A batch is a specific quantity of goods that have the same characteristics and are processed together in a related process. Goods are produced, manufactured, or packaged under the same conditions. In production engineering, a batch can also be referred to as a lot. Products made from the same material are referred to as batch-clean.

If a quantity of individual parts is required for different goods, these parts can be procured in a single order. One of the tasks of procurement logistics is to determine the optimal order quantity. Depending on the size of the total order, a certain amount of ordering and storage costs are incurred.

The batch in manufacturing

The material used in a production process is referred to as a batch. In batch production, different results can arise after the production of individual batches, even though the same material was used. This is due to different conditions during the production process, which in turn lead to differences in the quality of the end products. At the end of production, for example, a production date or number can be used to identify which product belongs to which batch production. The batch size is a strategy variable. It is used to reduce throughput times and costs.

Production is regularly switched from one type to another. The number of units produced is limited and there are regular costs for changeovers. Characteristics of batch production include the following:

• Production of products is limited in quantity
• Production of products is limited in time
• The products to be processed have common characteristics
• The products to be processed have minor differences in terms of functionality, design, or processing

In most cases, the production process of a batch cannot be repeated identically due to the process conditions.

Batch-pure storage

Batch-pure storage refers to the storage of only one batch per storage location. The batches must be kept together so that each product can be assigned to the respective batch even at a later stage. The problem this creates is that the warehouse and the technical conditions must be designed accordingly. For example, increased space requirements and a correspondingly designed warehouse management system are necessary in order to ultimately be able to assign products such as medicines or aircraft parts to a batch.

For more information on planning systems in production control, see Kanban system.

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