For discrete products, serial number tracking in ERP lets you:

Assign unique serials at assembly or test.
Link serials to specific customers and ship dates.
Record service and warranty events by serial.

This granular traceability is essential for safety-critical industries and high-value equipment.

Recall and Containment Management

When an issue is discovered, ERP traceability tools help you:

Identify all finished goods lots or serials containing a suspect component.
List customers, shipments and locations impacted.
Support targeted recalls or field service campaigns.

A well-implemented ERP traceability system can dramatically reduce the cost and scope of recalls.

Regulatory and Customer Compliance

Regulated manufacturers must often provide detailed documentation and certificates. ERP can support:

Electronic batch records and device history records.
Linking test results and certificates to lots or serials.
Audit trails for changes and quality events.

Having this data in a single system simplifies audits and customer compliance requests.

Final Thoughts

Lot and serial tracking in manufacturing ERP is the backbone of compliance, quality and customer trust. By capturing traceability data at each step—from receipt to shipment—you can respond quickly to issues, satisfy regulatory demands and demonstrate control over your entire manufacturing process.