Lot and Serial Tracking: Traceability and Expiry Date Management Guide

What is Traceability?

A product’s journey from raw material to the end consumer is only as visible as your records make it

Put simply, traceability is being able to record where a product goes across the supply chain and to read that history back whenever you need it. There are two directions to it:

Forward Traceability

Tracking from raw material to the finished product and on to the customer. It answers the question: “Which products were made from this batch of raw materials, and who were they sold to?”

• From supplier lot number to production batch
• From production batch to finished goods inventory
• From inventory to shipments made to customers

Backward Traceability

Tracking from the customer back to the raw material. This is where you start when you ask: “Which raw materials went into this item, when, and in which process?”

• From customer complaint to sales invoice
• From sales invoice to shipment batch
• From shipment batch to production work order
• From production work order to raw material lots

Traceability Levels

How deep you take traceability comes down to what your industry expects and how much risk you carry:

• Level 1 – Batch-Based: Products are tracked by lot/batch number. Common in food and chemicals.
• Level 2 – Unit-Based: Each unit is tracked with a unique serial number. Mandatory in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and electronics.
• Level 3 – Component-Based: Tracking down to the critical components inside the product. Applied to critical parts in aerospace and automotive.

As we keep seeing in our industry-specific solutions, traceability requirements vary in depth and breadth from one sector to the next.

Lot and Serial Number Concepts

Lot and serial numbers are the two pieces of information that make up a product’s identity

Lot and serial numbers get mixed up on the floor all the time. Getting the distinction right is the foundation of any traceability strategy.

Lot (Batch) Number

A lot number identifies a group of products made under the same conditions at the same time. What stands out:

• Products with the same lot number are treated as homogeneous
• Quality control tests are run on a lot basis
• Recalls usually happen on a lot basis
• FEFO (First Expired First Out) management is lot-based

Lot Number Design

A well-designed lot number carries information inside the code itself:

• Production date: Julian date or YYMMDD format
• Production line/shift: Which equipment and team
• Product group code: Product family identifier
• Sequence number: Batch order within the day

Example: 26032A01 – Year 2026, 32nd day (February), Line A, 01st batch

Serial Number

A serial number, on the other hand, identifies each individual unit uniquely. What stands out:

• Must be globally unique
• Provides unit-based traceability
• Used to fight counterfeiting
• Critical for warranty and service tracking

Serial Number Management Models

• Sequential: Numbers assigned in increasing order. Simple, but predictable.
• Random: Random number generation. Unpredictable, and harder to counterfeit.
• Hybrid: Lot number combined with a sequence number.

Lot vs. Serial: Decision Matrix

GS1 Standards and Implementation

GS1 standards give the global supply chain a common language

GS1 is a non-profit international organization that sets global supply chain standards. The GS1 identifiers you need to know for traceability are these:

Core GS1 Identifiers

GTIN (Global Trade Item Number)

This is the product’s identity, formerly known as the EAN/UPC barcode number.

• GTIN-8: For small packages
• GTIN-13: For retail products (EAN-13)
• GTIN-14: For trade units and cartons

SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code)

Uniquely identifies logistics units such as pallets and cartons. An 18-digit numeric code.

GLN (Global Location Number)

Identifies physical locations (factory, warehouse, store) and legal entities such as the company itself. A 13-digit numeric code.

GS1 Barcode Types

GS1-128 (Formerly: EAN-128)

A linear barcode format. It carries extra information such as lot number, expiration date, and serial number right on the label.

• AI (01): GTIN
• AI (10): Lot/Batch number
• AI (17): Expiration date (YYMMDD)
• AI (21): Serial number
• AI (37): Quantity

GS1 DataMatrix

A 2D barcode format. It fits far more data into a small area, and it has become the de facto standard in pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

• High data capacity
• Error correction feature
• Suitable for small-sized prints
• Direct Part Marking (DPM) possible

EPCIS (Electronic Product Code Information Services)

EPCIS records supply chain events in a standard format. Every event answers four questions:

• What: Which product (GTIN + lot/serial)
• Where: Which location (GLN)
• When: Event time
• Why: Event type (production, shipment, receipt, etc.)

Expiration Date (SKT) Management

FEFO is the backbone of expiration date management

Expiration date management matters most in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. When it slips, waste comes first, then customer complaints, and eventually legal trouble.

FIFO vs. FEFO

FIFO (First In First Out)

First in, first out. It looks at the warehouse entry date, and it can fall short once you have lots with different expiration dates.

FEFO (First Expired First Out)

First expired, first out. It looks at the expiration date, so products closest to expiring ship first.

