Supplement inventory software for a small brand has to do more than count bottles. It has to know each formula, with its versions, and take powders, capsule shells and bottles off stock by weight and count when a batch is made. It has to tie every batch to the ingredient lots inside it and the customers who got it. And it has to keep the reserve samples a dietary supplement maker is required to hold: samples of each lot distributed, in the same bottle and closure, identified by lot, kept for a year past the shelf life date, or two years from the last distribution if there's no shelf life date (21 CFR 111.83). Add dates on every lot, packaging bought in minimums, a cost per bottle that follows ingredient prices, and a store connection, and that's the list. In the example below, a complaint about clumped capsules is traced to its batch, its powder lot and its reserve samples in minutes. Below is what the software has to track, the trace, a test week for any trial, and how TaroStack does it.
The short version
- Formulas with versions: a change is a new version, and every batch records which.
- Ingredients and capsule shells by lot, with each supplier's lot and dates.
- Batch records that note which lots went in, automatically.
- Reserve samples of every lot distributed, taken off stock by lot and kept for the required time.
- A lot code and date on every bottle, and stock sent out oldest first.
- A cost per bottle from what you paid, and margins by product and customer.
- TaroStack keeps formulas, lots, batch records, samples and costs together, on every plan. More below.
What supplement inventory software has to track
| What | Why it matters for a supplement brand |
|---|---|
| Formulas and versions | Every batch should follow the approved formula; a change is a new version |
| Ingredients by lot | An ingredient lot is what a supplier recalls, or a complaint points to |
| Batch records | Which lots went into which batch, weights, checks, who made it |
| Reserve samples | Required for every lot distributed, by lot, in the distributed bottle |
| Lot codes and dates on bottles | A customer's question starts with the code on the bottle |
| Packaging | Bottles, caps, desiccants and labels come in minimums |
| Cost per bottle | Ingredient prices move; the bottle's cost should too |
| Customers and orders | Which stores and customers got which lot |
The reserve samples are held under the storage conditions on the label, or ordinary storage if the label doesn't say (21 CFR 111.465). How retained and reserve samples are kept and logged is in retained samples. This is general information, not legal advice; the supplement rule asks for more records than these, and your own advisor is the place to check them.
A worked example: one customer's complaint
Noni Grove, a made-up supplement maker I use in these examples, makes noni fruit powder in 60-capsule bottles. A store forwards a complaint: capsules stuck together in a bottle with lot code NC-0915.
| Question | The answer, from the records |
|---|---|
| Which batch? | NC-0915, made September 15, formula version 2 |
| Which ingredients, which lots? | Noni powder NP-0828, capsule shells CS-0802, desiccant packs DP-0710 |
| How many bottles, and where? | 400 bottles: 180 to three stores, 200 sold online, 18 on the shelf, 2 kept as reserve samples |
| Reserve samples? | 2 bottles of NC-0915, in the samples cabinet, kept until a year past the shelf life date |
A reserve bottle is opened and its capsules are fine, which points to how that one bottle was stored after sale; the batch record shows the desiccant went in. The complaint is recorded with the lot and reviewed, the store gets an answer the same day, and the lot is watched for more. How complaints are logged is in customer complaint log.
A test week for any trial
- Import your ingredients, packaging and formulas, and check the units: kilos in, milligrams per capsule.
- Receive an ingredient with its supplier's lot and dates, into quarantine until it's checked.
- Make a batch, and check every ingredient came off stock from the right lot, and the bottles went into a lot with a date.
- Set aside reserve samples from the batch's lot, and check they're off sellable stock but still on the record.
- Sell a few bottles through your store, and check the oldest lot went first.
- Trace an ingredient lot forward to every batch and customer, and a bottle's lot back to its ingredients.
- Look at the cost per bottle, and the reorder list for bottles and shells.
If any step needs a workaround on day one, it'll need one every day after. What any small maker should ask of inventory software is in inventory software for small manufacturers.
Where this stops working
A supplement brand often starts with a formula sheet and a stock spreadsheet. It works until the second powder supplier, the third product and the first store. Then the spreadsheet says "noni powder" but not which lot, the reserve samples are in a box nobody has labeled, and two bottles set aside are still counted as stock.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps formulas, lots, samples and costs together.
Formulas and batches, by lot. Each product's formula is a recipe with versions, units convert from kilos to grams, and recording a batch takes ingredients and packaging off stock from the lots used, at what you paid, and notes which lots went in, automatically. Batch record forms carry your own fields with limits, with sign-off.
Reserve samples on the record. Reserve bottles come off sellable stock as an adjustment with the reason "sample", from the batch's lot, so the books match the shelf. Every lot has its code and date, lot labels print with both, and lots close to their date show in your alerts.
And every lot, traced. Deliveries can be received into quarantine until they're checked, picking sends out the lot that expires first, and one report shows which supplier lots went into which batches and which customers got them. Margins are reported by product and by customer, and your Shopify store or Square connects, with us setting up Shopify with you.
| The job | Spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which powder lot is in NC-0915? | Not recorded | Noted with the batch |
| Reserve samples | A box, still counted | An adjustment, reason "sample", by lot |
| Who got this lot? | Read the orders | One report, lot to customer |
| What does a bottle cost now? | Set once | Every batch, at what you paid |
Formulas, lots, batch records, adjustments with reasons and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. 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.