Expiration date management
What is expiration date management?
Expiration date management is an inventory control process that ensures perishable products are sold or disposed of before they expire.
It involves tracking product shelf life and prioritizing items closer to expiration. It is an essential process for warehouses handling products with limited lifespans, including food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Key components of expiry date management
Expiry date tracking
During the receiving process, operators enter product manufacturing and expiration dates into the warehouse management system (WMS). The WMS assigns products to appropriate storage zones and sets alerts that trigger action as products approach expiry.
Inventory rotation rules
The WMS enforces inventory rotation rules to ensure that items with the shortest shelf life are picked first. It does this while still taking into account customer requirements—for example, the time retailers need to sell products before expiration.
Automated inventory removal
The WMS automatically removes expired items from picking eligibility and generates removal tasks for operators. This maintains inventory quality and regulatory compliance without the need for manual monitoring.
Perishable inventory rotation methods
First expired, first out (FEFO)
The FEFO warehouse approach prioritizes items by expiration date. This prevents waste by ensuring that products with the shortest shelf life are shipped first, rather than assuming older receipts expire first.
First in, first out (FIFO)
FIFO assumes that items received earlier will expire earlier. It works well for products with consistent shelf life, simplifying rotation by shipping the oldest inventory first.
Last in, first out (LIFO)
LIFO ships the newest inventory first and isn't commonly used for perishable goods. However, it can appear in situations where recently produced stock offers quality or compliance advantages.