Lot number capture on receipt
Capture manufacturer lot number, internal batch code, supplier, quantity, and expiration date during receiving. Each receipt becomes a lot record under the SKU.
Lot tracking software · recall readiness
Find every affected lot before the next shift starts
A recall or expired lot should not start with someone digging through receiving notes. Order3 captures lot number and expiration at receipt, tracks batches by location, supports FEFO rotation, and pulls every affected unit in seconds.
Recall search
LOT-2025-A14
The operator searches the lot number once and gets the units, locations, expiry, and downstream movement that need review.
SKU
NITRILE-M-LG
Lot
LOT-2025-A14
Expiry
2026-08-31
On hand
148 units
Locations
Dental room 2, central stock, mobile kit 4
Downstream
12 consumed, 3 assigned
Next action
Pull affected units, notify owners, and keep the recall record with the inventory history.
Definition
Lot & Expiration Tracking software
Lot tracking software groups inventory by batch: the production run, receipt date, manufacturer lot number, or internal batch code. Each lot can carry its own expiration date, supplier, receiving event, current location, recall status, and movement history. Expiration date tracking flags items approaching or past their use-by date. Together, lot number tracking, batch traceability, and expiry alerts make recall response faster and FEFO rotation practical. The goal is simple: when someone asks where lot LOT-2025-A14 went, the record already knows. Nobody has to go read the tape on a box.
Built by Cameron Priest, who co-founded TradeGecko (acquired by Intuit) and has spent over a decade building software for the people who run physical stock.
Honest fit
Operational traceability, not a validated QMS
Order3 covers the operational layer: capturing lots at the dock, rotating the oldest stock out first, and finding every unit fast in a recall. If you need validated batch records or regulated e-signatures, Veeva, MasterControl, or a purpose-built QMS may be the better system of record.
- Good fit: SMB clinical, food, parts, aviation, and manufacturing teams that need operational traceability.
- Bad fit: teams that need Order3 alone to satisfy category-specific FDA, USDA, or validated batch-record requirements.
Capabilities
What the workflow covers
Expiration alerts
Set lead-time thresholds for expiration warnings. Order3 flags items approaching expiry by item and by location.
FEFO rotation support
Pick lists and pulls suggest the oldest lot first (first expired, first out). Operators can override when rotation isn't appropriate, and the override is logged.
Recall by lot number
When a manufacturer issues a recall, search by lot number and pull affected units, current locations, prior movements, and downstream use in seconds.
Lot history and traceability
Each lot tracks every receipt, transfer, and consumption event. Useful for audit, quality investigations, and recall documentation.
Batch traceability without making every SKU heavy
Lot tracking is on per SKU. Items that do not need batch tracking stay simple; items that do get the expiry, traceability, and recall fields they need.
How it works
From floor action to approved record
- Step 01
Enable lot tracking on the SKU
On items where lot matters, turn on lot tracking. Receiving will prompt for lot number, batch code, supplier context, and expiration date.
- Step 02
Capture at receipt
At the dock, scan or enter the lot number and expiry. Each receipt creates a distinct lot record with quantity and location.
- Step 03
Rotate and use FEFO
Pick lists suggest the oldest lot first. Operators confirm or override; either way, the choice is logged.
- Step 04
Trace recalls and audits
When a recall hits, search by lot number. One search pulls current locations, prior movements, consumed quantities, and assigned recipients.
Looks like the workflow you need? Set up your first workspace in under an hour.
Start tracking lotsWorkflow artifact
The record a team can inspect
A useful lot & expiration tracking workflow leaves an item, location, owner, next action, and approval trail behind it.
Order3 record
Lot & Expiration Tracking review
Trigger
Lot number capture on receipt
Capture manufacturer lot number, internal batch code, supplier, quantity, and expiration date during receiving. Each receipt becomes a lot record under the SKU.
Evidence
Enable lot tracking on the SKU
On items where lot matters, turn on lot tracking. Receiving will prompt for lot number, batch code, supplier context, and expiration date.
