Panatrack has seen a significant expansion of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry embracing the Dynamics GP ecosystem. The most critical inventory necessity the team at Panatrack has witnessed is the advanced tracking and tractability requirements in this space. From federal regulations and internal audits to sales reporting, companies in the BioPharma industries need to know what they have in stock and what has been consumed or shipped out. Microsoft Dynamics GP offers users the ability to track inventory by lot and serial number from the moment items are received or manufactured. The PanatrackerGP application has taken the already robust capability of Dynamics and enhanced them using barcoding and mobility solutions. This capability allows your team to rely on Dynamics as the Single Source of Truth.
Using Lot Tracking in GP
Lot tracking within Dynamics is a powerful tool that can be configured in many ways, allowing the ability to track inventory items that share the same attributes throughout their lifecycle. Most commonly a manufacture date and expiration date are included with a lot number. In manufacturing, a lot would represent the ‘batch’ of inventory produced using the same components. For example, a batch of chemicals would serve a single manufacturing run. When a new batch is created, it is assigned a new lot number. Lots may be designated in a more granular fashion such as by shift, machine, or ingredient batch. The use of a timestamp in the lot number can be used to narrow a product search or recall down to the point at which a specific ingredient was introduced to the process.
The lot trace capability in Dynamics GP is accessed through the Inventory Inquiry screen. You can filter the lot data returned based on multiple criteria: Find all transactions for a lot number; Find lot numbers shipped to a customer; Find lot numbers received from a vendor; Recall lot numbers shipped to customers; Recall lot numbers from their stocked location. This last option allows the ability to transfer those lots from On Hand to a different type to take them out of available inventory.
Advantages of Bar Coding
Panatrack has a customer in BioPharma producing proteins for cell signaling. When they faced an audit initiated by a governing body, their fulfillment team was required to provide a list of customers and which batches of product they received over the previous 12 months. In the past, this customer would have reprinted their sales order documents and reviewed them manually, reporting through Excel. This process while cumbersome did work for their team. The main issue faced by the client in question was the validity of the data that went into the manual fulfillment process. This client was recording lot numbers for sales orders as the inventory was packaged on the pick ticket. The lot numbers were assigned when the sales order was entered, and the employees in the warehouse did their best to pick the correct item. Estimates from before the PanatrackerGP implementation placed the fulfillment accuracy near 75%. Following the Panatrack project, every order is recorded as the item is picked and validation is a standard part of every step. The most recent audit was completed in ¼ the time of years preceded by manual fulfillment.
Lot tracking is a coveted feature of a WMS and already exists within your Dynamics GP environment. Panatrack can guide you in the setup and workflow path to using this feature to its full extent. The PanatrackerGP solution turns a lot tracking into a useful tool to streamline your inventory tracking and adding the control your team needs. Contact our team to learn more.
