Planning a Product Catalog and COA Library
Updated · Vanta Foundry
Short answer
How should a research-supply business plan its product catalog and COA library?
Plan the catalog and the COA library around three separate identifiers: a product and size (the SKU), a production lot, and a report number. Each product page links to the reports for the lots on sale, and the library lets anyone search by lot number to find the report for the unit in their hands. Keep the two in step every time a lot is added or retired.
Identifiers
- SKU. One per product and size. It identifies what is sold.
- Lot number. One per production batch. It identifies the material in the unit and is printed on the label.
- Report number. One per laboratory report. It identifies the document.
- Keep the three separate. One SKU can have many lots over time, and one lot can have more than one report.
Product Pages
A product page states what the material is, the sizes offered and the research-use-only statement. It should also show the lots currently in stock, each with a link to its report.
Avoid putting a single purity figure in the product description. It belongs to one lot, and it goes out of date the moment a new lot arrives. Link to the report instead.
Batch Documents
The Vanta Labs COA library follows this pattern: per-batch reports from named third-party laboratories, with Kovera Labs reports checkable on the lab's verify page and Horizon Analytical reports searchable by lot number.
- The report file itself, stored at an address that does not change.
- Product, size, lot number, report number, laboratory and report date as data, not only inside the file.
- A link to the laboratory's own verification page where one exists.
- A note of which tests the report covers, so buyers do not assume more.
Updates
When a new lot arrives, add its report before the lot goes on sale. When a lot sells out, keep its report in the library, because buyers holding units from that lot still need to find it.
Decide who makes these updates and write the steps down. A library that falls behind the stock is worse than none, because it points buyers to the wrong document.
Search
- Search by lot number, with exact matches shown first.
- Accept lot numbers typed with different case, spaces or dashes.
- Search by product name and by report number too.
- Show results with product, size, lot, laboratory and date on one line.
- Make the search work well on a phone, where most lookups happen.
Quality Checks
- Every lot on sale has a report in the library.
- Every report link opens the right file.
- The lot on the label, the page and the report match exactly.
- No purity figure appears anywhere it cannot be traced to a published report.
- Retired lots stay searchable.
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