How to verify receiving, lot control, stock movements, quality holds, picking, shipping, and customer traceability before an ERP or WMS go-live.
Traceability must survive handoffs
Warehouse traceability is only useful if it survives real handoffs: supplier delivery, receiving, putaway, production issue, finished goods receipt, quality hold, picking, shipment, and customer follow-up.
The audit question is simple: can a user start from a shipment, lot, NCR, sales order, GRN, or inventory record and understand what happened without searching through spreadsheets?
Receiving proof
- Purchase order and supplier are visible before receiving.
- GRN captures item, quantity, location, lot/batch, date, and receiving user.
- Rejected, partial, or over-received quantities are handled clearly.
- Inventory quantity and movement history update after receiving.
Movement and hold proof
- Every stock movement has source, destination, item, quantity, reason, and user.
- Quality hold or quarantine stock is visible to warehouse and quality users.
- Adjustments require reason and audit context.
- Cycle count variance can be reviewed by item, location, and date.
Shipping proof
- Pick/pack/ship links back to sales order, customer, product, and stock movement.
- Shipment status and tracking can be updated without breaking inventory evidence.
- Finished goods can be traced from production output to shipment and invoice.