Inventory control in a food business is usually run in the accounting system or a spreadsheet, where a lot is a quantity and a value. In a food safety system a lot is also a status: released, on hold, rejected or expired, from an approved, conditional or suspended supplier. ASCloud’s inventory and stock module, R1,850 per site per month excluding VAT as at October 2026, runs stock inside the FSMS so that the status is enforced at the moment stock is issued to the line, and the consumption record becomes the first link of traceability.
What goes wrong when stock lives elsewhere
The receiving check fails a delivery for temperature. The quality manager places it on hold in the quality file. The storeman, working from the stock system, issues it to production the next morning because the stock system does not know about the hold. The non-conformance is discovered at the audit, or worse, after dispatch. The same happens with an expired lot, or a material from a supplier whose certificate lapsed last week.
What inventory inside the FSMS does
Every receipt is a lot with a supplier, a quantity, a date, a shelf life and a status set by the receiving check. A lot on hold cannot be issued. An expired lot cannot be issued. A lot from a suspended supplier is blocked at receiving. Issues to production are first in, first out by default, and the person issuing records which lot went to which batch, which is the traceability record. Stock on hand, by status, is on the dashboard. Packaging and labels are lots too, with the label version recorded against the batch.
Mass balance and the auditor
With lots consumed recorded against batches, mass balance is a report rather than an exercise. The auditor’s question, what came in, what went out and what was wasted, is answered per lot with the variance shown. The BRCGS traceability test runs from the same records.
With the ERP
Sites that run an ERP keep purchasing and costing there. ASCloud exchanges receipts, issues and lot data with the ERP, quoted per site as an integration, so the ERP has the quantities and the FSMS has the status and the trace. Sites without an ERP run stock on ASCloud alone.
Pricing
Inventory and stock is R1,850 per site per month on any ASCloud plan. Together with forward and backward traceability at R1,690, the two modules give a site the full chain from supplier lot to customer with the holds, expiries and supplier status enforced. Setup is scoped by ASC Food Safety Consultants on a written quote.
Stock that knows its status
Released lots only, FIFO and expiry enforced, supplier status at the door, traceability from the issue record. R1,850 per site per month.
Frequently asked questions
Does it replace our accounting system?
No. Costing and purchasing stay in your accounting or ERP system. ASCloud holds the food safety status of every lot and exchanges quantities with the ERP where that is set up.
Can we scan barcodes?
Yes. Lots can be received and issued by scanning the supplier barcode or the ASCloud lot label on a phone.
What about work in progress?
Batches in process are lots with their own status, so a batch on hold after a CCP deviation cannot be packed or dispatched.