Receiving and stock item flows

Receiving turns external material into inventory. The flow sets the identity, quantity and status the material carries from then on.

Mistakes made at goods-in carry into every trace, count and cost that follows.

• For a purchase receipt, the flow matches the delivery to a purchase order line, records the quantity, sets status, identity and label, and puts the material away.
• Partial and over-receipts are recorded against the order line, with the outstanding quantity shown during entry.
• Recall notices use the supplier’s lot number, so it belongs next to the internal lot.
• Receipt and label printing belong in one flow.
• Under the US Food Traceability Rule, receiving is a critical tracking event with its own key data elements for foods on the Food Traceability List.

1. Match the delivery to a purchase order line
2. Count, and record the difference from the ordered quantity
3. Inspect, or place on hold for inspection
4. Identify: internal lot or serial plus the supplier’s lot
5. Label
6. Put away to a location

This sequence describes purchasing receipts. Customer returns, internal transfers and production output need their own source references and validation; they do not all originate from a purchase order.

Receiving staff at the dock, quality inspectors who release or reject held stock, and purchasing, which follows open order lines.

Receiving is often done standing, with a handheld scanner, while the truck waits. Speed at the dock competes with completeness of the record.

Partial and over-receipts. A supplier ships 80 of 100, or 105. The receipt is recorded against the order line, the line stays open or is closed with a reason, and the outstanding quantity is shown during entry.

Quarantine as a status. An inspection hold should block consumption visibly, and release should be a recorded action.

Two lot numbers. Storing the supplier’s lot next to the internal lot saves a manual lookup at the start of every recall.

Labelling at the right moment. Unlabelled material entering the building is likely to be scanned wrong later.

• Inspection can occur at the dock or after stock is put on hold. Redbrix chooses the flow according to risk and operational needs, keeping release controls explicit. Supplier qualification may change inspection requirements but does not remove the need to record stock status.

• Receipt and label printing as separate steps, so material enters unlabelled
• Only the internal lot stored, so recalls start with a manual lookup
• Inspection holds that do not block consumption
• Over- and under-receipts entered as adjustments outside the order line

Where Redbrix has worked on this

• OnBatch: batch process ERP for beverage producers

Sources

• FSMA Final Rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods — FDA