In this guide 6 sections
Near-expiry stock is found late because best-before dates live on cartons while the stock register only knows item and quantity, so nobody sees which lot must sell first. Capture the date per lot at receipt. Issue the earliest date first, and raise an alert weeks ahead, so sales can move the stock while it is still sellable.
The register knows the item but not the date
Most stores record forty cases of biscuits under one item code, while the best-before date sits printed on the outer case and nobody types it in. The register knows what you hold. It cannot say what to sell first.
Two deliveries of the same flavour then merge into one balance, although one lot expires in March and the other in June. Nobody can tell which shelf holds which lot until a picker turns a carton over, squints at the ink stamp and reads it aloud to the clerk.
Snack warehouses know this well. The stock looks fine from the aisle. Then a buyer rejects a delivery because only nine days remain on the label, and the loss is booked as an ordinary return.
- Item code with no lot number
- Date printed on the case but not captured
- Two deliveries merged into one balance
- Returns put back on the shelf without a date check
Where the dates get lost on the way in
The gap opens at the gate. A driver hands over the delivery note, the storekeeper counts cases against it, and the entry is made from the paper alone. The paper carries quantity and item, but rarely the manufacturing date or the expiry date that the picker will need weeks later.
Partial deliveries make it worse. A pallet arrives with three lots mixed on it and the entry is booked as one line, and fixing it later means opening cartons nobody has time for.
Check the pallet before signing. A two-minute look at the date stamp on three random cases, written on the receiving slip, catches a short-dated delivery while the driver is still in the yard.
Why first in, first out is not enough
Receipt order is a poor guide. A supplier can ship an older lot after a newer one, and a returned case from a distributor may carry a date earlier than anything on your shelf.
First expiry, first out is the rule. The picker is told which lot to pull, which needs the date on the record and a pick list that shows lot and date beside every line.
Ties need a rule too. When two lots share a date, take the smaller balance first, which clears bin space and stops a stray half pallet ageing quietly behind newer stock.
- Pick list showing lot and date per line
- Block on picking a later date while an earlier one is in stock
- Separate bin or zone for lots inside the alert window
- Quarantine status for returned cases until checked
Alerts that arrive while there is still time
Expiry reports are loss reports. A weekly report of expired stock is a report of losses, so the useful alert must arrive while the lot can still be sold. Set a window for each product, longer for slow movers like pickles and shorter for bread, and list every lot that has crossed it.
Send the list to whoever can act. A dispatch manager can push the lot to a buyer who takes older dates, a sales head can offer it to an institutional customer, and the owner approves write-offs.
Keep the alert short. Ten lines with an owner against each get acted on, while a list of two hundred lines goes unread, so sort by days left and cap the daily view.
- Alert window set per product, not one for all
- Daily list sorted by days left
- Owner for each alert, with an action note
- Write-off entry with lot, quantity and reason
A first week of fixing it
Walk the warehouse with a clipboard. For each item, note every lot on the shelf and its date, which shows how much stock already sits inside your window and gives you a clean opening balance.
From then on, capture lot and date at the gate before the stock leaves the unloading bay, and compare the pick list with what pickers pull. Tune the window after a month.
Repeat the walk each quarter and after any transfer of stock between rooms, because alerts built on a wrong register only create false comfort. The register must match the shelf.
Lot and best-before register
One page, two blocks. The upper block has a row for each lot, with columns for item code, lot number, both dates, quantity received, quantity left, bin location and alert date. Below it, a second table lists every lot inside the alert window, each with an owner and a decision to sell, discount, return or write off.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
What is the difference between best-before and use-by dates?
Best-before is about quality and food may stay safe afterwards, while use-by is about safety and the food must go on the date. Record whichever your product carries. Give use-by lots the stricter alert window.
How early should a near-expiry alert fire?
Base the window on sales speed and the time a buyer needs, so bakery lines need days while packed snacks or sauces may need several weeks. Review it after a month.
Can a spreadsheet handle lot-wise dates?
Yes, with strict discipline at receipt. It struggles once pickers need lot guidance on a handheld, or when returns and transfers move lots between bins and the sheet falls behind the shelf.
What do we do with stock already near its date?
Offer it first to customers who take short-dated goods, then discount it, then return it to the supplier if the terms allow. Log each decision with its reason. The pattern shows which products need smaller orders.