If a recall hit tomorrow, could you trace it in minutes? How NZ food manufacturers can follow every lot from supplier to customer.
It usually starts with an email or a phone call. A recall notice comes through GS1’s Product Recall service, or a supplier rings to say an ingredient lot you received last month may be contaminated. Either way, they need to know what you did with it.
In that moment, two questions matter. Which of your products used that lot? And which customers received them?
For a food manufacturer running on paper batch records and spreadsheets, answering those questions can take days and comes with a whole lot of stress. With the right system, it can take minutes. That difference shapes how big the recall becomes, how much product you write off, and how your customers see you afterwards.
This post explains what lot traceability is, why disconnected systems slow a recall down, and what recall-ready traceability looks like in practice.
What Lot Traceability Means
Lot traceability is the ability to follow a specific batch of an ingredient or product through your business; from the supplier it came from to the customer who received it.
It works in two directions:
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Trace back. Start with a finished product, perhaps after a customer complaint, and identify every ingredient lot that went into it and which supplier each came from
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Trace forward. Start with an ingredient lot, perhaps after a supplier alert, and identify every production run that used it, every finished goods lot it became, and every customer order it went out on.
Both depend on the same thing: a lot number recorded at every step, and a link between each step and the next. When those links are missing or sit in different places, the trace breaks.
Why Paper and Spreadsheets Slow a Recall Down
Most growing food manufacturers record lot information somewhere. The problem is that it is recorded in several places that don't talk to each other.
A typical trail might look like this:
- Supplier lot numbers are written on a goods-in sheet or typed into an inventory app.
- The lots used in each production run are noted on a paper batch record.
- Finished goods lot numbers sit in a spreadsheet.
- Customer dispatches are recorded in the accounting system or on delivery dockets.
To trace a single lot, someone must work through each of these by hand and join them together. Any gap, such as an illegible entry, a missing batch sheet or a lot that was split across two runs, means guessing or widening the search.
That has real consequences:
- Bigger recalls. If you can't pinpoint the affected product, you may have to recall more than you need to, just to be safe.
- More write-offs. Product that was never at risk gets pulled and discarded alongside the product that was.
- Slower response. Time spent searching is time affected product stays on shelves.
- Damaged relationships. Retailers and distributors expect quick, confident answers. Hesitation costs trust.
What Recall-ready Traceability Looks Like
In an ERP such as NetSuite, lot tracking is part of the everyday transactions your team already completes. Each step records the lot number and links to the next, so the trail builds itself as you work.
- Receiving. When ingredients arrive, they are received against the purchase order with the supplier's lot number recorded.
- Production. Ingredient lots are issued to a work order and finished goods lots are received from it. The work order acts as the link between the input and output lot numbers.
- Dispatch. When orders are fulfilled, the finished goods lots shipped to each customer are recorded.
NetSuite’s Lot and Serial Number Trace SuiteApp turns that trail into a search rather than a project. Enter a lot number and follow it forward through every product it went into, including intermediate products, or back to the ingredient lots and suppliers behind it, all from one screen. Trace results can be exported and shared, giving you a clear record for customers, auditors or your own mock recall.
Stopping Problems Before They Ship
Traceability helps you respond to a problem. Quality controls help you stop one leaving the building in the first place.
For simple processes, NetSuite’s standard inventory statuses can mark stock as awaiting inspection or quarantined, keeping it out of the stock available to sell, and supporting documents can be attached to the relevant records. For food manufacturers with real quality inspections to manage and track, that is rarely enough.
NetSuite’s Quality Management SuiteApp provides a proper quality process, covering:
- Defined inspections triggered when ingredients are received, production is completed or orders are fulfilled, with the specifications each must meet.
- Rules for handling anything that fails, such as quarantining it, returning it to the supplier or downgrading it.
- Supporting documentation, such as certificates of analysis, to share with customers and auditors.
For most food manufacturers, the Quality Management SuiteApp is the right choice. It turns quality checks from a separate paper process into part of the same system that holds your lot history.
Test It Before You Need It
The best time to find a gap in your traceability is during a practice run, not a real recall. A mock recall picks a lot at random and works through the trace as if it were real, timing how long it takes and noting anything that slowed it down.
Regular mock recalls are good practice for any food manufacturer, and they are part of many businesses' food safety obligations. They also give a clear, honest picture of whether your current systems are up to the job.
If you ran one tomorrow, how would you answer these?
- Could we trace an ingredient lot to every customer who received it, in minutes rather than hours or days?
- Could we trace a finished product back to every ingredient lot and supplier?
- Is all the information in one place, or would we need several people and systems to piece it together?
- Would we know exactly which stock to hold, or would we have to widen the recall to be safe?
- Could we produce a clear record of what we did, for customers and auditors?
If any of these give you pause, your traceability may be more fragile than it looks.
Be Ready Before the Call Comes
A recall is never convenient, but it doesn't have to be chaotic. When lot information is captured as part of everyday work, in one system, a trace that once took days can be done in minutes.
Project Salsa helps New Zealand food manufacturers set up NetSuite, so traceability and quality checks are built into receiving, production and dispatch from day one.
Book a conversation with our team to talk through how ready your business is today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is lot traceability in food manufacturing?
Lot traceability is the ability to follow a batch of ingredients or finished product through your business, from the supplier it came from to the customers who received it, and back again.
What is the difference between trace back and trace forward?
Trace back starts with a finished product and identifies the ingredient lots and suppliers behind it. Trace forward starts with an ingredient lot and identifies every product and customer it reached.
Can I manage lot traceability in spreadsheets?
It is possible for a small operation, but it relies on every record being complete and every link being made by hand. As volumes grow, gaps become more likely and a trace takes longer.
Does NetSuite include lot tracking as standard?
Yes. Lot numbers can be recorded on receipts, production and dispatches, and linked across each step. NetSuite’s Lot and Serial Number Trace SuiteApp lets you follow a lot forward and back from one screen, and a full quality process, including quality checks at receiving, manufacturing and dispatch and certificates of analysis, is available through NetSuite’s Quality Management SuiteApp.
What is a mock recall?
A mock recall is a practice run of a real recall. You pick a lot, trace it forward and back, and time how long it takes. It shows where your records or systems would slow you down before it matters.
How quickly should I be able to trace a lot?
The faster the better. A trace that takes minutes rather than days limits how much product is affected and shows customers and auditors that you are in control.
