Picture this: it’s the end of the long day. You’ve moved tons of products and delivered them to many customers across your area. Just as you’re about to leave, the word comes through a recall has been issued. Looks like another long night at the office, right?
Some of you reading this don’t have to imagine; you’ve lived this story. When a recall comes in, you know that you have 24 hours to report back on where the stock is, who you sold it to, and if you’ve notified the customers affected. If you’ve been operating like many food distributors, you likely have several separate systems tracking different aspects of your business. Compiling all that data takes time, so you need every moment of your 24 hours to make it happen.
But what if it didn’t need to be that way? What if, instead, your ERP system had all the data you needed to report back promptly, meet your compliance demands, notify your customers, and tell your team what stock to pull from picking?
It all comes down to lot control. Keeping track of every lot of product that comes into your business is key, and what better place to track it than in your ERP? Here are just a few reasons why lot control should be non-negotiable when you shop for ERP systems.
Learn how to track and trace your products by watching
Lot Tracking in Business Central
Fast Reporting
As mentioned above, when a recall comes in, you’re on the clock to report back what you are doing in response. When your ERP is tracking your lots, you know exactly where the affected product is and can act fast to report what your team has done. You have the precision you need to protect your business’s reputation and avoid unnecessary fees.
Prompt Notification to Customers
With lot tracking in your ERP, you know exactly which customers received the affected product because you know which lots were associated with which transactions. There’s no comparing data from two different sources; it’s one database with all the information you need to contact customers promptly when there is a recall.
Compliance
In addition to your ability to respond to recalls, lot control in your ERP also helps you stay compliant. With the ability to follow lots along their entire journey in the food supply chain, you gain the traceability you need to meet federal and state regulations—all without forcing your team to scramble when there’s an audit. When your ERP has lot control, you gain peace of mind, knowing you’re covered.
Why Business Central?
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central has you covered. With integrated lot control, you track your shipments from the moment they arrive until they leave—and after! All the data lives in one place, so your reporting is easy and doesn’t take manual manipulation outside the system.
Better yet, when you choose Microsoft, you choose an entire business platform. From the productivity and security tools of Microsoft 365 to the business insights you gain from Power BI data visualizations, you have so much more you can do in the Microsoft ecosystem.
