What is the difference between a batch number and a lot number, and are they the same?

Often they mean the same thing: a quantity made or packed together. Where firms distinguish them, a batch is one production run and a lot a group such as one packing run or consignment. For food labels in India they are alternatives: the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 require "a batch number or code number or lot number". Record whichever is printed on the pack.

What is batch tracking in inventory management?

Batch tracking is recording the batch number of stock at every movement: receipt, putaway, picking, dispatch and return. The system then knows which batches are in which bins and which orders received which batch. That supports expiry-based picking, quality holds on a single batch, recalls, and answers to customer complaints about a specific pack.

Why do FMCG, cosmetics and food brands in India need batch tracking?

Because their products carry batch and date information that matters after sale. Food labels must declare a batch, code or lot number and expiry or use-by dates under FSSAI's labelling regulations. Batch tracking lets these brands pick by expiry, hold a suspect batch without stopping the whole SKU, and trace a complaint or recall to specific orders and channels.

How do batch tracking and FEFO work together?

FEFO (first expired, first out) ships the units that expire soonest. To do that, the warehouse needs to know the expiry date of every batch and which bin each batch is in, which is exactly what batch tracking records. Batch tracking supplies the data; FEFO is the rule applied to it when stock is allocated and picked.

How does batch tracking help in a product recall?

It narrows the recall to the affected batch. With batch recorded at receipt, pick and dispatch, one query shows how many units of the batch were received, which orders and channels got them, and which bins still hold them. In our example, 1,140 units were quarantined in three bins and 1,860 shipped units were traced to their orders.

What is a serial number, and when do you need one instead?

A serial number identifies one individual unit, not a group. Use serial tracking when each unit has its own warranty, service history or high value, as with electronics and appliances. For consumables such as food, cosmetics and supplements, batch tracking is enough: every unit in a batch shares the same production details and expiry.

How do you create or assign a batch number for your products (format, GS1 barcode)?

Use one consistent internal format that encodes something useful, such as plant, line and production date, and print it on every pack. If you use GS1 barcodes, the batch or lot goes in Application Identifier (10), up to 20 characters, alongside the product's GTIN, and the expiry date can go in AI (17) as YYMMDD, so a scan captures both.

Can the same batch number have different expiry dates or cover different products?

Within one product, a batch should have one expiry date; if two expiry dates appear under one batch number, treat them as separate batches and ask the supplier why. Across products, the same batch code can repeat, because batch numbers are usually unique only within a product. That is why warehouses record the SKU and the batch together, never the batch alone.

What is batch and lot tracking?

Batch and lot tracking means recording the batch or lot number of stock as it moves through a warehouse, from receipt to dispatch, so you know which production run every unit came from and where it went. A batch or lot is a quantity made or packed together, sharing one identifier and usually one expiry date.

How batch and lot tracking works in an Indian D2C or omnichannel warehouse

Batch tracking only works if the batch is captured at every step where stock moves:

Receive. Record the batch number and expiry for each line on the GRN. If a delivery carries two batches of one SKU, record them as two lines.
Put away. Store batches in separate bins, or record which batches each bin holds (putaway).
Allocate and pick. Choose the batch for each order, usually earliest expiry first (FEFO), and confirm it with a scan.
Ship. Record the batch against each order and parcel.
Return. When stock comes back, record its batch again before restocking.

Batch number vs lot number vs serial number

Identifier	What it identifies	Typical use
Batch number	A quantity produced in one production run	Food, cosmetics, supplements, pharma
Lot number	A quantity made, packed or received together; often used interchangeably with batch	The same categories; some firms use “lot” for a received consignment
Serial number	One individual unit	Electronics, appliances, high-value items with warranties

Example: tracing a recall. A brand’s quality team flags batch B-2410 of a protein bar. The warehouse received 3,000 units of that batch on 2 October (illustrative). Because the batch was recorded at receipt, pick and dispatch, one search shows:

Where batch B-2410 went	Units
Own website orders	700
Marketplace A orders	520
Marketplace B orders	410
Quick-commerce replenishment	230
Shipped in total	1,860
Still in stock, in three bins	1,140

The brand can quarantine the 1,140 units in their three bins the same day, contact the buyers of the 1,860 shipped units by order, and ask the quick-commerce buyer to hold its 230. Without batch records, it would have to recall every unit of the SKU. These numbers are illustrative.

Common mistakes

Capturing batch at dispatch only. If it isn’t recorded at receipt and putaway, you can’t tell which bin holds which batch.
Mixing batches in one bin without recording it. Pickers then take whatever is at the front.
Treating batch as optional for returns. A returned unit from a recalled batch can be restocked by mistake.
Recording batch but not expiry. FEFO needs both.
Using serial numbers where batches would do. Serialising cheap consumables adds work without adding traceability that matters.

Batch capture rate = units shipped with a batch recorded ÷ units shipped (for batch-tracked SKUs). Target: every unit.
Time to trace = time from a batch query to a complete list of where the batch went. In the example, minutes rather than days.
Near-expiry share by batch = units in batches expiring within your cut-off ÷ total units of that SKU.

