Lotted items are goods that have lot numbers assigned to them for tracking purposes. For example, a food distribution company can use lot numbers to record purchases and sales of unique batches of product.
Note: Lot numbers are used for tracking stock from the point of receipt through to the point of sale, and can be used to track returned items from the customer and back to the vendor.
Lot numbers are used to track groups of items. Unlike serial numbers, a lot number can be allocated to multiple items.
You may be prompted to assign lot numbers to items when performing the following transactions:
- Receiving inventory purchased from a vendor and entering an invoice. For more information, see Receiving and Invoicing Lotted Items.
- Returning stock back to a vendor and entering debit or credit notes. For more information, see Returning and Issuing Credit/Debit Notes for Lotted Items.
When assigning lot numbers in Purchase Orders, you are either generating new lot numbers or selecting from a pool of previously created numbers. The actual management and maintenance of lot numbers is performed using Inventory Control.