Lot tracking sounds like something for factories and warehouses. But if you make candles, soap, skincare, food, or anything that can expire or get recalled, it's a simple habit that can save you a lot of grief, and in some cases, it's expected of you.
What a lot (or batch) number is
A lot number is just a label for a specific batch of something: the soap you made on a given day, or the case of fragrance oil you bought from a particular order. It lets you connect a finished product back to the exact materials and day it came from.
Why it matters
- Traceability: if a material turns out to be bad, you can tell exactly which products used it instead of pulling everything.
- Expiration: perishable ingredients (oils, botanicals, food) have shelf lives; tracking batches lets you use the oldest first and avoid selling something past its prime.
- Quality: if one batch comes out different, a lot number helps you trace what changed.
Who needs it most
The more your products are consumed, applied to skin, or regulated, the more it matters: soap and skincare, candles, food and beverage, bath products. If you sell wholesale or into stores, a buyer may expect you to be able to trace a batch. For purely decorative goods, it's optional.
You hope you never need a lot number, but the day a supplier issues a recall, it's the difference between pulling one batch and pulling everything.
A simple lot system
- Give each batch of a perishable material a lot number and an expiration when you receive it.
- When you make a product, note which material lots went into it.
- Use the oldest lots first (first-expired, first-out).
- Keep the record long enough to cover your products' shelf life.
Make it painless
The reason makers skip lot tracking is that doing it on paper is tedious and easy to drop. From the Maker plan, Keepsel tracks material lots and expiry dates, so you can see which lot is oldest and use it first as part of your normal workflow, not as extra homework.