Overview
Logiwa IO offers the flexibility to enable or disable attribute tracking (Lot Number, Expiry Date, and Production Date) for products that already have inventory in your warehouse. Previously, making such a change required you to manually adjust the product's inventory to zero, which could be a significant operational disruption.
This enhancement allows you to update tracking settings directly. However, to ensure data integrity, this action can only be performed if the product has
no active operational tasks (such as picking, packing, count or replenishment).
Prerequisite: No Active Tasks
Before you can change a product's attribute tracking settings, you must ensure it is not part of any ongoing warehouse operations.
Rule: An attribute tracking setting cannot be changed if the product has an inventory that is associated with any warehouse tasks that are not in a Completed or Cancelled status.
System Behavior: If you attempt to save a change and the system detects active tasks for the product, it will prevent the update and display an error message:
"This product's tracking settings (Lot/batch, expiry date, production date) cannot be changed because the product has active warehouse tasks.
To proceed, either undo your changes to the tracking settings or complete/cancel the active tasks for this product.".
How to Change an Attribute Tracking Setting
You can change tracking settings from the UI, via bulk Excel import, or using the API.
From the User Interface
Navigate to Settings > Products.
Find the product you wish to modify and open the Edit Product screen.
Go to the Advanced tab.
Locate the tracking sections for Lot/Batch Tracking, Expiry Tracking, or Production Date Tracking.
Click the toggle to enable or disable the desired tracking setting.
A confirmation pop-up will appear with the message:
"This will update all existing inventory records for this SKU. Do you want to proceed?". This message explains that your inventory data will be modified.
Click Proceed to confirm the change. The new setting will be staged and ready to be saved.
Click Cancel to discard the change. The toggle will revert to its previous state.
After proceeding, click the Save button at the bottom of the screen to apply the changes to the product and all its existing inventory records.
Using Bulk Import via Excel
You can enable or disable attribute tracking for multiple products at once using the bulk product update functionality.
Navigate to Settings > Products.
Click Import > Bulk Update Products and download the template.
Fill the Excel file with the products you wish to update.
Find the columns for attribute tracking (e.g., Track Lot Batch Number, Track Expiry Date etc.) and change the value to TRUE to enable or FALSE to disable.
Save the file and upload it back into Logiwa IO. The system will process the changes, applying the same logic and inventory updates as the UI method.
For more details on this process, see our Import Products via Excel File guide.
Open API
Currently, this functionality is not supported via the Open API.
The PUT /product/update endpoint will maintain its existing validation and will block any attribute tracking changes for products that have inventory.
What Happens to Your Inventory Data?
Changing a tracking setting triggers an immediate, system-wide update to all inventory records for that specific product.
When You Enable Tracking
If you enable an attribute tracking setting, the system automatically adds a placeholder value to all existing inventory records for that product. This is done to ensure data consistency.
Lot/Batch Number: Existing inventory will be assigned a placeholder lot number, such as
NEEDS_LOT_UPDATE.
Expiry/Production Date: Existing inventory will be assigned a placeholder date, such as
2000-01-01.
These placeholders serve as a flag, indicating that the physical items need to have their actual attribute information verified and updated in the system.
When You Disable Tracking
If you disable an attribute tracking setting, the system will remove (nullify) all existing data for that attribute from every inventory record associated with the product.
For example, if you disable Lot/Batch Tracking, all lot numbers will be permanently removed from that product's inventory.
How to Update Placeholder Attribute Data
After you enable attribute tracking, you must replace the system-generated placeholder values with the actual, correct data from your physical stock. You can do this using two primary methods.
Method 1: Change Attributes on Inventory by Location
This method is ideal for correcting a few items at a time directly from the UI.
Navigate to Inventory > Inventory by Location.
Use the filters to find the product inventory that has the placeholder value (e.g., filter by Lot Batch Number "NEEDS_LOT_UPDATE").
Select inventory lines you want to correct.
Click the Change Attributes button and select which attribute to change.
In the pop-up window, enter the correct Lot Number, Expiry Date, or Production Date.
Click Save. The inventory record will be updated with the correct information.
Method 2: Perform a Cycle Count
This method is highly effective for updating attributes for many items as part of a regular inventory audit. By counting the items, you verify both the quantity and the attribute data simultaneously.
Create a Count Plan that includes the locations or SKUs with placeholder data.
Assign and start the count job on a mobile device.
When the operator scans an item that requires attribute tracking, the mobile app will prompt them to enter the Lot Number, Expiry Date, or Production Date.
The operator enters the correct data from the physical product.
Upon completion of the count, the inventory records are updated with the accurate attribute information, overwriting the old placeholder values. For more details on this process, see our guide: A Guide to Managing and Executing Cycle Counts.
Auditing the Change
Every time an attribute tracking setting is successfully changed, a single transaction log is created to provide a clear audit trail.
Location: This log can be found in the Transaction History Report.
Transaction Type: The transaction will be logged as "Change Attributes".
Details: The log entry will show the ""to" values for the attribute (e.g., from NULL to
NEEDS_LOT_UPDATE), but it will not include specific quantity, pack type, or location details, as the change applies to all inventory records for that SKU.