Commission Events
A commission event establishes the beginning of recorded traceability for an item instance at a Location.
Start with Understanding Event-Based Traceability in Wholechain for shared concepts. To perform this event in the application, see Commission.
What a commission event represents
A commission event establishes the beginning of recorded traceability for an item instance at a Location.
A beginner-friendly way to read it: "Here is this item and lot or serial identifier, in this quantity, at this Location. Its recorded traceability starts here."
When and why to use it
Use commission when you want to intentionally begin the recorded history of an instance. It can be used by:
- A first-mile operator, such as a farm, a vessel, or a harvesting operation, creating the first record.
- A mid-supply-chain participant, such as a processor or packer, that wants to establish traceability for something it creates or first documents.
It can establish traceability for raw materials, semi-finished goods, or finished goods.
What it does to traceability history
Commission creates the first record in an instance's history. Every later event (ship, transform, aggregate, and so on) builds on it.
It establishes the start of the recorded history. It does not prove the item had no earlier physical history. A lot of potatoes commissioned at a packing shed was probably grown somewhere first. Commission simply says: this is where our records begin.
Don't expect missing history to appear later. If you commission an instance without upstream records, Wholechain won't attach earlier history automatically afterward. Choose commission when starting the record here is what you intend.
Required information and master-data prerequisites
Commission uses the five core information categories described in the overview:
| Category | For commission |
|---|---|
| Location | Where the item instance is established. |
| Item | The product being commissioned. |
| Quantity | The amount, in the item's configured unit of measure. |
| Lot or serial identifier | The specific instance's identifier. |
| Event date and time | When the instance was established, for example when harvest occurred or when it was first documented. |
Before you commission, set up:
- The item in Trade Items, with its unit of measure.
- Your Location in Locations, beneath your company as a Trade Partner (see Trade Partners).
Your customers, integrations, or policies may ask for more information, such as origin details. Follow the requirements that apply to you.
Relationship to inventory, lots or serials, and other events
- Inventory. Commissioning adds the quantity to your recorded inventory of that item instance at that Location.
- Lots or serials. The identifier you assign here is fixed when the instance is created. It must be unique among your own instances of that item, and later events refer to it. Changing it afterward requires a transform. See How lot and serial identifiers work.
- Other events. Commission usually comes before ship, transform, or aggregate. Receiving goods can also start your history instead: see Receive Events and Starting Traceability in Wholechain.
Examples
First mile. A farm harvests 1,000 kg of whole salmon. It commissions lot SAL-0412 at the farm Location. This is the first record. Later events show it moving to a processor.
Mid-supply-chain. A packing company repacks bulk produce it grew itself into retail cases and wants traceability for the new cases from the point of packing. It commissions the cases with new lot identifiers at its packing facility. (If the produce arrived from another company and you want to keep the relationship to the supplier's lot, you would use receive and transform instead.)
Common misunderstandings
- "Commission means the item is new." It means recorded traceability is new. The item may have a long earlier history that isn't in Wholechain.
- "I can commission now and fill in the supplier's history later." Commission doesn't link to missing upstream records. If you received goods from a supplier, receive is usually the better start.
- "Commission is only for farms and boats." It can be used anywhere your process establishes an instance, including by processors and brands.
- "Commissioning the same goods twice is a safe way to correct a mistake." A second record of the same physical goods can double-count them. If you recorded something incorrectly, you'll need to remove the event and re-run it.
Relevant restrictions
- Commission needs an item, a Location, a quantity in the configured unit of measure, an identifier, and a date.
- Only your own Locations can be used. If a Trade Partner is Wholechain connected, your account can't commission at that partner's Locations. See connected trade partners.
Notes on standards and regulations
- GDST (Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability): In GDST 1.2, commission-based workflows are limited to feed, hatching, farm harvest, and wild catch contexts. GDST 2.0 permits general commission events more broadly. See GDST and Wholechain.
- FSMA 204 (the U.S. FDA Food Traceability Rule): FSMA 204 records begin at specific points in the supply chain, such as harvesting or initial packing. FSMA 204 and Wholechain explains which Wholechain events fit.
Neither choosing commission nor following this article establishes compliance with a standard or regulation.
Related documentation
- To perform this event, see Commission. For all event types, see the Wholechain Events Overview.
- Understanding Event-Based Traceability in Wholechain
- Receive Events · Transform Events · Ship Events
- Starting Traceability in Wholechain
- Event-Based Traceability FAQ
- Trade Items · Locations · Trade Partners
- GDST and Wholechain · FSMA 204 and Wholechain