Next action
Capture at receipt
At the dock, scan or enter the lot number and expiry. Each receipt creates a distinct lot record with quantity and location.
Control
Trace recalls and audits
When a recall hits, search by lot number. One search pulls current locations, prior movements, consumed quantities, and assigned recipients.
Who runs this
Who needs lot and expiration tracking software?
Teams need lot and expiration tracking when one bad batch can create a recall, expired-stock risk, customer miss, or audit question. Medical and dental practices use it for clinical supplies. Food and beverage teams use it for ingredients, packaging, finished goods, and FSMA-style traceability work. Aviation, parts, and manufacturing teams use it when a component lot has to be traced from receipt to use. The pain always shows up late: nobody can say where the lot went.
Clinical supplies
Track vaccines, dental stock, pharmaceuticals, kits, and procedure supplies by lot, expiry, room, and cart.
Risk: A recall turns into a room-by-room search while patients or departments wait.
Food and beverage
Track ingredients, packaging, finished goods, and use-by dates with lot history and FEFO pulls.
Risk: Expired stock stays on the shelf, or a recall cannot be traced cleanly.
Aviation and parts
Keep lot-traceable parts tied to receiving, location, movement, and serialized records when unit-level history matters.
Risk: A small batch issue becomes an audit problem because the movement trail is incomplete.
Manufacturing inputs
Track raw materials, components, and batch-specific supplier history before they enter production.
Risk: A bad input lot gets discovered after it has already moved into work in progress.
Fit checklist
Use Order3 when the workflow needs these controls
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Lot number capture on receipt
Capture manufacturer lot number, internal batch code, supplier, quantity, and expiration date during receiving. Each receipt becomes a lot record under the SKU.
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Expiration alerts
Set lead-time thresholds for expiration warnings. Order3 flags items approaching expiry by item and by location.
-
FEFO rotation support
Pick lists and pulls suggest the oldest lot first (first expired, first out). Operators can override when rotation isn't appropriate, and the override is logged.
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Recall by lot number
When a manufacturer issues a recall, search by lot number and pull affected units, current locations, prior movements, and downstream use in seconds.
How it works in Order3
How lot and expiration tracking works in Order3
Turn on lot tracking per SKU. Order3 captures lot number, batch code, supplier, quantity, location, and expiration date at receipt. Each lot becomes a record under the SKU with its own balance and movement history. Multi-location holds lots at the right level: room, bin, truck, kit, stockroom, or warehouse. Pick and pull workflows suggest FEFO; operators confirm or override. Expiration alerts surface items approaching threshold per item and location. The activity log captures every receipt, transfer, consumption event, and count adjustment with the lot reference. Ask 'which lots expire this month' or 'where is LOT-2025-A14?' and the answer comes from the inventory record. Serialized tracking can ride on the same item when unit-level history also matters.
Feature
Low-stock alerts
Most low-stock alerts are noise. This one shows up with the lead time factored in, the right owner attached, and a next action one click away. Hand off to the purchasing agent for a draft, request a transfer from another location, or dismiss with a documented reason. Dashboards that nobody opens twice were not the goal.
Feature
Barcode scanning
Scan an item, confirm a quantity, and update the record from the floor. Order3 reads UPC, EAN, Code 128, Code 39, QR, and GS1 DataMatrix from an iOS or Android camera, plus Bluetooth handheld scanners that act as keyboards.
Feature
Multi-location tracking
Multi-location tracking means you can answer 'where is it' without calling someone. One workspace holds stock across warehouses, retail shops, trucks, jobsites, stockrooms, zones, and bins. Each keeps its own balance. Transfers between locations are first-class events, not adjustments hidden inside a global total.
Feature
Real-time reports
A stocker confirms a receipt at 9:47am. By 9:47am, the inventory value report reflects it. Reports in Order3 are queries against the live ledger. Every scan, transfer, count, and approval feeds the same data the leadership team reads. No nightly batch. No reconciliation lag. The number on the floor matches the number in the office.
