Item-level trace
For ordinary inventory, follow stock through locations, adjustments, transfers, counts, and sales without forcing batch or serial identity on every movement.
Office supplies Bulk consumables General store items
Traceability & compliance Item + batch + serial lineage
Inventory Traceability
Follow every item from receipt to shelf, transfer, count, sale, adjustment, expiry review, and recall decision. AWRA gives teams a governed chain of custody across ordinary stock, batch-tracked inventory, serialized units, and high-risk movement events.
Batch
Lot and expiry paths
Serial
Unit accountability
Recall
Forward and backward trace
Trace command center
Batch BN-20260523-1677
Receipt
Supplier PO received into Main Warehouse
Storage
Placed on Shelf A with lot identity
Transfer
Moved to branch shelf with same batch
POS / Issue
Allocated by FEFO policy before newer stock
Expiry window
60 days
Trace events
Linked
Why traceability matters
Stock history should answer operational questions without detective work.
When a manager asks where an item came from, which shelf it occupied, who moved it, whether it was part of a batch, whether it is near expiry, or which sale consumed it, the answer should be available without searching through spreadsheets, messages, and handwritten notes.
AWRA traceability turns stock movement into a structured evidence trail. Each inbound, outbound, transfer, adjustment, POS sale, count correction, serial record, and batch allocation can contribute to a single item timeline. Teams can trace ordinary items at item level, regulated or perishable goods at batch level, and high-value equipment at serial level.
The result is stronger operational confidence: faster recall review, cleaner audit evidence, better FEFO discipline, fewer blind spots between modules, and clearer accountability when stock changes hands.
Item
Everyday stock history
Batch
Lot, expiry, recall paths
Serial
Individual unit chain
Trace model
Three levels of traceability, one operational record.
Not every item needs the same tracking burden. AWRA supports practical traceability so organizations can match control depth to operational risk.
Batch and lot trace
For perishable, regulated, donated, manufactured, or supplier-sensitive items, preserve batch identity through receiving, storage, FEFO allocation, and recall review.
Medical supplies Food packs Lab materials
Serial trace
For high-value or unit-accountable stock, trace an individual serial number through receipt, location, transfer, issue, sale, till return and supplier return — every movement names the units it moved.
Electronics Equipment Controlled tools
Serials on every movement
A serial number that knows where its unit is.
Switch serial tracking on for an item and every stock movement carries the units it moved. A receipt needs exactly one new serial per unit. An issue, an invoice checkout, a till sale, a transfer or a supplier return must name serials that belong to that item and are on that shelf. Each movement sets the unit’s status itself, and writes a trace event that points at that one serial — so “where has unit 4417 been?” is a page, not an investigation.
The life of one unit
Received Available
IssuedAn issue or invoice checkout names the units that left.
SoldA till sale records which units went over the counter. A till return that restocks brings them back to available.
In transitA dispatched transfer carries its serials, and they become available again at the receiving warehouse on arrival.
Returned to supplierA supplier return names the units handed back.
In transit Missing when a transfer arrives short, the units that never came are marked, not forgotten.
Adoption is gradual on purpose. Turning tracking on for an item that already has stock does not lock that stock: units on the shelf from before can still leave without a serial. Once only registered units remain, every movement must name them.
Unit history
Solar inverter 5kVA · SN INV5-24-004417
4 Aug 2026
Received into Nairobi main store
Purchase order receipt · supplier and batch recorded on the unit
19 Aug 2026
Dispatched to Kisumu branch · in transit
Stock transfer · 6 units, serials named on dispatch
21 Aug 2026
Arrived at Kisumu branch · available
Transfer receipt · checked against what left
2 Sep 2026
Sold at the Kisumu till
Till sale · the cashier scanned this unit, not just the item
9 Sep 2026
Returned at the till and restocked
Till return · the same serial made available again, not duplicated
What AWRA OpsHub does today
- Serial numbers on every stock movement for items with tracking switched on: one serial per unit received, and the units named on issues, invoice checkouts, till sales, transfers in transit and on arrival, restocking till returns and supplier returns.
- Each serial checked to be real, of this item, and in stock where it is leaving from.
