Method for producing and maintaining an assignment of object data of an object to a changing physical position of the object in a sorting device, with the steps: feeding in an object at an entry point to the sorting device, capturing and storing identity data as part of the object data of the object; on the basis of sorting data, determining a transfer point assigned to the object; transporting the item as far as the specified transfer point; discharging the object at the specified transfer point; capturing optical object data of each object ejected at the transfer point once the object has reached a predetermined position on the sorting device, at the transfer point or along a delivery path extending from the transfer point to a removal point, and storing the optical object data as a further part of the object data of the object; transporting the object along the delivery path; and during that transportation, tracking the discharged object on the basis of the optical object data by means of tracking, and storing a current position of the object as a further part of the object data of the object, as well as a device for executing the process.