With batches and best-before dates (BBD), you can manage stock in Pickware in a traceable way – e.g. for recalls, quality documentation, or to keep an eye on remaining shelf life. To make this work reliably, Pickware controls this behavior via tracking profiles on the product.
What tracking profiles are available?
In the General tab, under the heading Inventory Management, you can define individually for each product which information should be tracked during goods receipt and movement. The following tracking profiles are available to choose from:
Batch only
→ The product is marked as batch-tracked in Pickware. Specifying a batch becomes mandatory for all stock movements of the product. If a batch is set, it is automatically carried along.BBD only
→ The product is marked as BBD-tracked in Pickware. Specifying a BBD becomes mandatory for all stock movements of the product. If a BBD is set, it is automatically carried along.Batch & BBD
→ The product is marked as both BBD- and batch-tracked in Pickware. Specifying a BBD and a batch becomes mandatory for all stock movements of the product. If both a batch and a BBD are set, both are automatically carried along. The batch number is the primary identifier here.
If you want to set the tracking profile for many products at once, you can also configure this via bulk edit in the product overview. Products for which inventory management is disabled are skipped, since tracking requires active inventory management.
Can I change the tracking profile of a product?
The tracking profile is forward-looking. It defines which information Pickware expects from now on. Data already recorded is not automatically deleted.
So if you switch from Batch & BBD to BBD only, existing batch numbers are retained – but going forward, only the BBD will be mandatory. If you later switch back to Batch & BBD, Pickware will require the missing batch information for future movements.
Behavior of variants and bill of materials products
If you work with variant products, the tracking profile is set per variant. There is no automatic inheritance to variants.
For bill of materials products, no tracking profile is set on the bill of materials product itself. Tracking is configured exclusively via the subproducts, so that batch and BBD are tracked at the level of the items that are actually picked during the warehouse process.
Batch-pure storage locations
Pickware works with batch-pure storage locations. This means: for a batch-tracked product, you are prevented from storing different batches in the same storage location. This ensures that in all subsequent processes, it's clear which batch is located at the storage location – and the batch can be carried along automatically.
If, due to conditions in your warehouse, you need to physically store multiple batches in the same location, you can split the storage location in Pickware into multiple virtual compartments/storage locations (e.g. Shelf A-1 top, Shelf A-1 bottom). This way, the physical warehouse setup stays the same, while the assignment remains unambiguous.
Unknown storage location
Unknown storage location is the exception. Since this is not a classic storage location, multiple batches of the same product can be booked to Unknown storage location.
Stock with the note No batch information
Even though Pickware only allows stock movements with batch information for batch-tracked products, it's possible for stock of these products to show the note No batch information. Possible causes include:
a product for which stock has already been booked is marked as batch-tracked,
stock bookings were made via the API or database without specifying a batch,
an order with a batch-tracked product was shipped via the admin, and the batch-tracked product was located in multiple batches at Unknown storage location. Since Pickware cannot determine which batch was shipped in this special case, correction bookings without batch information must be made.
You can add the BBD and batch information afterwards by simply removing the quantities without a batch and putting them back in with the correct batch.
Behavior in the WMS App
With the WMS App, tracking information is fully recorded during goods receipt and automatically carried along during warehouse processes and shipping.
Batch numbers and BBDs can be conveniently captured via scanner or entered manually.
You can find more information on handling batches in the WMS App here.