Traceability

Batch traceability for food producers, from supplier to customer

KoreLab connects the supplier's batch, expiry dates, production and deliveries: from a raw-material batch to the finished products and the customers, and back.

In short: you receive goods with the supplier's batch and expiry date; when you produce, KoreLab draws down batches in expiry order and creates the finished-product batch. From any batch you can trace back, to suppliers and raw materials, and forward, to deliveries and the customers to notify. Warehouse and production start on the Free plan; tracing and the recall test belong to the Quality suite.

Free gets you started with receipts, batches and stock. Tracing and recall are in the Quality & Certifications suite: included in Pro, Business, Qualità and Consulente; on Free and Starter it is switched on with the Certifications add-on.

The problem with batches managed by hand

Anyone who makes food knows the batch matters most when something goes wrong. That is when you find out whether the data was there.

The supplier's batch stays on a paper delivery note

Batch code and expiry date sit on the delivery note, in a notebook or in a spreadsheet. When you need to know where a raw material went, you start again from the sheets.

Expiry dates get checked when it is too late

Without a list of batches sorted by expiry, the goods that expire first are not necessarily the first to leave, and you notice on the shelf.

From finished product to raw material is rebuilt by hand

Which batch of flour ended up in that batch of biscuits? If receipts and production runs are not linked, the answer means cross-checking different sheets.

A recall shows who you did not know you had to notify

A recall involves several products and several customers, and not all of them have an email address on file. Better to find out with a test than during a real recall.

What you can do

From the goods coming in to the customer receiving them, one step after the other. On every function you will find the plan it is available on.

Guided goods receipt

You record a supplier's delivery note on a single page: raw materials, packaging and purchased finished products, one batch per line, with the supplier's batch, expiry date and delivery note number. You can read barcodes with a keyboard-type scanner. KoreLab blocks what does not add up (raw material without a batch, quantity not positive, expiry before the arrival) and flags the rest (missing expiry, price at zero, quantity above the order's remainder). With the Quality suite you add receiving checks: temperature, packaging, outcome (accepted, quarantined, rejected) and certificate reference.

Plan: all plans; receiving checks: Quality suite; receipt from a supplier order: Business.

Stock from the movement register

The stock of each batch is the sum of its movements: receipts, consumption, shipments, adjustments. It is not a number you type in. If you make a mistake, you correct it with a reversal that stays visible in the register: the correction is traced, nothing is deleted.

Plan: all plans.

FEFO: first expired, first out

In production KoreLab draws down first the raw-material batches with the nearest expiry date. You see which batches it draws from and, if needed, you pick a specific one in place of the proposed one.

Plan: all plans.

Production draws down batches and creates the batch

You record production from a recipe: KoreLab draws down the raw-material and semi-finished batches consumed, creates the finished-product batch with the expiry date calculated from the recipe (or written by you) and records the traceability movements. If the product is packed in sizes, production creates the dough batch and the sellable batch comes from Packing. By default the batch is born released: you can switch off automatic release and have it start on hold.

Plan: all plans, within the plan's catalogue limits.

Tracing back

From a finished-product batch you open the sheet with the actual ingredients and the raw-material batches consumed, with supplier, supplier batch and receiving delivery note. It also works for semi-finished items.

Plan: Quality suite.

Tracing forward and the batch dossier

From the same batch you see the deliveries that contain it, with customer, delivery note, order, date and quantity, and how much of it is left in the warehouse. The batch traceability dossier can be printed as a PDF or sent by email.

Plan: Quality suite; deliveries come from Delivery notes & shipments, Business plan.

Recall test (mock recall)

You start from a raw-material, packaging or finished-product batch and see the products involved, the quantity already delivered (to recall), the quantity still in the warehouse (to block) and the customers to notify. The list also names customers without an email, with quantity and delivery note, instead of counting only those who can be reached. When you want, you record the test as a report signed with the operator's PIN and sealed in the append-only register.

