A hold and release procedure is how you stop suspect stock from being used, sold or shipped until someone decides what happens to it. The moment something looks wrong (a supplier recall notice, a failed check, damaged packaging, a customer complaint), the stock goes on hold: tagged, moved apart if possible, and recorded with the item, lot, quantity, where it is and why. Then one named person investigates and decides one of four outcomes: release, rework, return to the supplier, or destroy. The decision is recorded with the date and who made it. Below are the seven steps, what to record, the four outcomes, a month of holds as an example, and a free procedure sheet and hold log.
The short version
- Stop: tag it HOLD and keep it apart. Nobody uses, sells or ships it.
- Record it: item, lot, quantity, where, why, who.
- Check other places the same lot might be, including what's already shipped.
- Investigate: test, inspect, ask the supplier.
- Decide: release, rework, return or destroy, by one named person.
- Act on it and record the outcome.
- Review the month's holds and fix the causes.
When to place a hold
| Trigger | Example |
|---|---|
| A supplier recall or warning | Supplier's notice about a lot of nuts |
| A failed check | A jam batch below its Brix target, a pH reading out of range |
| Damaged packaging | Dented cans, torn bags, broken seals |
| A customer complaint | Two bags of chips with burnt pieces |
| Out of spec on delivery | Wrong temperature, short shelf life |
| Waiting for test results | A new batch held until the lab replies |
When in doubt, hold it. A hold costs a day; shipping something that should have been held can cost a recall. How a recall itself runs is in recall plan example.
What to record
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Hold number and date | H-004, Oct 11 |
| Item and lot | Taro chips, 5 oz, lot TC-261010-B |
| Quantity and where | 220 bags, shop shelf |
| Reason | Customer complaint |
| Placed by | KS |
| Decision, by whom, when | Pending |
| Notes | Two bags with burnt chips; checking the batch record |
The four outcomes
| Decision | When | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Release | The problem isn't real, or isn't in this stock | Back into available stock, with the reason recorded |
| Rework | It can be fixed | Recooked, repacked or relabeled, then checked again |
| Return to supplier | The supplier's fault | Sent back, with a credit or replacement |
| Destroy | It can't be used or sold | Written off with its reason, and disposed of |
Only the named person decides, and the decision goes on the record with the date. A hold that's been open for weeks is a problem of its own: stock nobody can use, taking space, and a question nobody has answered.
A month of holds
Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, placed four holds in October:
| Hold | Item and lot | Reason | Decision | Days on hold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-001 | Coconut cream, CC-0928 | Damaged packaging | Release: dents only, seals intact | 1 |
| H-002 | Guava jam, GJ-261005-A | Failed check: low Brix | Rework: recooked and retested | 1 |
| H-003 | Macadamia nuts, MAC-0712 | Supplier recall | Return to supplier, credit issued | 5 |
| H-004 | Taro chips, TC-261010-B | Customer complaint | Open |
The open one is the one to chase: 220 bags are waiting on a look at the batch record for that fry run. The jam's low Brix is the kind of reading a batch record catches, covered in starting a jam business.
Get the template
Download the hold and release procedure and log. It has the seven steps on one sheet, to print and pin up, and a hold log with fixed lists for reasons and decisions; a hold with no decision yet is shaded, so open holds stand out, and days on hold work themselves out. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers. For what happens after a supplier recall, the trace itself is in one up one back traceability.
Where this stops working
A paper hold tag and a log only work if everyone respects them. The tagged case gets moved and the tag falls off. The spreadsheet still counts the held stock as available, so someone sells it. The same lot is also at the market stall and nobody checks there. And when the decision is "destroy", the write-off never makes it into the stock records, so the count is wrong next week.
How TaroStack does it
In TaroStack, a hold is a status, not a sticker, so held stock can't be picked or sold by mistake.
Held stock sits apart. A lot can be released, put on hold, quarantined or rejected in one step, and stock on hold or in quarantine is kept apart from what's available to sell, everywhere: it isn't picked for orders, used in batches or counted as available on the reorder list. A delivery can be received straight into quarantine or a damaged pile, line by line, and a setting can quarantine every delivery on receipt until it's checked. Customer returns can come back into quarantine too.
Every place the lot is. One report shows where a lot is across every site, what's already shipped and to whom, and which batches it went into, so step 3 takes a minute, not an afternoon of phone calls.
The decision is recorded. Releasing puts the lot back into available stock. Destroy writes it off with its reason (expired, spoiled, damaged), so it shows in the losses report at its cost. Every movement is a permanent record of who, when and why. And batch records flag a reading outside its limit, like the jam's Brix, so the failed check is on record before anyone thinks to place a hold.
| The job | Tag and log | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Stop it being used | A tag, if it stays on | A status that keeps it out of picking |
| Find the same lot elsewhere | Phone around | One report, every site and customer |
| Record the decision | A column in a sheet | A movement with who, when and why |
| Destroyed stock | Forgotten in the counts | Written off with its reason and cost |
Lots, holds and quarantine, receiving and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month; batch records with limits are on Standard at $99. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.