Regulation and traceability
Article 24 of Law No. 5996, headed “Traceability”, requires food and feed business operators to set up a system for tracing the products in their responsibility at all stages of production, processing and distribution, and to provide this information to the Ministry on request [1]. In the warehouse, this means being able to show which lot came from whom and went to whom.
Capabilities to look for in a WMS
| Capability | Why it matters | How to test it in a demo |
|---|---|---|
| Expiry management and FEFO | The earliest-expiring stock ships first; minimum remaining shelf-life rules apply. | Have a customer-specific minimum remaining shelf-life rule defined. |
| Lot traceability and recall | Which customers received a lot can be found in minutes. | Run a forward and backward traceability report for a lot. |
| Temperature zones and location rules | Frozen, chilled and ambient goods are put away only in the right zones. | Try to put a chilled item into an ambient zone. |
| Quality / quarantine | Stock awaiting sampling or analysis cannot be shipped. | Quarantine an item at receipt and release it. |
| Catch weight | For products sold by weight, the actual weight flows to the invoice. | Pick a catch-weight item and review the delivery note. |
Ask the vendor
- How many minutes does a recall scenario take with real data?
- Can you take data from temperature loggers or sensors?
- Are customer-specific shelf-life rules standard?
Directory solutions whose sources mention this sector
- Arge Bilisim — @rgeWMS
- ERD Software — Evira WMS
- Eryaz Zeus WMS — Mikro ecosystem
- Netadam — Net-X WMS
- Trbarkod WMS
The list is alphabetical and based on whether each solution's own sources mention this sector; it is not a ranking or recommendation. Checked: 2026-09-18.
To put these requirements to vendors in the same format use the RFP template; to test them in demos use the scripted demo guide.
Frequently asked questions
How deep must traceability go in a food warehouse?
In a recall you need to trace an item forward and backward: which batch it came from and where it went. A system without lot-level matching of receipts and issues is useless in a recall.
Is FEFO always the right rule?
For short shelf-life goods usually yes, but if a customer contract specifies a minimum remaining shelf life the rule must work alongside it. Ask whether the system can block a shipment on a remaining-life threshold.
Do handhelds work in a cold room?
Device choice is a separate decision from the WMS but affects the project directly. Temperature range and battery behaviour need their own assessment for freezer areas; on the WMS side, ask about offline capability.
Sources
- Law No. 5996 on Veterinary Services, Plant Health, Food and Feed, Art. 24 “Traceability” — mevzuat.gov.tr (accessed: 2026-09-19)
Method and corrections: editorial policy.