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Using Traceability in Daily Operations (Receive → Prep → Produce → Sell)

This guide walks your team through the complete day-to-day traceability workflow in Apicbase — from the moment a delivery arrives to the moment finished products leave the kitchen.

Table of contents

0. Before You Start

1. Step 1 — Receiving: Register the Delivery and Print Lot Labels

2. Step 2 — Mise en Place: Scan Before You Process

3. Step 3 — Production: Relabelling Finished Batches and Handling Unused Stock

4. Step 4 — Sales and Dispatch: Outbound Scanning

5. Quick Recap: Who Does What and Where

Before You Start

Make sure the following are in place before using Traceability in daily operations:

  • The Traceability module is activated on your Apicbase account
  • At least one NiceLabel-connected Zebra printer is set up and showing as Connected in the NiceLabel Control Center
  • Your printer is mapped to the correct outlet in your Apicbase Library Settings
  • Both the Receiving and Production label templates have been uploaded and mapped in Apicbase
  • Every team member who will print or scan has access to the Apicbase app on a tablet or device

A Note on Printers: Fixed vs. Wireless

How your printer is positioned in the kitchen affects your workflow at each step.

A fixed printer at the receiving dock means labels are printed on arrival and travel with the goods from the start. This is the simplest setup and works well when receiving is centralised.

A wireless (network-connected) printer placed at a prep or production station means labels can be triggered from any device in the kitchen and printed directly where they are needed, without the user needing to be physically at the printer. Apicbase sends print jobs via the NiceLabel cloud, so as long as the printer is powered on and connected to the network, it can receive a print job from anywhere in the building.

In larger kitchens with multiple stations, a combination of both is common — one printer at receiving and one or two at production. Remember that a maximum of 3 printers can be registered per library.

 

Step 1 — Receiving: Register the Delivery and Print Lot Labels

Who does this: The team member receiving the delivery (goods-in staff, chef de partie, or kitchen manager, depending on your operation).

Where scanning happens: At the receiving dock or delivery area. The printer should be located here, or within easy reach of the receiving station.

Item vs. box labelling: Apply one label per batch of the same ingredient from the same delivery. If you receive 10 kg of chicken in two separate boxes from the same supplier on the same day, one lot label per box is sufficient. If the same ingredient arrives in two separate batches with different expiry dates, each batch gets its own label and its own lot number — these are different lots.

Step-by-step

  1. Go to Procurement and click on Outstanding Orders.

  2. Select the outlet for which the delivery is being received.

  3. Find the order from the supplier that has just arrived and click on the supplier name or PO number to open it.

  4. For each item in the order, confirm the delivery details:

    • Set the Delivery state to All, Part, or None depending on what was actually delivered.

    • If only part was delivered, enter the Delivered Qt.

    • Enter the Price paid if it differs from the expected price.

    • Add any Remarks if an item arrived damaged or incorrectly.

     

  5. Once all items are confirmed, scroll to the bottom and click Save Delivery (or Save Delivery & Close Order if the delivery is complete).

    ❗ Important: Make sure Update Stock is checked before saving, so that the delivered quantities are added to your inventory.

  6. After saving the delivery, you will be directed to the Traceability page. For each ingredient batch, enter or confirm:

    • The lot number (either auto-generated or entered manually from the supplier's delivery note)

    • The expiry date

     

  7. Click Print Label next to each ingredient batch. Apicbase sends the print job to the NiceLabel cloud, which delivers it to your mapped printer. The Receiving label will print automatically.

  8. Attach the printed label to the corresponding box or container immediately. Do not store a batch without a label.

💡 Tip: If an item was delivered but was not on the original order, use the + Add new item button within the delivery to register it, then return to Traceability Receive to assign it a lot number and print its label.

Step 2 — Mise en Place: Scan Before You Process

Who does this: The prep team or the chef responsible for the mise en place station.

Where scanning happens: At the prep station, before any ingredient is cut, portioned, or transformed. The scan must happen before processing begins — not after.

Item vs. box labelling: When you take an ingredient out of storage to prep, scan the lot label on the box or container it came from. If you are splitting a batch into smaller portions (e.g. dividing 5 kg of salmon into individual 200g portions), each new container gets its own prep label, all linked back to the same source lot.

Step-by-step

  1. Start performing a Production plan. You will be directed to the Mise en Place page.

  2. Use your IR barcode scanner to scan the lot label on the incoming ingredient. Apicbase will identify the lot and display its details: ingredient name, supplier, delivery date, and expiry date.

  3. Enter the quantity you are taking from that lot for this prep session.

Step 3 — Production: Relabelling Finished Batches and Handling Unused Stock

Who does this: The production team or head chef responsible for batch production.

Where scanning happens: At the production station. All ingredients and preparations going into a batch are scanned as they are used. The Production label is printed once the batch is complete.

Item vs. box labelling: A Production label is applied to the finished batch — this might be a gastronorm tray, a vacuum bag, a retail container, or a delivery crate, depending on what is being produced. If a single batch fills multiple containers, each container receives its own Production label (all sharing the same lot number for that batch).

Step-by-step

  1. Upon finishing a Production Plan, you will get a pop-up with the Production summary. There all recipes produced are listed.   

  2. Click Print Production Label. The label will print at the mapped printer for the production station.

  3. Apply a label to every container that the batch fills before it moves to storage or dispatch.

Handling unused stock

If ingredients or preparations are left over after production, they remain in inventory under their existing lot numbers. No action is needed as long as the original label is still attached to the container and legible. If a container is moved, decanted, or consolidated with another container, remove the old label and print a new one from the same lot.

❗ Important: Never leave a container in the kitchen without a readable label. A missing or illegible label breaks the traceability chain and cannot be reconstructed after the fact.

💡 Tip: If a batch is split across containers with different intended expiry dates (e.g. one portion is frozen), print a new label for each container and update the expiry date before attaching.

Step 4 — Sales and Dispatch: Outbound Scanning

Who does this: The dispatch team, kitchen manager, or the team member responsible for packing and sending orders to outlets or customers.

Where scanning happens: At the dispatch area or loading dock, immediately before products leave the kitchen. This is the final scan in the workflow and closes the forward traceability chain.

Item vs. box labelling: Scan the Production label on each container or box being dispatched. If multiple containers of the same product are being sent to the same destination in a single dispatch, scan each one individually so that Apicbase records the exact quantities and lot numbers leaving the kitchen.

Step-by-step

  1. Open the Traceability module and navigate to the Sales section.

  2. Select or create the outbound delivery — the customer, or delivery channel the products are going to.

  3. For each item being dispatched, scan the Production label on the container. Apicbase registers the lot number, the quantity, the destination, and the timestamp.

  4. Confirm the quantities for each scanned lot. If a partial quantity from a batch is being dispatched (e.g. 10 of 20 portions), enter the quantity being sent. The remaining quantity stays in the lot as active inventory.

  5. Once all items are scanned and quantities confirmed, click Confirm Dispatch. Apicbase records the delivery and links it to the lot chain.

💡 Tip: The dispatch record is your proof of delivery and the final link in the traceability chain. In the event of a recall or audit, this record tells you exactly which customer or outlet received which lot, and when.

Quick Recap: Who Does What and Where

Step Who Where Action
Receive Goods-in / kitchen manager Receiving dock Register delivery → print Receiving label → attach to batch
Mise en Place Prep team / chef Prep station Scan source lot → create prep lot → print prep label → attach to container
Production Production team / head chef Production station Scan all input lots → complete batch → print Production label → attach to each container
Sales / Dispatch Dispatch team / kitchen manager Dispatch area Scan Production labels → confirm quantities → confirm dispatch