Define the question.
Build the connected record.

Start small enough to test

Pick one product family and an investigation your team needs to complete. A useful first question is: which inputs created this batch, and which customers received it? Map the physical process before deciding how software should represent it.

• Define one product family and one tracing question.
• Choose product, lot, serial and logistics-unit identity levels.
• Map supplier receipts, transformations and downstream handovers.
• Preserve supplier-to-internal identifier relationships.
• Assign owners for event capture and missing-data resolution.
• Agree fields, units, time zones and exchange timing with partners.
• Plan corrections, offline capture and duplicate handling.
• Separate reported events from reviewed evidence.
• Test a split, a merge and a repacking exception.
• Run traceback and forward tracing using real sample records.
• Review access, retention and applicable product-specific rules.
• Document the pilot result before extending the scope.

Add a sourcing and evidence review

For a sourcing-focused pilot, map actual facilities, link material origins and custody, and assign owners to evidence gaps. Keep this data exercise separate from the framework-specific legal assessment. Use the market-access hub to find the separate EU and US guides.

Agree the pilot acceptance test

Choose a recent output and ask someone outside the pilot team to identify its input lots, events and destinations. Include a corrected record and a missing-data exception. Record how long the task takes and which relationships could not be reproduced.

Extend only after reviewing the gaps

Check whether failures came from identity mapping, capture practice, partner timing or evidence access. Fix recurring causes before adding more suppliers and facilities. The checklist cannot determine which legal rules apply to your products; assess those separately from the system pilot.