We are proud to announce that CrownQMS now supports co-packing. If a co-packer makes some or all of your products, you can record each run in Crown: who made it, the batch number, the ingredient lots that went in, what came out, and their paperwork. From there, the batch goes through QC, release, trace and mock recall like any batch you make yourself.
Why we built it
Most food safety software assumes you make everything yourself. The reality is that many small brands don't, and instead work with a contract manufacturer or co-packer; a co-packer runs the line, and the brand sells the finished product, holds the stock, and answers for it when something goes wrong. When a customer, a retailer or an inspector starts from the lot code on your label, they ask the brand.
Until now, that left a gap in Crown and most other traditional QMS platforms. A co-packed product had no detailed batch record for the brand owner to review and trace, so its lots had nothing behind them, and a trace stopped at your door. The co-packer's batch record lived in an email thread or in plant records that the brand could only access in limited detail. Co-packing support closes that gap, so a co-packed lot carries the same trail as one you made.
Set up once
Add the co-packer as a supplier and set its procurement channel to Contract manufacturer. Then on each product, choose where it's made: in your facility, at a co-packer, or both. A product made at a co-packer doesn't need a recipe, and you can set a usual co-packer to fill in each run for you. Many brands make some products in-house and send others out, which is why "both" exists.
Record each run
From Batches, choose New batch, then At a co-packer. The run opens on its own page, in five steps:
The run
The co-packer, their batch number, the day it was made and the product.
Ingredients
For each one, pick From our stock, Sourced by the co-packer, or Not recorded.
Production output
Units per size, the lot code and best before. Use Crown's lot code format, or enter exactly what the co-packer printed on the package.
Documents
Their batch record, certificate of analysis and anything else they sent.
Review
A summary of what recording will do, before you record.
The ingredients step is where co-packing usually gets lost, so each lot says where it came from. Lots you sent leave your stock when you record the run. Lots the co-packer bought are recorded with their supplier and lot code from the co-packer's batch record. They never enter your stock, because you never held them, but a trace or supplier recall on that lot code still finds your batch. Ingredients the co-packer keeps on their own record are marked Not recorded, and the trace and mock recall say so, so nobody has to guess later.
Then the normal path
The new lots arrive on hold and the batch opens at Internal QC. Release works as it does for any batch: send it to a lab or release it. If no certificate of analysis is attached, Crown warns you at release but doesn't stop you, because the certificate often arrives after the pallet. Add it under the batch's documents when it comes.
Where it shows up
The co-packer and their batch number appear on the lot, in the trace, on the mock recall PDF and on the batch record PDF. On the Pro plan, your food safety plan lists the co-packer as a contract manufacturer under supplier control, and its process flow shows their step as outsourced. A product made only at a co-packer shows no recipe stages of yours; one made both ways shows both.
Two limits to know. Recording a run can't be undone; corrections go through Amend, as on any batch. And a co-packed batch can't be reworked in Crown: dispose of it, or record the co-packer's rework as a new co-packed run.
Before your first co-packed run
Is the co-packer on your supplier list, with their licence and certifications current?
Do you know whether they print your lot code or assign their own?
Have you agreed which ingredients you send and which they buy?
Will you get their batch record and certificate of analysis for every run?
Co-packing support is available now on both Core and Pro plans. Step-by-step instructions, with screenshots, are in the help article Recording a co-packed run.
Frequently asked questions
Which plans include co-packing support?
Both. Recording co-packed runs, tracing them and running mock recalls on them are on Core and Pro. The food safety plan, which names the co-packer, is part of Pro.
Can I record a co-packed run if I never see the ingredient lots?
Yes. Mark those ingredients Not recorded. The trace and mock recall will say the co-packer holds them, which is an accurate statement of what you know.
Does Crown block release if the certificate of analysis is missing?
No. It shows a banner on the batch and a notice in the release confirmation, and you can release anyway and attach the certificate later.
