Lots, Consumption Rules & COAs

Lot tracking is included on every plan. Lots are created automatically from PO receipts and ShipBob receiving; you can also add them by hand.

Inventory → Lots lists every lot: product, location, lot #, quantities (lot qty vs. on hand now), unit cost, received and expiry dates. Expired dates show red. "PO batch" chips mark placeholder lots created from PO receipts before the 3PL reports the real lot number. Unit costs computed from receipts show "via receipt" — override manually only if you must. Add a lot with + Add lot (product, location, lot number, quantity, optional expiry and attributes).

The Consumption Rules section controls which lot is decremented when orders ship. The default is FIFO (oldest lot first). Add a rule to change the strategy per product and/or location: • FIFO — oldest received first. • FEFO — earliest expiry first. • Priority — custom attribute order (e.g. consume variant "en" before "fr"). • Priority + FEFO — attribute tier first, earliest expiry within the tier. Consumption is recorded in an auditable ledger, and rule changes can backfill retroactively.

Lots approaching expiry trigger the "Lot expiry warning" notification, and lots past their sellable window appear in a daily "Lot disposal needed" digest that repeats until the stock is disposed. Planning also excludes lots expiring within your Expiry buffer from plannable stock.

Certificates of analysis and similar files live on the Documents page (Procurement → Documents): 1. Type the lot number in the search box ("Search filename or lot number…"). 2. Any document linked to that lot appears — download it directly. To link a document to lots, edit the Lots cell on its row (comma-separated lot numbers) or file the email attachment from the Inbox with the COA document type. Shipment documents (COAs, packing lists, BOLs) can also be uploaded on the shipment itself.