- A status set by each movement — available, issued, sold, in transit, returned to supplier or missing — rather than by a default.
- A history page for one unit listing every trace event that references it, newest first, on the web and through the API.
- Per-unit warehouse, location, batch, supplier, purchase order and received date.
- Batches with lot, supplier, received and manufactured dates, quality and recall status, and allocation recorded per batch.
- FEFO or FIFO rotation set per item and read on every allocation path.
- Expiry alerting on a 30, 60 and 90-day horizon with value at risk.
More we can add to your workspace
- A warranty date captured on each serial at receipt, with a reminder driven by it, matching the daily batch expiry reminder that already runs.
- Custody of a serialised unit by person, so a handset or a tool issued to a named member of staff is on their record as well as the item’s.
- A serial-level reservation, committing one specific unit to one customer before it ships.
- Service history against a unit, recording what was done to it and when, for equipment that is repaired rather than replaced.
- Lot genealogy through an assembly, so a finished unit names the component batches it was built from.
Where we point you to a specialist
- We will not invent a serial number for a unit that arrived without one. A serial is the manufacturer’s identity for that unit, and a synthetic one would make your records disagree with the plate on the machine.
- Where a sector prescribes its own serialisation scheme — pharmaceutical serialisation, medical device identifiers — that scheme governs and your compliance adviser interprets it. We store, print and report whatever it specifies.
- We keep trace events append-only. A movement history that can be edited answers whatever its last editor wanted it to.
The warranty date and its reminder are the most contained piece in the middle column — the per-unit record and the daily reminder machinery both already run. Tell us what your warranty claims cost you today.
Lifecycle coverage
A trace event follows stock through the modules that actually move it.
Traceability is only useful when it follows real work. AWRA ties movement evidence to inventory, warehouses, transfers, POS, adjustments, counts, scanner workflows, and purchase receiving so history is not trapped in one screen.
01
Receive or check in stock
Create item quantity, batch identity, lot number, expiry date, supplier context, quality status, and inbound source reference.
02
Store by warehouse and location
Track the current remaining quantity by warehouse, shelf, bin, or location so trace paths map to physical reality.
03
Transfer without losing identity
Move stock between locations while preserving the item, batch, lot, and allocation context across dispatch and receipt.
04
Allocate by the item’s rotation
Each item is set to earliest expiry first (FEFO) or earliest received first (FIFO), and that rule decides which batch leaves on every issue, sale and transfer, with event records showing which batch was consumed.
05
Count, adjust, or investigate
Connect variance corrections and adjustment activity to the item timeline so changes are explainable.
06
Review recall or expiry exposure
Filter expiring stock, review recall status, and trace forward or backward to identify remaining quantities and affected movements.
Recall and compliance readiness
When something goes wrong, trace forward and backward with confidence.
A recall, quality hold, expiry issue, or supplier investigation cannot wait for manual reconstruction. AWRA gives operators a structured view of what was received, what remains, what moved, where it moved, and which references were involved.
Forward trace
Start from a batch or serial and identify where it moved, what remains, and which downstream events consumed it.
Backward trace
Start from an item, sale, transfer, count, or adjustment and find the source batch, lot, or movement event.
Recall status
Mark a batch as clear, under review, quarantined, or recalled without losing ordinary stock visibility.
Expiry exposure
Filter stock approaching expiry so FEFO decisions and review actions happen before risk becomes waste.
| Trace Question | AWRA Evidence |
|---|---|
| Which batches are expiring? | Expiry window, current quantity, location, and item identity. |
| Where did this lot go? | Forward movement events with transfer, adjustment, and sale references. |
| Who changed this stock? | Actor, timestamp, source module, direction, and quantity. |
| What remains on hand? | Batch-aware warehouse and location balances. |
This view is designed for operations, compliance, inventory control, finance, and leadership teams that need one shared answer during investigations.
Smart Recommendations
A trace should lead to a clean action record.
Once a batch, lot, serial, or item path is visible, teams need the right control around the next move: hold it, scan it, package evidence, or report the exposure.
01 Find source
02 Review exposure
03 Contain stock
04 Preserve proof
Containment control
Status & Quality Holds
Quarantine recalled, damaged, expired, returned, or inspection-pending stock while preserving item, batch, warehouse, and release context.