Batch and lot tracking in the Indian context

Food labels must carry a batch, code or lot number. Regulation 5(9) of the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 says “A batch number or code number or lot number shall be declared on the label”. The regulations define these as the identification mark “by which the food can be traced in manufacture and identified in distribution”. Regulation 5(10) adds “Date of manufacture or packaging” and “Expiry/Use by”.
Small packs. Food packs with a surface area of 100 square centimetres or less are exempt from the lot, batch or code number on the label (regulation 8(1)), so the multi-unit pack carries it. Track at the multi-unit level for these.
Online listings. For food sold through ecommerce, the batch or lot number, best-before, use-by, expiry and manufacturing or packing dates don’t have to be shown to the buyer before sale (regulation 4(2)). They are still on the pack, so the warehouse must still record them.
Other packaged goods. The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 require the month and year of manufacture on retail packages (rule 6(1)(d)). Cosmetics labels also follow the Cosmetics Rules, 2020.

How Fretron CommerceOS handles batch and lot tracking

Fretron CommerceOS tracks batch, lot and expiry, and supports FEFO. Expiry notices are shown in the app only.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between a batch number and a lot number, and are they the same?: Often they mean the same thing: a quantity made or packed together. Where firms distinguish them, a batch is one production run and a lot a group such as one packing run or consignment. For food labels in India they are alternatives: the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 require "a batch number or code number or lot number". Record whichever is printed on the pack.
What is batch tracking in inventory management?: Batch tracking is recording the batch number of stock at every movement: receipt, putaway, picking, dispatch and return. The system then knows which batches are in which bins and which orders received which batch. That supports expiry-based picking, quality holds on a single batch, recalls, and answers to customer complaints about a specific pack.
Why do FMCG, cosmetics and food brands in India need batch tracking?: Because their products carry batch and date information that matters after sale. Food labels must declare a batch, code or lot number and expiry or use-by dates under FSSAI's labelling regulations. Batch tracking lets these brands pick by expiry, hold a suspect batch without stopping the whole SKU, and trace a complaint or recall to specific orders and channels.
How do batch tracking and FEFO work together?: FEFO (first expired, first out) ships the units that expire soonest. To do that, the warehouse needs to know the expiry date of every batch and which bin each batch is in, which is exactly what batch tracking records. Batch tracking supplies the data; FEFO is the rule applied to it when stock is allocated and picked.
How does batch tracking help in a product recall?: It narrows the recall to the affected batch. With batch recorded at receipt, pick and dispatch, one query shows how many units of the batch were received, which orders and channels got them, and which bins still hold them. In our example, 1,140 units were quarantined in three bins and 1,860 shipped units were traced to their orders.
What is a serial number, and when do you need one instead?: A serial number identifies one individual unit, not a group. Use serial tracking when each unit has its own warranty, service history or high value, as with electronics and appliances. For consumables such as food, cosmetics and supplements, batch tracking is enough: every unit in a batch shares the same production details and expiry.
How do you create or assign a batch number for your products (format, GS1 barcode)?: Use one consistent internal format that encodes something useful, such as plant, line and production date, and print it on every pack. If you use GS1 barcodes, the batch or lot goes in Application Identifier (10), up to 20 characters, alongside the product's GTIN, and the expiry date can go in AI (17) as YYMMDD, so a scan captures both.
Can the same batch number have different expiry dates or cover different products?: Within one product, a batch should have one expiry date; if two expiry dates appear under one batch number, treat them as separate batches and ask the supplier why. Across products, the same batch code can repeat, because batch numbers are usually unique only within a product. That is why warehouses record the SKU and the batch together, never the batch alone.

FIFO and FEFO
GRN (goods received note)
Putaway
Cycle count
WMS (warehouse management system)
SKU and dead stock: in the Commerce glossary (full guides in later batches)
SKU (stock keeping unit)
Quick commerce
Dead stock
ASN (advance shipping notice)
Inventory shrinkage
Serial number tracking

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Last reviewed: 5 November 2026 by Fretron.

Sources

Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, compendium Version VI (22 Feb 2023): regulation 2(l) (definition of lot, code or batch number), 4(2) (e-commerce), 5(9) (lot/code/batch identification), 5(10) (date marking) and 8(1) (small-package exemption). FSSAI. https://fssai.gov.in/upload/uploadfiles/files/Comp_Labelling.pdf (accessed 5 Nov 2026).
GS1 Application Identifiers: AI (10) "Batch or lot number" (up to 20 characters) and AI (17) "Expiration date (YYMMDD)". GS1. https://ref.gs1.org/ai/ (accessed 5 Nov 2026).
Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, with amendments, rule 6(1)(d). Department of Consumer Affairs. https://consumeraffairs.gov.in/public/upload/admin/cmsfiles/whatsnews/Book_on_Legal_Metrology_Packaged_Commodities_Rules,2011_with_all_amendments_whatsnews.pdf (accessed 5 Nov 2026).