Forward and backward traceability, found in one search.
Follow any lot back to its supplier and forward to every customer, and run your mock recall against the clock from linked batch records.
One lot, from goods-in to customer
Every link in the chain recorded once, and traced in one search.
- 1Goods inSupplier lot
Supplier, lot, quantity and incoming checks in one step.
- 2StorageLocation and status
On hold, released or quarantined, by a named person.
- 3ProductionBatch
Raw material lots linked to each batch, including rework.
- 4PackingFinished lot
Labels and lot codes checked and recorded.
- 5DispatchCustomer
Lots linked to delivery notes and customers.
Every finished lot traces to its raw material lots and suppliers.
Every lot traces to the customers it reached.
What came in, what went out and what was wasted must agree.
The ASCloud traceability module links lot and batch records from goods received through production and packing to dispatch, so a site can trace any lot one step back to the supplier and one step forward to the customer, and run a timed mock recall. It is an add-on module at R1,690 per site per month excluding VAT, or R2,100 together with production planning, and it works with the inventory module or with lot data imported from an existing ERP.
Why traceability is sold as a module
A kitchen or a small bakery keeps batch codes on its records, and the base plans already hold them. A factory running twenty products across four lines needs lot genealogy: every raw material lot, every work in progress batch and every pallet linked. That takes setup work on your products and lots, which is why it is a module at R1,690 a month rather than bundled into a price that every customer would pay for.
What it does
- Goods received captured with supplier, lot, quantity and the incoming checks in one step
- Raw material lots linked to production batches, including rework
- Finished lots linked to dispatch notes and customers
- Mass balance: what came in, what went out, what was wasted
- Mock recall runs timed and saved as evidence for the auditor
- Recall reports listing affected lots, quantities and customers
Lessons South Africa already learned
The 2017 to 2018 listeriosis outbreak, linked to Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat processed meat, showed every food business in the country how long a recall takes when the records are on paper. The question on audit day and on recall day is the same: which lots, which customers, how fast. Linked records answer it in minutes.
Three ways to start
Backward and forward traceability with timed mock recalls.
Planned runs that carry their lots and their checks.
A ready-made risk assessment template from the ASC shop, R690.
Prices per site per month, excluding VAT, invoiced in rand. Build your full package to see the first-year cost in your currency.
What the auditor asks for in a traceability test
- A lot chosen by the auditor, traced back to raw materials
- Every supplier and lot for those raw materials
- Where the finished lot went, customer by customer
- Quantities that reconcile in a mass balance
- The time the test took
- Your recall and withdrawal procedure
- Records of your last mock recall
- Corrective actions from any gap found
Every one of these lives in ASCloud, dated, signed by a named person and found in one search.
Configured by the people who sit in the audits
ASCloud is set up by ASC Food Safety Consultants, led by founder Mthokozisi Nkosi, with a team that includes more than one lead auditor. The same specialists who prepare South African sites for certification load your standard, your documents and your checklists.
- FSSC 22000 and BRCGS Lead Auditor
- Registered lead auditor with Exemplar Global and IRCA
- SAATCA-registered R638:2018 Lead Implementer (RG003)
- HPCSA-registered Environmental Health Practitioner
- MSc International Public Health, MSc Data Science, MBA, BSc (Agriculture) Food Science and Technology
- Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber Entrepreneur of the Year, 2022
366+ Google reviews across the Gqeberha, Johannesburg and Cape Town offices. Award source: Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber.
Guides, courses and toolkits from ASC
Group dashboard across sites, per-site pricing in writing, and team training on ascfoodsafetytraining.com with a manager dashboard.
Questions we get asked
What is forward and backward traceability?
Backward traceability follows a finished product lot back to the raw material lots and suppliers that went into it. Forward traceability follows a raw material or product lot to every customer it reached. Together they tell you exactly what to recall and from whom, and nothing more.
How long should a mock recall take?
Schemes set their own expectations. BRCGS, for example, requires a traceability test at least once a year and expects it to be completed within a set time. With linked batch records the test becomes a search rather than a paper chase.
What does the traceability module cost?
R1,690 per site per month, excluding VAT, added to an ASCloud plan from GFSI Entry upwards. With production planning included, the combined module is R2,100 a month. Traceability is not included in the base plans.
Do I need the inventory module as well?
Traceability needs lot data. It can come from the inventory module or from an import from your existing ERP or stock system. Your quote says which suits your site.
Know what to recall before anyone asks.
Bring one of your product codes to the demo and we will show you how the trace works.
Book a 20-minute demo Build your package
Reviewed by Mthokozisi Nkosi, FSSC 22000 and BRCGS Lead Auditor and founder of ASC Food Safety Consultants. Updated 3 October 2026.
The record exists. Now it can be found.
Twenty minutes online, your standard loaded before the call, your own last audit findings shown inside the system. Setup by lead auditors, live in five working days, with every price published before you commit.