Lot traceability is the backbone, not a feature

When we designed Skygn's inventory, we made an early decision that shaped everything after it: lot genealogy would live in the core, not in a module you switch on later.

The reason is simple. Traceability that's bolted on can only see what it was told about. Traceability that's part of the ledger sees everything — every receipt, every consumption in a work order, every transfer, every shipment — because those events already move the same lots.

Forward and backward, for free

Because each movement references a lot, walking the graph backward (what ingredients and supplier lots made this?) or forward (which shipments and customers received this?) is just a traversal. No reconciliation job, no nightly export.

What it buys you when the call comes

A recall is a bad day, but it doesn't have to be a lost weekend. Pick the affected lot — or an affected ingredient lot — and the impacted downstream lots, orders, and customers come back immediately. That's the difference between a controlled notification and a frantic spreadsheet.

The lesson

If a capability is central to how your users think, put it in the spine. It's harder up front and far cheaper forever.