One raw material batch may supply multiple work orders, and one work order may also use multiple batches. Just filling in a raw material number on the finished product makes it difficult to answer the question where the batch flows. Traceability should record inputs and outputs as relationships, not just text fields in finished product files.

How to arrange records and operations

Record raw material batches, quantities, processes and times when feeding materials, and associate work orders with finished product batches during output. Split batches, mixed batches and replenishing materials are registered separately, and the original relationship is not covered. If the batch cannot be confirmed temporarily on site, items to be checked should be generated and subsequent release steps that require complete traceability should be restricted.

The connection lines in the traceability diagram should carry the quantity and unit. Otherwise, after multiple batches are mixed, we can only know that they were related in the past and cannot judge the scope of impact. Loss, scrap and returned materials should also become queryable nodes. When a batch of raw materials needs to be processed, the query results distinguish between in-process, inventory and delivered finished products, and provide respective source documents. If the manually confirmed traceability scope is later supplemented with information, the previous conclusion should be retained to indicate which objects were newly included.

Specific scenarios that need to be checked

For example, if two batches of raw materials are merged and processed, the forward query should list all relevant outputs, and the reverse query can find the sources of the two batches. Test scrap, return, and rework paths to confirm quantity changes are explained. The traceability results also need to distinguish between confirmed relationships and manually added relationships to avoid presenting uncertain information as facts.