Working with lot-control

Article • 4/10/2026 • 2 min read

Using Made2Manage’s optional lot-control feature, you can track individual parts and batches of parts and their components throughout the production process. You assign a serial number to an individual part and a lot number to a batch or lot.

Lot-control functions let you trace an item to its origin, whether you purchased it or manufactured it. You can find out which lots of items you used to create a part and the lots in which you used the created part.

You cannot lot-control a backflush item.

Whenever you receive, ship, issue to a job, or otherwise move a lot-controlled part, its lot number travels with it. Certain industries require that the components of the parts they use have lot-control. This way, if a part is defective, its manufacturer can identify all the part’s components and trace each component’s production history.

The extent of control that industries require varies. You can use lot-control for a part and all, some, or none of its component parts. You can use lot-control for all your products or apply it selectively to certain order items. For instance, a request for lot-control may appear on a sales order.

For a single part, a job can have more than one lot number. Made2Manage makes it easy to check the lot numbers a particular job uses, or all the jobs or locations that have parts from a lot.

You can optionally set expiration dates for your lots. These dates reflect the order in which you should use the lots. Expiration dates appear on the production pick lists, but Made2Manage does not enforce them.

Made2Manage can automatically generate lot numbers, decreasing the amount of tedious data entry that can be part of lot-control tracking.

On these pages you must perform the following:

  1. Type lot numbers for several parts.

  2. Enter the first and last lot numbers.

  3. Click Auto Generate.

Made2Manage automatically fills in the numbers.

Made2Manage automatically generates lot numbers only on the Receiving (RECV) and Shipping (SHIP) pages.

You can also assign lot numbers to assemblies before they are completed.

You can receive or issue materials directly to a lot number, eliminating entering lot information later.

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