Open recommendation Floor capture
Linked Scanner Bridge
Use mobile scanner sessions to capture barcode identity, movement proof, and floor-level verification closer to where stock changes hands.
Open recommendation Audit evidence
Compliance Evidence Packs
Package trace history, recall posture, approvals, attachments, and operational proof for audits or leadership review.
Open recommendationTraceability teams often add
Floor operations
Traceability works best when it is captured where the movement happens.
Linked scanner sessions help teams pair mobile scanning with web operations so item identity, barcode input, and movement capture can happen faster on the floor.
Warehouse and location records give every event physical context, turning “stock changed” into “stock moved from this shelf to that destination.”
Inventory counts and adjustments close the loop when physical stock differs from expected stock, preserving the correction evidence in the item history.
Connected modules
Traceability becomes stronger when every module contributes evidence.
Inventory
Item records, current quantity, barcode identity, reorder context, and movement history.
Open pageWarehouses
Warehouse, shelf, bin, and location context for where stock physically sits.
Open pageTransfers
Dispatch, receive, return, and in-transit events that preserve stock identity.
Open pageInventory Counts
Variance and correction evidence that explains why stock was adjusted.
Open pageStatus & Quality Holds
Quarantine, inspection, damaged, expired, returned, release, and disposal controls.
Open pageLinked Scanner Bridge
Mobile capture for faster floor-level barcode and movement verification.
Open pageReports and BI
Audit-ready exports, operational summaries, and traceability analytics.
Open pageEnterprise controls
Built for teams that need proof, not just quantity.
Traceability supports practical governance across operations, finance, compliance, and leadership. It clarifies custody, reduces ambiguity during audits, and helps teams move quickly without sacrificing evidence quality.
Organization-scoped history
Trace records stay scoped to the organization that created them.
Source references
Events can point back to transfers, adjustments, POS, counts, and receiving flows.
Audit actors
Movement context includes timestamps, users, quantity, direction, and module source.
Searchable register
Search by item, barcode, batch, lot, or trace context for fast investigations.
Quality status
Track quality review status without hiding stock balances from operations.
Recall posture
Separate clear stock from review, quarantine, or recalled stock.
Operational confidence
Give your team a trustworthy answer to “what happened to this stock?”
AWRA inventory traceability is designed for the moments where accuracy, accountability, safety, and speed meet: recalls, expiry review, movement investigations, finance reconciliation, and everyday warehouse control.
Inventory Traceability
Frequently asked questions
Are serial numbers recorded on every stock movement?
Yes, for items with serial tracking switched on. A receipt takes exactly one new serial per unit, and issues, invoice checkouts, till sales, transfers, till returns that restock and supplier returns each name the units they moved. Every serial given is checked to be real, of that item, and on the shelf it is leaving from.
Can I see the full history of one unit?
Yes. Each serial has a history page listing every trace event that references it, newest first — the receipt, each transfer leg, the sale, any return — with its source document. The same history is available through the API.
What happens to stock we already hold when we switch serial tracking on?
It is not locked. Units on the shelf from before tracking was switched on can still leave without a serial, so you can adopt tracking without a stock-take first. New stock arrives with serials, and once only registered units remain, every movement must name them.
What happens to serials on a short transfer?
Units that were dispatched but never arrived are marked missing rather than quietly returned to available, so the gap is visible on the unit itself.
How does AWRA decide which batch to issue?
By the item’s rotation setting: earliest expiry first by default, with undated batches last, or earliest received first. It is read on every allocation path, and a batch somebody picks by hand still takes precedence. The batch consumed is recorded on the movement, so a batch can be traced forward.
Can I record a warranty expiry against each serial?
That is something we can add rather than claim today. Each unit already carries its supplier, purchase order and received date; a warranty date captured at receipt, with a reminder before it lapses, is a contained piece of work on top of that.
Can we mark a batch as recalled?
Yes. A batch carries a quality status and a recall status, and stock placed on hold at a location is excluded from allocation, so recalled or quarantined stock stops being picked while you investigate.
Help Center
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