Plan: Quality suite; customers to notify: deliveries recorded on the Business plan.

The withdrawal or recall notice as a PDF

From a non-conformity linked to a batch you generate the withdrawal or recall notice: you choose the type, write the instructions, sign with the PIN. KoreLab produces the PDF, with the non-conformity's photos, and emails it to the customers and the supplier who have an address on file. Anyone without an email stays listed on the notice as to be contacted by other means.

Plan: Quality suite.

How it works, from supplier to customer

You receive the goods in Warehouse, Goods receipt: supplier, delivery note and, for each line, supplier batch and expiry date.
You produce from the Product Production page: choose the recipe and the quantity; KoreLab draws down batches in expiry order and creates the product batch.
You deliver: on the Business plan you record deliveries in Delivery notes & shipments, with the finished-product batch of each line.
You query from Warehouse, Traceability and recall: start from a batch and go back (where it comes from) or forward (who received it).

Which plan it is available on

The plan matters: batch handling is in the base Warehouse, tracing and recall are in the Quality & Certifications suite, which we call the Quality suite here.

Function	Where it is available	Good to know
Goods receipt with supplier batch, expiry date and delivery note	All plans (base Warehouse)	Within the plan's catalogue limits. Receipt from a supplier order requires the Business plan.
Stock from the movement register	All plans (base Warehouse)	Corrections are traced reversals.
Production that draws down batches (FEFO) and creates the batch	All plans	Within the plan's catalogue limits: see the Pricing page.
Receiving checks: temperature, packaging, outcome, certificate reference	Quality suite: Pro, Business, Qualità; Free and Starter with the Certifications add-on	The Consulente plan sees them read-only on the data of a client in delegation.
Tracing back and forward, batch dossier as a PDF	Quality suite: Pro, Business, Qualità; Free and Starter with the Certifications add-on	Deliveries going forward depend on the delivery notes recorded (row below).
Recall test and report signed with a PIN	Quality suite: Pro, Business, Qualità; Free and Starter with the Certifications add-on	Signing requires an operator with a PIN. In delegation, signatures stay with the owner.
Withdrawal or recall notice as a PDF, from a non-conformity	Quality suite: Pro, Business, Qualità; Free and Starter with the Certifications add-on	The batch has to be linked to the non-conformity.
Deliveries to customers (where the customers to notify come from)	Business plan (Delivery notes & shipments)	Without recorded deliveries, the recall test shows only what is still in the warehouse.

What traceability does and what it does not

So you know exactly what to count on.

Aspect	With KoreLab	Limits to keep in mind
Where it comes from	From receipts, production runs and deliveries recorded in KoreLab: supplier batch, consumption, product batch, deliveries.	It follows the batches you record: what you do not record cannot be rebuilt. A raw material cannot be received without a batch; a purchased product without a batch raises a warning.
Opening stock	Stock carried over from a previous system comes in as opening batches, flagged as such.	An opening batch has no real supplier behind it: its supplier batch does not count as tracing back.
Stock and corrections	Sum of the movement register; mistakes are corrected with a visible reversal.	A receipt already used further on, in a production run or a shipment, cannot be cancelled until it is corrected further on.
Production	Draws down batches in expiry order and creates the product batch.	If stock is not enough, it draws down what there is and tells you: it does not block production. You record the missing receipt yourself.
Recall	Products involved, delivered and warehouse quantities, customers to notify even without an email.	It is an internal simulation: it does not replace the withdrawal or recall procedure or the communication to the authorities.
Deliveries without a batch	Delivery note lines declared by hand are picked up by the code typed in or by the description.	They are candidates to assess, not certain results: the recall always starts from a batch.
Notifying customers	The email with the PDF notice goes out when you generate the notice, to those with an address on file.	Anyone without an email has to be contacted by other means, for example by phone or by letter.
Signature	Operator PIN and a chained SHA-256 seal in the append-only register.	It is a simple electronic signature: not a qualified signature and not a timestamp.

