Lot number
The code on the box or label that tells one delivery or production run from the next is assigned by the supplier or manufacturer. With it you can find exactly those boxes when something is wrong and leave the rest alone. That code is also called a lot number, another name for a batch number.
The full explanation, with an example, is under batch number, the term to start with. In short: record the code when stock arrives, keep it with the stock, and you can find who received it.
Manufacturers sometimes draw a line between the two: a batch is one production run, while a lot can bring together several batches that share a supplier and a date. For a small brand buying in finished goods, the code on the box is the code you record.
In practice
The supplier's invoice says 'lot number SB-2405' and the box says 'batch SB-2405'. It is the same code: the brand records it once, on the way in, and can search by it later.
Further reading
Related terms
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