Work in food, electronics, medical devices or cosmetics? You know the drill: batch and serial numbers are critical for traceability — and at the same time a source of endless manual admin. One number missed at goods receipt and your traceability chain has a hole.
Exact Online supports full batch and serial administration, but the screens are slow. With an AI assistant linked via MCP, you can handle these tasks in natural language. In this article: how it works, and when it really pays off.
Batch versus serial: the difference
A batch number identifies a group of identical items produced or purchased together — think 500 jars of honey from the same production run. A serial number identifies one unique item — for example a specific laptop with its unique MAC address.
In Exact Online each item has a setting for batch-, serial- or non-tracked. Your AI assistant respects that setting automatically.
Recording a batch receipt with AI
Classic flow: a supplier delivers 200 units of A1001 in batch B-2026-08. Your AI assistant in one prompt:
"Book a goods receipt for purchase order PO-2026-0145, line 1: 200 units of item A1001 on batch B-2026-08, best before 2027-08-01."
Behind the scenes Ledger Botje calls two MCP tools: first the goods receipt tool, then the batch-create tool. The AI confirms the receipt number and the linked batch.
Serial numbers at assembly
Producing units with unique IDs? When finishing a production order the AI asks for serial numbers:
"Finish production order PO-2026-088. 10 units ready with serials SN-2026-101 through SN-2026-110."
Ledger Botje uses the manufacturing-orders-receipt tool and automatically links each serial to the correct item. No more manual line-by-line work.
Tracing on sale
When you sell a product, you must know which batch or serial went to which customer. Without AI: digging through multiple screens. With AI:
"Which customers received items from batch B-2026-08?"
The AI scans deliveries, joins customers and amounts, and produces the list. Critical during a recall.
Recall scenario: pulling a batch
Say: a production fault in batch B-2026-08. You have one hour to identify all recipients, draft a notice and freeze your stock. With your AI:
- "Give all customers who received batch B-2026-08 in the past 6 months."
- "How many units of batch B-2026-08 are still in stock?"
- "Draft a notice to those customers with instructions to return the batch."
What used to be half a day is done in 15 minutes — with every traceability detail reproducible from the administration.
Monitoring expiry
For food and pharma, FIFO (first-in-first-out) or FEFO (first-expired-first-out) is mandatory. Ask periodically:
"Which batches expire within 60 days and what is their stock value?"
The AI scans batches with a best-before, sorts and hands you an action list. Combine with a weekly reminder for optimal inventory control.
Pulling serial history
A customer calls with a warranty claim on a specific unit. Give the AI the serial:
"What is the full history of serial SN-2026-104?"
You get: production date, batch numbers of components used, delivery date to customer, and any service events. In one question, without a single click in Exact Online.
When does this really pay off?
Businesses with many SKUs and batch/serial obligations (food wholesale, electronics, medical devices) win the most. Users report saving 30-50% of the time spent on traceability tasks. Businesses without traceability obligations can skip these tools.
Ready to set up? Follow the MCP setup guide and explore the prompt library for more inventory and traceability prompts. Working a lot with production orders? Also read manage production orders with AI.