The quick answer
Go to Reports > Lot / Serial Trace > Lot Trace, pick the item and enter the suspect lot, then click Submit. Purchase Receipts shows the purchase order and vendor the lot came in on. Consumed By shows the work orders that used it and the finished lots they made. Fulfillments shows who those finished lots shipped to. In this example, one puree lot ends up at three customers on three sales orders, and a second puree lot never shows up, so its customers stay out of the recall.
The screenshots show sample data. Person and operating-company names are fictional. Use your own records and values when following the steps.
Before you start
Lot Trace comes from the Lot and Serial Number Trace SuiteApp. Once it's installed, it shows up under Reports > Lot / Serial Trace, next to Serial Number Trace and Trace Preferences. It needs the Lot Tracking feature and whatever else the SuiteApp lists when you install it, lot-numbered items, a saved Trace Preferences record, and a role that can see the traced items, transactions, vendors, and customers. If the menu entry is missing, start there.
The trace can only follow what was recorded. Every transaction that receives, consumes, transfers, or ships a lot-numbered item has to carry its lot in Inventory Detail. If a work order consumed a component without a lot assignment, the chain breaks at that build and everything after it is missing from the trace. The SuiteApp's install page may list more required features than the ones named here, and an account that updated the SuiteApp may need Trace Preferences opened and saved again before tracing works.
A lot record doesn't say why a lot is suspect. In this example the quality lead put the supplier's notice in the lot's Memo before tracing. Record the reason somewhere your team will see it, whether that's the Memo, a lot status, or a quality record.
The example makes chipotle salsa from lot-tracked chipotle puree. The item is CHP-210 Chipotle Puree, the suspect lot is CHP-0814, and the finished item is SAL-16. Menu paths and form values are the ones in this account.
01. Confirm the suspect lot
Go to Lists > Accounting > Items and open CHP-210 Chipotle Puree, a Lot Numbered Inventory Item. On the Inventory Detail subtab, open Inventory Numbers. Two lots are in stock at Fresno Plant: CHP-0814 with 80 on hand and CHP-0902 with 150. The supplier flagged CHP-0814, so that's the one to open.
02. Read the Lot Number Record
Click CHP-0814. The Lot Number Record shows the Expiration Date, 02/12/2027, and the Memo: "Supplier notice 09/18/2026: possible foreign material in this lot. Hold and trace." The Locations subtab shows 80 on hand at Fresno Plant. The lot started with more than that, and the trace will show where the rest went.
03. Open Lot Trace
Go to Reports > Lot / Serial Trace > Lot Trace. The Reports menu is long, so Lot / Serial Trace sits near the bottom of the list.
04. Enter the item and lot
In ITEM, enter CHP-210 Chipotle Puree. The field suggests matches once you've typed three characters. After NetSuite accepts the item, the LOT NUMBER field becomes available, and it only offers lots of that item. Enter CHP-0814.
Here Subsidiary shows Example Supply Co. : United States, Location is All, and START DATE and END DATE are empty. Check what your account fills in by default, and leave the dates open so the trace covers the lot's whole history. A subsidiary, location, or date range narrows the trace. Show Transaction Display Settings lets you pick which transaction types appear. If you leave it cleared, the trace uses your saved Trace Preferences, and a hidden transaction type can make the quantities look incomplete. Click Submit.
05. Check where the lot came from
The results page repeats the item and lot, shows LOT EXPIRY DATE 02/12/2027, and under Quantity Information shows Total Quantity On Hand of 80.00 Pounds. The Purchase Receipts subtab lists one receipt: IR3308 on PO PO4471, 300.00 Pounds received 08/14/2026 from Red Mesa Chile Co. into Fresno Plant. That purchase order and vendor are where the supplier claim goes.
06. Find the builds that used the lot
Open the Consumed By subtab. The other subtabs, Customer Returns and Transfer Receipts, Other Transactions, and Quality Data, are worth a look when a lot has returns, transfers, or adjustments. This lot didn't need them here. Each row is a work order that used the lot, with the finished lot it produced:
- WO1305 made 400.00 EA of SAL-16 lot SAL-0819 and consumed 100.00 Pounds of CHP-0814 on 08/19/2026.
- WO1311 made 480.00 EA of SAL-16 lot SAL-0826 and consumed 120.00 Pounds on 08/26/2026.