How to choose
How to choose lot and expiration tracking software
Confirm lot capture at receiving is fast. If it adds significant time per item, the team will skip it on busy days and your trace data will have gaps. Check that pick lists actually suggest the oldest lot first. Verify recall queries return affected units, current locations, downstream movement, and consumed quantities without manual stitching. If you have FDA, USDA, FSMA 204, UDI, or other regulatory requirements, confirm your documentation expectations with your compliance lead. Specific compliance certifications have not been completed. For SMB teams, Order3 covers the operational layer: lot capture, expiry alerts, FEFO rotation, and recall search.
Related guides
Read before you switch
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Guide
Inventory management for small business: the practical guide
Inventory management for a small business comes down to four things: knowing what you have, where it is, what changed, and what to reorder next. Most small teams do not need an ERP. They need clean item records, named locations, reorder rules where shortages hurt, and a weekly rhythm that survives a busy quarter.
-
Guide
Reorder points explained: formula, examples, and how to set them
A reorder point is the inventory level that triggers a replenishment order before you stock out. Formula: ROP = (Average Daily Usage × Lead Time in Days) + Safety Stock. Set it for the items where shortages cost a job, a customer, or a margin. Ignore it for the long tail until you have usage data.
Lot & Expiration Tracking software FAQ
How is lot tracking different from serialized inventory?
Lot tracking groups units that share a batch: same production run, same receipt, same expiration. Serialized tracks each unit individually. Lot fits when units are interchangeable within a batch but the batch as a whole has properties (expiry, recall) you need to track. Serialized fits when each unit has its own history that matters. Order3 supports both, and a single item can use both. A serialized aviation part can also carry the lot it came from.
Does it support FEFO rotation?
Yes. Pick lists and consumption workflows suggest the oldest lot first. Operators can override (some workflows aren't strict FEFO, such as partial lots or customer-specified lots) and the override is logged. Reports show whether actual usage followed FEFO or deviated. For strict FEFO operations, the suggestion plus override log is usually enough; for fully enforced FEFO, set policies that prevent overrides.
How do recalls work?
Search by lot number. Order3 returns every unit of that lot still in your system, plus the history of where it has been and any consumption or assignment downstream. For clinical settings, this typically means pulling affected units off the shelf and contacting any patient or department that received them. The system gives you the data; the response workflow is your team's responsibility.
Is this food traceability software?
It can support the operational layer of food traceability: lot capture at receipt, expiration dates, FEFO rotation, location-level balances, supplier history, and recall search. If you need a purpose-built FSMA 204 compliance suite with configured critical tracking events, documentation workflows, and validation services, confirm fit before adopting. We would rather scope that honestly than pretend every food traceability requirement is the same.
Can I track expiration per location?
Yes. Each lot at each location has its own expiration and quantity. Useful when the same SKU sits in multiple stockrooms with different turnover. One room may have a near-expiring lot while another has fresh stock. Alerts fire per location so you replenish or transfer where it actually matters.
Does this handle FDA UDI requirements?
Order3 supports per-lot and per-unit data capture, which is part of the operational layer behind UDI. Specific FDA UDI compliance such as DI/PI element handling, GUDID submission, label printing rules, and validated documentation depends on your category and process. Confirm with your compliance lead before relying on Order3 alone for UDI compliance. We hold no UDI-specific certification.
How long does setup take?
Software setup is fast: turning on lot tracking per SKU is a few clicks. The slow part is the receiving discipline. Capture lot and expiry at every receipt going forward. Plan a week of training and reinforcement until the dock team is fluent. Existing on-hand stock without lot data is a separate question. Most teams either accept gaps for old stock or do a one-time pass to label what's still on the shelf.
Adjacent use cases
Try Lot & Expiration Tracking in Order3.
Start with the SKUs, locations, and counts behind the problem. Bring in expert help when the workflow needs integrations, approvals, or agent policy.