Custom batch registration app for the field and the shed
A lot's trail rarely breaks in the office. It breaks at lifting, when two crates stand side by side, or at sorting, when one lot splits into sizes that then go their own way. That is where it is decided whether you can still trace back where something came from three years later.
Where traceability falls apart in practice
The plant passport carries a traceability code that gives every lot of plants a unique code, alongside the botanical name, the company's phytosanitary registration number and the country code of origin. That code is only worth something if it survives the handling the lot goes through.
Traceability records must be kept for at least three years. In bulb growing that is more than one cycle: a lot being supplied now was planted in a season most people no longer remember precisely.
Naming adds to this. The rule is one cultivar, one name: a bulb crop may only be traded under one name. In the field nobody works with that name. There a lot is referred to by the number on the crate or the bed it stands in, and the translation to the official name happens later, from memory.
The plots and lots themselves must also be registered with the inspection service, with submission deadlines that are strictly enforced. What happened in the field determines what that registration should contain, and that is precisely the information that takes the longest to reach the office.
How we build this
The core is the action on the lot. Planting, lifting, sorting, storing and delivering are each a moment when the trail can break or be secured.
A code on the crate or the bed opens the right lot, with its name and history.
What was done, when and where, even without a connection. The plot rarely has coverage, and the barn doesn't always either.
Sorting splits a lot apart, topping up adds to it. Both must be recorded as lineage, not as a new lot.
Anything that stands out during the work goes into the file as a photo, rather than disappearing into a message thread.
What the app does in practice
Registration at lot level holds everything together. What else you need depends on the size of your business and how many extra hands join you in the season.
Scanning at crate and bed
A code opens the lot without searching through a list. That is the difference between registering during the work and not registering at all.
Lineage when splitting
Sorting turns one lot into several. The app records where each new lot came from, so the trail stays intact.
Works without signal
Fields, barns and cold rooms rarely have coverage. The app works locally and syncs as soon as there is a connection.
Observation with photo
Disease, an abnormal growth stage or a problem when lifting: a photo with location and time is quicker than a description.
Keep the name in view
The official cultivar name sits with the lot, even when everyone in the field uses a number. That saves translating it afterwards.
Works with gloves
Large buttons and few fields. Anything that takes three precise taps is not going to happen on a lifting day.
Who we build for
Who carries out the recording varies from company to company. Four situations.
Field staff
They are out on the plot and the first to spot anything unusual, but have no time for a twenty-field data entry screen.
Barn staff
Lots are split apart during sorting and packing. What isn't recorded there cannot be reconstructed later.
Business managers
They would rather see what is happening during the season than at the end, when the registration has already been submitted.
Seasonal workers
Anyone who joins for a few weeks must understand the registration within five minutes, or they won't use it.
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Crops get added, practices differ between businesses and inspection requirements shift. Actions, fields and codes should be configurable rather than hard-coded into the app.
Why Appfront
The trail breaks during sorting
That is where one lot splits into several. We build the lineage first, because without it the rest of the file is decoration.
Scanning makes the difference
Anyone who has to search a list for a lot does it at the end of the day. Anyone who scans does it straight away.
In the field the number counts, in trade the name does
We show both against the same lot, so the translation doesn't have to be done from memory.
Three years back is more than one season
The retention period spans multiple cycles. What isn't recorded now cannot be traced back later under any circumstances.
Security and privacy
What is recorded in the field says something about your cultivation plan and about selections that do not yet have a name. That is commercially sensitive information, especially when seasonal staff are involved. We set access by role, show an employee only the lots they work on, and log who views what. What is stored locally on the device is encrypted and can be remotely wiped if a phone is lost.
For this topic, the reliability of the moment is what matters. A lineage filled in afterwards, once a question has come up, is no longer traceability. We record actions irreversibly with time, place and person, even when synchronisation happens later, and any correction appears as a visible amendment alongside the original entry. How we handle security ourselves is set out in our information security policy.
Frequently asked questions about lot registration in the field
Because the action takes place at the crate and on the bed, often with gloves on and without signal. What is only filled in during the evening is a reminder.
Then one lot splits into several grades. For each new lot, the app records where it came from, so the trail back to the field stays intact.
Yes. Fields, barns and cold rooms rarely have coverage. The app works locally and syncs once the connection returns, keeping the original timestamp.
Traceability records must be kept for at least three years. In bulb cultivation that spans several seasons, so a staff member's memory is not enough.
In the lot administration, where cultivar names, field registration and plant passport details come together. We describe this on our page about KAVB software.
That is a design requirement, not an afterthought. Scanning instead of searching, large buttons and few fields, so anyone understands it within five minutes. See our approach to building an app.
Does your lot code survive sorting?
Take one lot that was sorted last season and trace back, by size, which original lot it came from. If that isn't recorded anywhere, your traceability is a reconstruction. We build this as a standalone app or as part of a wider app development project.