Material Batches

The Material Batches screen displays and manages batch records for materials. A batch (sometimes called a lot) groups pallets of the same product that share a common manufacturing date, expiry date, or other batch-level attributes.

How Batches are Created

Batch records are created automatically by Commander4j when a pallet label is printed using the Production Declaration function. You do not normally need to create batches manually. The batch number printed on the label is derived from the batch format template configured in System Keys (or overridden at customer level).

Expiry Date Modes

How expiry dates are managed depends on the EXPIRY DATE MODE setting in System Keys:

Mode	Behaviour
BATCH	The expiry date is stored at batch level. All pallets sharing the same material and batch number use the same expiry date. Changing the batch expiry date affects all associated pallets.
SSCC	The expiry date is stored on the individual pallet (SSCC) record. Each pallet can have a different expiry date even if they share the same batch number.

Understanding which mode your system uses is important before editing expiry dates in this screen.

Batch Fields

Field	Description
Material	The product material code this batch belongs to
Batch Number	The batch or lot identifier (up to 12 characters)
Status	The current status of the batch (e.g. Released, On Hold). Values are configured in the system.
Expiry Date	The batch expiry date. Applicable when EXPIRY DATE MODE = BATCH.

Searching and Filtering

The screen supports filtering by material, batch number, status, and expiry date range. Results can be sorted by material, batch number, status, or expiry date, and limited to a specified number of rows.

Editing a Batch

Select a row and click Edit (or double-click) to open the batch properties. The material and batch number are read-only. The status and expiry date can be changed and saved.

Database Table

Batch records are stored in APP_MATERIAL_BATCH with a composite primary key of material + batch number.