Supplement inventory needs more than lot numbers. Quarantine, quality release, formula versions, COA dependencies, contract manufacturing and returned-product disposition must fit around the Fishbowl operating record.
1. Build a status model before an inventory model
Define what quarantined, approved, rejected, held, in-process and released mean operationally. Document who can change each status and what transactions are permitted from it.
2. Keep approved formula data separate from execution
The controlled product or quality record should own the authorized formula. Fishbowl should receive only the operational BOM version and values needed for purchasing and production, with validation against silent drift.
3. Treat COAs as evidence—not release
A document can be present and still be incomplete, inconsistent or unacceptable. The system can track document dependencies and route review, but quality personnel remain responsible for approval.
4. Make contract manufacturing observable
- Open purchase and production commitments
- Ingredient or packaging dependencies
- Expected and actual batch dates
- Finished-lot, quantity and expiration
- Batch-record and evidence status
- Receipt and release timing
5. Allocate only releasable inventory
Subscriptions, retail orders and DTC promotions should compete against the inventory the business has authorized for distribution—not the physical on-hand total.
6. Control returned products
Returned supplements need an identifiable quarantine path and an authorized disposition decision. They should never move silently into saleable inventory.
Where AI belongs
Use agents to locate missing evidence, detect formula-to-BOM differences and flag future subscription shortages. Do not use an agent to replace quality review or release authority.