Items and lots

Inventory Coordinator keeps an item under its operating organization, with a code, name and base unit. The lot-tracked setting determines whether the team needs a specific lot for stock actions. A tracked lot has its own code, expiry date, owner reference and release state. These fields let a coordinator distinguish food that is available for assignment from food awaiting review or held from use.

A released lot still needs to fit the exact item, location and organization of the request. Its expiry matters at the point of reservation and again when stock is issued. Inventory Coordinator should read the item’s base unit alongside the request quantity, because a quantity in a different unit does not establish an eligible claim. Item and lot identity should remain consistent through the reservation and posted movement.

• Item identity. Inventory Coordinator maintains the code, name, base unit, active state and lot-tracking choice within the organization.
• Lot review. The team records a lot code, expiry and release state before claiming tracked food for a request.
• Trace. Reservations and movements retain the chosen item and, when relevant, its exact lot reference.

Choose a single code and base unit for each item in an organization. Decide who may change a lot from pending to released and who handles quarantined or blocked stock. Set the operational meaning of the owner reference. A team should also agree how close to expiry a released lot can be used for a particular program. The expiry date belongs to the lot; a program-specific eligibility decision belongs to the operating procedure.

Keep the active item decision separate from the lot decision. An active item does not make every lot releasable. A released lot tied to a different item cannot fill the request. Before introducing historical stock, reconcile item codes and lot codes with the movement ledger so a later trace leads back to a real source record.

Consider two lots of the same shelf-stable item. One is released and expires earlier; the other is quarantined. Inventory Coordinator opens Released Stock Lots and checks the earlier lot against the request’s item and location. The quarantined lot stays out of the claim even if its date is farther away. When the team reserves stock, it records the exact lot on the reservation, then checks it again before a posted movement.

If the released lot expires before the planned use, the coordinator should choose another eligible lot or return the request for review. A reservation is a claim, not proof of physical movement. The movement record supplies the posted quantity and source evidence when food actually changes position or is issued. A reviewer can then trace the request through the lot, reservation and movement without guessing which batch was used.

• Released Stock Lots — Lot codes and expiry dates available for eligibility review.
• Active Stock Reservations — Claims against exact items, locations and lots.
• Posted Stock Movements — Posted effects that preserve the item and lot used.

See lot selection and reservation and allocation release. The data model explains the item-to-lot reference.