How does Starting Lot # get updated

We group items in an org by the type of item that they are.  Based on that, we assign a starting lot prefix.  So, all items that are type "A" have lots that start with "A", all items that are type "B" have lots that start with "B" etc.   When we add an item to the org, we apply a template based on the type of item.  That template assigns this start lot prefix, as well as  "Starting Lot #" of 10000.  At some point, there seems to be a utility that runs in the background that brings the new