Trace each toy from ABS granule lot and mould cavity to carton, test report and retailer order.

Most toys are many small parts. A pull-back car may have an injection moulded ABS body, a pad printed windscreen, a rubber tyre, a die-cast axle and a window box, each made on separate days. When a buyer reports a loose wheel, the factory must name the lot behind every part inside that carton.

Production and traceability software for toy plants keeps the shot count, the paint batch, the assembly belt tally and the carton marking in one chain. A buyer’s complaint then starts from the carton and ends at the granule bag.

A buyer sends an order by item code, with a ship window, a carton marking spec and a packaging artwork file. The planner splits it into moulded shells, soft vinyl parts, decoration, sub assemblies and final pack. Moulds are shared across items, so the press plan must respect cavity block swaps, colour purges and the hopper dryer time before each run. Outside work such as spray painting, embroidery or plush stuffing goes to subcontract units, with piece counts noted on the way out and the way back.

On the floor, setters record shots, short shots, flash and sink marks by cavity. Decoration crews log paint lots and pad printing passes. Assembly belts tally finished pieces each hour, and the quality desk runs drop, tensile pull, torque and small parts cylinder tests on samples. Cartons are packed to a packing list and marked. Then they wait for the buyer’s inspector. Seasonal peaks stack many items at once, and late artwork stops a line. So does a changed battery supplier.