Regulatory reference, indicative only. Article 18 of Reg. (EC) 178/2002 is the common reference on traceability: knowing from whom a food or an ingredient was received and to whom it was supplied, one step back and one step forward. KoreLab is a management and self-control tool: it does not certify, it is not Accredia-accredited and it does not give legal advice. Regulatory texts are indicative and should be checked with your consultant.

Learn more

Traceability works together with the rest of the workshop: suppliers, recipes, planning and self-control.

Supplier management → Recipe management and bills of materials → Production planning → Self-control and certifications →

Frequently asked questions

What does batch traceability mean in KoreLab?+

Every raw material comes in with the supplier's batch and expiry date, production records which batches it consumes and creates the finished-product batch, and deliveries show which batch reached which customer. From a batch you can go back, towards suppliers and raw materials, and forward, towards deliveries and customers. It works on the batches you record in KoreLab.

Does KoreLab certify my traceability or guarantee regulatory compliance?+

No. KoreLab is a management and self-control tool: it does not certify and it is not Accredia-accredited. Article 18 of Reg. (EC) 178/2002 is an indicative reference on traceability, not a judgement on your workshop. For your own situation, always check with your consultant.

Which plan has batch management and traceability?+

Goods receipt, batches, stock and production that draws down batches are available on all plans, within the plan's catalogue limits. Tracing back and forward, the recall test and the withdrawal or recall notice belong to the Quality suite: included in Pro, Business, Qualità and Consulente; on Free and Starter it is switched on with the Certifications add-on. The Consulente plan uses it read-only on the data of a client in delegation. For prices see the Pricing page.

How does FEFO work?+

FEFO means first expired, first out. When you record a production run, KoreLab draws down first the raw-material batches with the nearest expiry date. You see which batches it draws from and you can pick a specific batch in place of the proposed one.

What happens if stock is not enough in production?+

KoreLab draws down what it finds in the warehouse and tells you how many ingredients were not covered: production is not blocked. You record the missing quantity yourself, with a new goods receipt.

How do I correct a mistake in the stock movements?+

With a reversal: the movement register is append-only, so the wrong entry stays and the correction is added, traced. A receipt recorded by mistake is cancelled with the opposite movement; if the goods have already been used in a production run or a shipment, the cancellation stops until you correct further on.

What is the recall test (mock recall) and what does it show me?+

It is a simulation. You start from a raw-material, packaging or finished-product batch and see the products involved, the quantity already delivered, the quantity still in the warehouse and the customers to notify. If you want, you record the test as a report signed with the operator's PIN and sealed in the append-only register.

Does the recall test also show customers without an email?+

Yes. Before you sign, the list also names customers without an email, with quantity and delivery note, instead of counting only those who can be reached. The list stays on the PDF notice as a reminder of whom to contact by hand, for example by phone or by letter.

Does KoreLab notify customers by itself in a recall?+

No, you decide. When you generate the withdrawal or recall notice from a non-conformity, you sign it with the PIN and KoreLab emails the PDF to the customers and the supplier who have an address on file. The notice does not replace the withdrawal or recall procedure or the communication to the authorities.

Where do the customers to notify come from?+

From the deliveries recorded in KoreLab, that is the delivery notes in Delivery notes & shipments, which is a Business plan function. Without recorded deliveries, the recall test shows only the goods still in the warehouse.

Can I start on the Free plan?+

Yes, for receipts, batches, stock and production, within the Free catalogue limits. Tracing and the recall test require the Quality suite: on Free it is switched on with the Certifications add-on, or you move to Pro, Business or Qualità.

Start on Free, add traceability when you need it

With Free you receive goods, track batches and stock and record production, within the plan's limits. Tracing and the recall test belong to the Quality suite: compare the plans on the Pricing page.