Expiration Date Warning Mechanisms

• Yellow zone (warning): X days before expiration (e.g., 90 days)
• Red zone (critical): Y days before expiration (e.g., 30 days)
• Blockage: Products that have fallen below minimum shelf life cannot be shipped

Shelf Life Policy

You give the customer a guarantee on the minimum shelf life left at delivery. For example:

• “Minimum 75% shelf life at the date of delivery”
• “Minimum 6 months remaining expiration date at the date of delivery”

Once you build this policy into the sales and logistics systems, non-compliant lots are excluded automatically.

Management of Products Near Expiration

• Discounted sales: “Last X days” campaigns
• Alternative channel: Outlet, B2B, donation
• Disposal: Disposal in accordance with legal procedures
• Production input: Reprocessing in some industries

Recall Management

A product recall is the stress test of your traceability system. How fast and how precisely you can move in a crisis tells you the real quality of the infrastructure underneath.

Recall Types

Class I – Serious (Critical)

Products that could cause serious harm to health, or even death. For example, contaminated food or an incorrect medication dosage.

• Emergency public announcement
• Initiation within 24 hours
• Mandatory notification to official authorities

Class II – Moderate

Products that could cause temporary or treatable health problems. For example, a labeling error or missing allergen information.

Class III – Minor

Products with low health risk that still fail to meet regulations. For example, incorrect weight information or a cosmetic defect.

Recall Process

1. Detection and Assessment

• Determine the scope of the issue
• Perform risk classification
• Identify affected lots/serials
• Make the recall decision

2. Traceability Query

• Identify where the affected products are
• Inventory in the warehouse
• Inventory in distribution channels (dealers, warehouses)
• Products sold to customers

3. Notification

• Official authorities (if required)
• Distribution channels and dealers
• End consumers (if required)
• Public (for Class I)

4. Collection and Disposal

• Physical collection logistics
• Quarantine storage
• Inspection and analysis
• Disposal or correction

5. Closure and Reporting

• Calculate collection rates
• Root cause analysis
• Preventive actions
• Closure report to authorities

Mock Recall (Drill)

Run a recall drill at least once a year. By simulating a real scenario:

• Test whether traceability data can be accessed 100%
• Aim to identify 95% of affected products within 4 hours
• Verify the communication chain and decision-making mechanisms
• Document the gaps and put together an improvement plan

Field Example: Food Manufacturer Case

Real Case (Unbranded)

Situation

A mid-sized food production facility. More than 15 different products and 50-plus lots go out every day. What they had to work with: lot tracking kept in Excel, paper forms, barcodes keyed in by hand. When a quality warning came in from a raw material supplier, identifying the affected products took a full 3 days.

Steps Implemented (representative duration: 4 months)

1. Month 1: Current situation analysis. All production lines, raw material entry points, and shipment areas were mapped. Critical Control Points (CCP) were determined.
2. Month 2: The GS1-128 barcode structure was designed. Barcode scanning points were set up for raw material entry, production, and shipment. The lot number coding standard was settled.
3. Month 3: System integration. The lot tracking module was switched on in the ERP. FEFO logic went live. Team training was completed.
4. Month 4: Mock recall drill. A full end-to-end traceability test was run on a randomly chosen raw material lot, and the gaps that surfaced were fixed.

Result (observed)

• Traceability query time: down from 3 days to 2 hours
• Waste rate due to expiration: representative 35% reduction
• Mock recall success rate: 92% on the first attempt, 98% on the second
• Customer complaint resolution time: representative 60% reduction

7 Most Common Mistakes in Lot and Serial Tracking

1. Assigning Lot Numbers Only in Production

If you do not track lots at raw material entry, backward traceability breaks at the very start. It becomes almost impossible to work out which products a problem raw material ended up in.

2. Manual Data Entry

Keying lot and serial numbers in by hand pushes the error rate up dramatically. Without barcode scanning, the traceability data simply can’t be trusted.

3. Keeping Lot Size Too Large

A large lot drags too many products into a single recall. The right lot size is about finding the balance between production efficiency and recall risk.

4. Implementing FIFO Instead of FEFO

Shipping by warehouse entry date (FIFO) raises the waste risk on lots with different expiration dates. Managing by expiration date (FEFO) keeps you on the safer side.

5. Not Conducting Mock Recalls

Testing the system for the first time during a real crisis is the riskiest path there is. An annual drill shows how your system behaves on the floor, not just on paper.

6. Neglecting Data Integration

If lot information doesn’t flow between production, warehouse, and sales, traceability breaks somewhere in the middle. End-to-end integration isn’t optional here.

7. Not Defining Standards

Starting without a set standard for lot number format, barcode structure, and data fields comes back as a major revision down the line. Adopt global standards like GS1 from day one.

A systematic approach heads off most errors before they happen

Success Metrics

You can measure how well your lot/serial tracking and traceability system performs with the following metrics (representative values):

Watch these metrics regularly and you can keep pushing the effectiveness of your traceability system a step further.

Traceability Checklist

You can adapt this checklist for your industry-specific projects as well, adding the requirements specific to each sector on top.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)