A rejected batch rarely comes out of the blue. Usually, it’s a measurement that someone jotted down on a piece of paper, a sample that was left behind in the lab, or a pallet that was already loaded onto the truck before the results came in. The inspection was performed, but the results weren’t documented.

Quality control in SAP Business One therefore revolves around three elements that must align. The results of the measurements must be associated with the batch, in the same location as the purchase, inventory, and delivery.

Items that haven’t been approved yet shouldn’t end up in a picking order —even when it’s busy and the order is already ready. And if something goes wrong, you need to know within an hour which raw material, which supplier, which production order, and which customers are involved.

It all starts with the test protocol. For each item, it is specified which properties are measured, within what limits the results must fall, and which measuring instrument is used.

The protocol is tied to the product, not to the knowledge of the colleague who usually handles it.

Based on that protocol, the checks are triggered automatically whenever a document requires them: a supplier receipt, a production order, or a shipment to a customer. As a result, the quality control employee starts the day with a list rather than a search.

It’s not hard to misplace a measurement value somewhere. The difference lies in what happens to it afterward, and that’s precisely where a typical ERP package in the SMB segment falls short.

These are features you rarely find anywhere else in practice:

• Customized sampling. The number of samples varies depending on the batch size, and the inspection frequency depends on a supplier’s performance. Suppliers who deliver what they promise don’t have to put every shipment through the entire process again.
• A pass/fail standard instead of an all-or-nothing approach. If eight out of ten samples are acceptable, the batch is approved, while the two nonconforming samples are recorded separately.
• Release that controls inventory. The test result changes the batch status, and that status determines whether the inventory can be used in sales, production, and the warehouse simultaneously.
• Re-inspection upon expiration. Over time, a batch reappears on the list instead of quietly expiring.
• Testing equipment and authorized inspectors. Fixed data regarding the inspection, including who is authorized to sign off and which instrument was used.
• Rejection with a trace. A nonconformance report documents the reason, the evaluator, and the action taken.
• Analysis certificates generated by the system. The certificate that accompanies the shipment is generated directly from the measured values rather than from a template that someone types out.

In SAP Business One, this depth of functionality comes from CompuTec’s ProcessForce, whose quality control module was recently updated.

Quality control is planned in the office and carried out on the factory floor. That’s where things go wrong in practice: a result that’s in the system but doesn’t reach the forklift.

If the warehouse uses the same inventory management system, that gap disappears. This is how CompuTec WMS integrates with SAP Business One: the receipt is scanned, the batch is recorded, the inspection is initiated, and the goods are sent to the quarantine location.

A batch that hasn’t been released won’t end up in a picking order. Not because someone is keeping an eye on it, but because the status determines that.

This eliminates the need for duplicate data entry and, above all, prevents discussions after the fact.

The same process applies to a wholesaler without its own production facilities. In that case, the checks focus on the condition of the packaging, the temperature during transport, the remaining shelf life upon arrival, and the accompanying certificate.

The underlying structure is the same. A returned shipment also arrives at a separate location, is inspected, and only then is it returned to inventory or sent to rejects.

Where you start depends on what’s already happening. Usually, the initial benefit isn’t in the software itself but in defining the protocols: which characteristic, which limit, which measuring instrument, and who signs off.

Frequently Asked Questions About Quality Control in SAP Business One