Use case
Track & Trace
A recall question lands, and the answer lives in three systems, two spreadsheets and a binder.
01 · Customer pain
Traceability by reconstruction.
Which lots went into which batch, on which machine, under which conditions, shipped to whom: the data exists, but scattered across ERP, MES, machines and paper.
When an audit or recall asks the question, teams spend days reconstructing what a connected system could answer in minutes, and the exposure window stays wide open the whole time.
Genealogy gaps between systems
Material moves are recorded in ERP, process steps in MES, machine conditions nowhere; the chain has holes.
Paper travelers, manual scans
Handwritten lot numbers and missed scan points break the chain exactly where it matters.
Recalls scoped by worst case
When you cannot prove which units are affected, you recall everything that might be.
Audit answers take days
Every compliance request becomes a cross-system research project.
02 · Outcome first
An unbroken chain, captured as it happens.
FlowFuse wires the capture points together: scanners, machines, MES and ERP feed one genealogy record per unit or batch, with process context attached at every step.
Recall scope in minutes, not days
Forward and backward trace from any lot, unit or shipment, with evidence attached.
Process context on every step
Not just where a unit went, but the conditions it was produced under.
Smaller recalls, faster audits
Precise scoping replaces worst-case recalls; audit requests become queries.
03 · How it works
How FlowFuse builds genealogy and traceability.
Traceability is one record per unit, written as production happens rather than reconstructed afterwards. This is how the chain breaks down and which FlowFuse pattern carries it.
Data-driven application
The genealogy record is the application. Which capture points exist, and what each contributes to the chain, is configuration rather than wiring, so a new process step is a data change.
Read the pattern in the docsThe individual pieces
Assign identity once
A serial, lot or batch identity created at the first step and carried forward. Everything else hangs off it.
Capture each step at the edge
Scanners, machines and station PLCs report the move as it happens, so there is no gap to reconstruct later.
DocsAttach process context
Not only where a unit went but the conditions it was produced under, captured at the same moment as the move.
Write one genealogy record
Material moves from ERP, process steps from MES and machine conditions from the floor land in one chain instead of three systems.
DocsQuery forwards and backwards
From any lot, unit or shipment, in either direction, with the evidence attached to the answer.
Answer audits as a query
Compliance requests become a lookup against the chain rather than a cross-system research project.
04 · Why this is important
Traceability is insurance you build in advance.
The value shows up on the worst day: a recall, an audit finding, a customer claim.
Recall cost scales with uncertainty
Every unit you cannot rule out is a unit you pay to recall. Precision is money.
Regulators expect data, not binders
Digital genealogy with process context is becoming the audit baseline in regulated industries.
Trace data compounds into insight
The same chain that answers recalls also reveals which conditions produce the best product.
05 · Why off-the-shelf doesn't work
Why the usual approaches stall.
Traceability projects fail on the connections, not the concept.
Material moves without process truth
ERP knows what was issued, not what actually happened at the machine.
Full-suite rollouts measured in years
Enterprise MES traceability arrives with a multi-year implementation and per-site licensing.
Manual chains break silently
One missed entry and the chain is fiction; nobody notices until it is needed.
06 · With / without FlowFuse
Without FlowFuse
Chain reconstructed on demand
Days of cross-system work per recall or audit question.
Worst-case recall scoping
Recall everything that might be affected.
Capture depends on discipline
Paper and manual scans break the chain silently.
With FlowFuse
Chain captured continuously
Scanners, machines and business systems feed one genealogy record automatically.
Precise scope with evidence
Trace any direction from any point, conditions included.
Capture enforced by flows
Missing steps block or alert in real time instead of surfacing at audit.
07 · Build it with AI
From described to deployed, with the FlowFuse Expert
The FlowFuse Expert works on this use case with you, from capture flows to answering trace questions.
Describe it, get a starting flow
Tell the Expert your capture points and systems; it assembles a genealogy starting flow. Currently in open beta on FlowFuse Cloud.
Refine with in-editor assistance
Function Builder and completions help with lot-number parsing, joins and record writes to your database or Tables.
Ask trace questions in plain language
Expose the genealogy store through MCP tools and query it with Expert's Insights mode (beta): 'which shipments contain lot 4711?'
AI capabilities noted as beta are in open beta on FlowFuse Cloud at time of writing. Placeholder template copy for internal review.
Life Sciences, Food & Beverage, Aviation & Aerospace, Aerospace Components · all industries
Be ready for the worst day
Talk to an expert about end-to-end traceability, or wire your first capture point today.
