Lot Information Card in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

 

 

The Lot Information Card in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is a crucial feature used primarily in inventory management, particularly for businesses that need to track items by lots. It offers detailed information and facilitates the management of specific batches or lots of inventory. Here are some key functionalities and uses of the Lot Information Card:

 

Tracking and Traceability:

The Lot Information Card allows businesses to track specific batches of products throughout the supply chain. This is particularly important for industries like pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and chemicals, where knowing the exact batch of a product is necessary for quality control, recall management, and compliance with safety regulations.

 

Quality Control:

By using lot tracking, businesses can more easily isolate quality issues to specific batches of products. This helps in efficiently managing recalls or preventing the spread of defective or contaminated products.

 

Expiration Management:

The Lot Information Card can store information about the expiration dates of items. This is critical for managing perishable goods, ensuring that products are sold or used before they expire, thereby reducing waste and avoiding potential health risks.

 

Regulatory Compliance:

Many industries are required by law to maintain detailed records of product lots for safety and compliance purposes. The Lot Information Card helps meet these regulatory requirements by providing a structured way to record and access lot-specific information.

 

Inventory Control:

Lot tracking helps businesses manage their inventory more effectively by providing detailed insights into which lots are available, their locations, and quantities. This improves the accuracy of stock levels and helps in planning purchases and production.

 

Enhanced Reporting:

With detailed lot information, businesses can generate more detailed reports that provide insights into sales trends, inventory aging, and product lifecycles, which can inform better business decisions.

 

In Business Central, the Lot Information Card is accessed and utilized through inventory management processes, where each item or batch can be assigned a unique lot number, allowing all the above functionalities to be implemented. This makes it an indispensable tool for businesses that require tight control over inventory quality and traceability.

 

The Lot Information Card in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can be created in two primary ways, allowing flexibility in how lot tracking is managed based on the specific needs and operations of a business:

 

Automatically Creating Lot Information Cards:

 

You can set up Business Central to automatically create a Lot Information Card each time a transaction involving a lot-controlled item is posted. This feature is enabled by selecting the Create lot no. info. on posting option from the Item Tracking Code Card.

This automatic creation is particularly useful for streamlining operations and ensuring that lot information is consistently captured without requiring manual input for every transaction.

Manually Creating Lot Information Cards:

 

Alternatively, Lot Information Cards can be manually created through the Lot Information List page. This method is useful for situations where more control is needed over the details entered, or when lot information needs to be added or adjusted outside of standard transaction postings.

Manual creation allows for flexibility, especially in scenarios where lot data might not originate from a typical transaction flow, such as adjusting inventory for previously untracked lots or updating lot details based on new information.

The choice between automatic and manual creation depends on the nature of the business operations and the level of control required over inventory management. Automated creation reduces the risk of human error and saves time, while manual creation offers greater flexibility and control over the specifics of each lot entry.

These capabilities ensure that businesses can effectively manage inventory lot tracking in a manner that best suits their operational workflows, compliance needs, and industry standards.