Batch and serial traceability for China-made goods

Define the batch before production

UK government guidance says you remain responsible for a product’s safety after it reaches the market. The practical system below helps you locate affected goods. For the wider liability question, see who is liable when you import.

Agree what starts a new batch: a material lot change, component substitution, production restart or different subcontractor. Give each batch a unique code that is never reused. Keep the factory’s original lot reference alongside your code, with the factory, production dates, product variant and specification revision.

Use batch codes to identify groups made under shared conditions. Add unique serial numbers when you need to identify individual units, and link each serial to its batch. Keep the approved sample and inspection evidence attached to that batch; making bulk match the sample covers those production controls.

Agree the records and physical labels

Put the code format, label position and record handover into the purchase order. Ask for photographs showing readable codes on finished goods and packaging. Choose a marking that survives expected handling and remains accessible after unpacking. A barcode can help capture a code, but keep readable text alongside it.

Ask the factory to link finished batches to relevant material and component lots, production locations, inspection reports and rework records. Where a component lot feeds several finished batches, record every connection. Check actual records against labelled goods before shipment; an empty template proves little.

Keep the links through shipping and receipt

Treat shipment references as links to production batches, rather than replacement batch codes. For split shipments, record which quantities from each batch leave in each consignment. For mixed cartons, record their contents by batch and serial where used. See managing split shipments for the shipping arrangements.

At goods-in, compare physical codes with the packing list and factory register. Hold stock with missing, duplicate or conflicting identifiers until resolved. Preserve the links when cartons are opened, goods are repacked or stock moves between warehouses.

Capture what each customer actually receives

Record the batch or serial at picking or packing, when the actual goods are known. Do not infer it later from an order date or stock rotation policy. If an order contains mixed batches, keep separate dispatch entries. Include replacements, samples and direct factory deliveries in the same record system.

Keep returns linked to their original dispatch and record whether they are held, repaired, scrapped or released. Ask distributors and fulfilment providers to preserve batch links in their onward dispatch records and agree how they will retrieve them. Restrict access to customer details and keep backed-up exports of the linked records.

Test isolation before a real complaint

Choose a delivered item and trace its code back to the factory lot, components and inspection evidence. Then work forward from that lot to remaining stock, goods in transit and customer deliveries. Reconcile quantities received against dispatches, stock, returns and recorded disposals. Investigate gaps rather than assuming missing stock is unaffected.

If a defect is reported, record the identifier and evidence, then block suspect stock in the warehouse system and physically separate it. Include other batches sharing the suspected component or process until the scope is supported by records. Keep a decision log naming who can release held stock and on what evidence.

Stock isolation is a containment step. Use the UK product recall guide for the wider response to a safety problem. Agree who maintains the register, who can retrieve factory records and how changes are recorded before placing the order.