Reconcile in pounds. 300.00 received, minus 100.00 and 120.00 consumed, leaves the 80.00 still on hand, so the trace accounts for every pound of the lot. The produced quantities are in EA, the salsa's unit, so they stay out of that sum. If your item uses more than one unit of measure, do the math in the component's stock unit. SAL-0819 and SAL-0826 are the finished lots to hold.
07. List the customers who received it
Open the Fulfillments subtab. Each affected finished lot has its own group row with an expand control. Expand both. In this trace every fulfillment belongs to a sales order. In other accounts, this tab can also include other kinds of shipments. Under SAL-0819, IF5402 shipped 144.00 EA to Harvest Lane Markets on SO2217, and IF5415 shipped 96.00 EA to Coastal Pantry Co-op on SO2231. Under SAL-0826, IF5419 shipped 120.00 EA to Coastal Pantry Co-op on SO2231, and IF5433 shipped 240.00 EA to Bayview Grocers on SO2248.
That's four fulfillments, three sales orders, and three customers. Count customers and orders separately: Coastal Pantry Co-op appears twice on one order. Salsa made from the other puree lot, CHP-0902, isn't in this trace, so its customers stay out of the recall.
Check the result
- Purchase Receipts shows one receipt, IR3308 on PO4471, 300.00 Pounds from Red Mesa Chile Co.
- Consumed By shows 100.00 and 120.00 Pounds used, and 300.00 minus 220.00 equals the 80.00 Pounds on hand.
- Fulfillments lists Harvest Lane Markets (SO2217), Coastal Pantry Co-op (SO2231), and Bayview Grocers (SO2248), all from lots SAL-0819 or SAL-0826.
Treat that list as the customers to confirm and notify, not an automatic notification list. Confirm each row belongs to an affected finished lot. Fulfillments only shows what shipped, so check the remaining stock of SAL-0819 and SAL-0826 separately, because unshipped units still need to be held. The TRACE link next to each finished lot opens a separate trace for it. If the quantities don't add up, look for a movement outside the trace, such as another location, a date filter, or a transaction type hidden by the display settings.
Lot Trace is a reporting tool. It doesn't quarantine inventory, create return authorizations, or contact customers. Export produces a report of one subtab and Export All a report of every subtab, sent by email in the format you choose, which is handy for the recall file.
Common questions
Why is Consumed By empty?
Consumed By only lists builds where the lot was recorded in Inventory Detail. First check that you entered the right item and lot. Then check whether the lot was actually used. If a work order consumed the material without a lot assignment, Lot Trace can't see the link, so the trace stops there even though the puree went into a batch.
What does Lot Trace need before it works?
The Lot and Serial Number Trace SuiteApp has to be installed, Lot Tracking has to be on, and a Trace Preferences record has to be saved. Your role needs access to the items, transactions, vendors, and customers involved. The SuiteApp may list more required features when you install it, so read that list. And every transaction that moves the lot-numbered item needs its lot in Inventory Detail.
Why doesn't the second puree lot show up?
Lot Trace follows one item and one lot. CHP-0902 is a different lot, so it isn't in the CHP-0814 trace, and neither are the customers who got salsa made from it. If you need to rule it in or out, run a separate trace for it.
How do I find the vendor and purchase order for the lot?
Open the Purchase Receipts subtab. Here it shows item receipt IR3308 on PO4471 for 300.00 Pounds from Red Mesa Chile Co. Use that purchase order and vendor for the supplier claim.
The quantities don't add up. What did I miss?
Subtract what was consumed, shipped, or adjusted from what was received, in the component's stock unit. In this example 300.00 minus 100.00 and 120.00 leaves the 80.00 Pounds on hand. If yours doesn't match, look for a movement the trace didn't cover: another location, a date or subsidiary filter, or a transaction type hidden by the display settings.
Can Lot Trace quarantine the lot or notify customers?
No. It's a reporting tool. It doesn't quarantine inventory, create return authorizations, or contact customers. Use the lots, orders, and customers it lists to do that through your own process.
What about finished goods that haven't shipped?
Fulfillments only shows what already left. Check the remaining stock of each affected finished lot separately, here SAL-0819 and SAL-0826, and hold what's still on hand. For the recall file, Export and Export All send a report of one subtab or all subtabs by email.