Batch management distinguishes production lots of the same material. It is essential in food, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, where lots can differ in quality.
Why it is needed
- Traceability: when a defect appears, identify which raw material lots it came from and which customers received it
- Shelf life: use the oldest or soonest-expiring stock first
- Quality variation: concentration or purity differs between lots even within specification
- Regulation: pharmaceuticals and food require lot-level records by law
Batch level
| Level | Meaning | Characteristic |
|---|---|---|
| Plant | Unique within a plant | The same number means something else elsewhere |
| Material | Unique per material | Identity survives transfers between plants |
| Client | Unique system-wide | Strictest control, heaviest to operate |
Batch characteristics
| Characteristic | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Production date | When it was made |
| Expiry date | How long it remains usable |
| Purity or concentration | Quality values for chemicals |
| Country of origin | Where the material came from |
| Quality grade | A, B and similar grading |
Create characteristics with CT04, group them into a class of type 023, and assign the class to the material. QM inspection results can be written into batch characteristics automatically.
Batch determination
| Strategy | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| FIFO | Use the oldest batch first |
| Shelf life expiration date | Use the soonest to expire first |
| By characteristic | Select only batches meeting a purity threshold, for example |
| Manual | The user chooses |
Batch determination also uses the condition technique, combining search strategies, selection classes and sort rules, configured separately for SD delivery and for PP component issue.
Traceability
| Direction | Question | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Top-down | What did this raw material lot become, and where did it go? | Scoping a recall when a material is found defective |
| Bottom-up | Which raw material lots went into this product? | Investigating a customer complaint |
The Batch Information Cockpit (BMBC) performs both. How quickly a company can scope a recall is a direct measure of its risk management.
Tracing only works if batches were recorded correctly at input. Where backflushing determines batches automatically, whether the recorded batch matches what was physically used is an operational question worth checking.