---
id: KB-GL-020
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/glossary/what-a-batch-is
idioma: en
categoria: glosario
subcategoria: documentos
audiencia: usuario
nivel: basico
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-GL-016, KB-AL-013, KB-GL-009, KB-GL-017]
citadoPor: [KB-AL-016, KB-AL-017, KB-AL-018, KB-AL-024]
---

# What a batch is

_Not a quantity or a date: a set of things sharing one history. And that decides how far a problem reaches._

**Responde a:** what is a production batch · difference between batch and consignment · what the batch number is for · how a batch is defined

It is one of the most used and least defined words. It shows up on a label, on a delivery note and in an alert, and it is nearly always understood as «what was made that day» — which sometimes matches and sometimes does not.

**Batch** — A set of units sharing the same conditions: same origin, same process and same period. It is given a code so it can be referred to later.

## What it is actually for

| Situation | What the batch makes possible |
| --- | --- |
| A client reports a problem | Knowing what else went out under the same conditions |
| A supplier flags an incident | Knowing whether it affected you and by how much |
| Product has to be withdrawn | Withdrawing only what is needed, not the whole month |
| Someone asks about an old shipment | Going back to the conditions of that moment |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> From which comes the only rule that matters when defining one: **you decide the batch, and the bigger it is, the more gets withdrawn when something fails**. Group a whole month's production under one code and a problem in one unit affects the whole month — and you will not be able to show otherwise, because nothing distinguishes one unit from another. A small batch costs a little more recording and saves enormous withdrawals.

## What breaks a batch unnoticed

**En corto**

- Topping up a tank or silo without closing the previous one: from then on there are two.
- Swapping an ingredient or a component mid-run.
- Relabelling or repacking without carrying the original code across.
- And noting the batch «at the end of the day», once it has all been mixed.

> [!WARNING]
> A frequent confusion worth undoing: **your supplier's batch and yours are not the same, and both are needed**. Theirs identifies what they delivered; yours, what left your hands. Keep only one and you can look one way but not the other — and half the time the question arrives from precisely the missing side.

## How to choose a code

1. **Unique, and not repeated next year** — Codes that reset annually are a guaranteed problem.
2. **Readable on the label and typeable without hesitation** — Someone will read it out over the phone one day.
3. **And no decoding needed to know what it belongs to** — A code only its designer understands is useless in an emergency.

> [!NOTE]
> In some sectors how a batch is defined and identified is regulated. **What yours requires is for your adviser or quality manager to confirm**; here we explain what it is for, which is what should shape the definition.

**Are batch and consignment the same?**

In practice they are used almost alike; what matters is that they are identified.

**Can I change how I define batches?**

Yes, marking from when: earlier ones are still read under the old rule.

**What if a product has no batch?**

Then what can be traced is the shipment: less precise, better than nothing.

## Ejemplos

**A company groups a whole month's output under one code and a problem appears in one unit.**

- Defines batches per run and records the code at the start, not the end

→ The next incident is contained to a few hours of production instead of a whole month.

**The batch code is recorded at the end rather than the start.**

- Records the batch at the moment of production

→ The data is exact rather than reconstructed.

**A batch groups things that do not share a history.**

- Defines the batch by what they genuinely share

→ Containing a problem stops dragging in what is unaffected.

**Nobody knows what went into a specific batch.**

- Ties raw materials to the output batch

→ Tracing runs backwards, not only forwards.

**The batch does not travel through to the customer's delivery note.**

- Carries the code through to the outgoing document

→ You can tell which customer received which batch.

**The batch is defined with production in mind rather than an incident.**

- Chooses the width by how much would have to be recalled

→ The decision is taken with the scenario that matters in view.