Batch and Lot Numbers: What to Record at Receiving

A batch or lot number is a short string of characters that becomes valuable only when something goes wrong: a product that has to be called back, a returned item whose origin has to be traced, a claim in which the supplier asks which production run the damaged cartons came from. If nobody wrote the number down on the day the goods arrived, it has to be reconstructed from memory, or it is lost. Recording it takes a few seconds per pallet, and it is one of the cheapest habits at receiving.

Why it matters

• Recalls and returns: you can identify which units belong to the affected run, instead of pulling the whole stock.
• Quality: different batches can differ in shade, size or performance, even under one item code.
• Shelf life: goods that carry production or expiry dates are rotated by batch, and the oldest should leave first.
• Claims: the supplier will ask which batch, and a precise answer moves the conversation along.
• Stock records: your spreadsheet or warehouse system can hold the batch against each location.

Where to find it

• On the outer carton label, usually near the item code and the quantity.
• On the product or the inner pack, printed or embossed together with a production date or an expiry date.
• On the pallet label, if the supplier applied one.
• In the papers: some packing lists show the batch against each line, and certificates supplied with the goods may name the batches.

Formats vary: letters and digits, a date-based code, or a plain serial. The same product may carry one number on the carton and another on the unit. Record each exactly as printed, with the same capitals and hyphens, and note it when a letter and a digit can be confused, such as O and 0.

How to record it

Use the same sheet as the count, with a line for each pallet and batch:

1. Pallet number.
2. Item code.
3. Batch or lot as printed, and any production or expiry date.
4. Number of cartons carrying that batch.
5. The photograph number of the label.

Photograph the label close up, with the pallet number visible in the frame or in the next one. Read the label on the outer face of every carton you can see from the side of the pallet, not only the top one: the top layer of a pallet is often built last, and from different stock.

When one pallet holds several batches

Do not pretend the pallet is uniform. Count each batch separately, mark the pallet as mixed in the log and note where each batch sits: which layer and which side. If the pallet is split later, at putaway or on its way to a customer, the record should travel with it. Ask the supplier whether mixed pallets are acceptable under your contract, and tell your warehouse, because some prefer one batch to a location.

A conditional example. The packing list for pallet 4 shows batch L2406 with 22 cartons and batch L2407 with 18 cartons, 40 in all. On the pallet you find L2406 on 22 cartons, L2407 on 14 and a third batch, L2409, on 4 cartons at the back of the top layer. The total of 40 agrees with the list, and a count alone would have found nothing wrong. The record says: "Pallet 4, mixed: L2406 × 22, L2407 × 14, L2409 × 4; L2409 not on the packing list; top layer, back left; photographs 61 and 62". Then you ask the supplier to confirm in writing which batches were shipped.

Common mistakes

• Reading only the top carton of a pallet.
• Copying the batch from the packing list instead of reading it off the cartons.
• Tidying the number into a different format, which makes it impossible to match with the supplier's own records.
• Forgetting the inner product label when the carton label shows no batch.
• Breaking up a mixed pallet at putaway without carrying the record forward.

In short

A batch number takes seconds to write down on the day and can take weeks to find afterwards. CargoChek records batch and lot numbers by pallet where the goods carry them, checks the labels against the documents, and puts the result into the quantity table.