Batch and expiry dates in the app

In a warehouse of medicines, food, cosmetics or household chemicals, quantity is not the only figure that matters. The books show 200 pots of yoghurt "in stock", but what if 120 of them expire in five days? Counting time is the cheapest chance to check expiry: every carton is in your hands anyway. Below: how to record a batch and expiry date during a count, rules for reading dates, expiry zones and what to do with what you find.

Why quantity alone is not enough

The same item can sit in different batches, and the balance is kept by batch. An example: the books show 30 pieces of batch A and 50 of batch B. The count finds 20 of A and 60 of B. The total is 80 in both cases, so "by the overall number there is no difference". In fact 10 pieces were taken from the wrong batch: the older one stayed on the shelf and the newer one went out first. This kind of error leads to a pile-up of expired goods, and the overall number does not show it.

That is why goods with limited life are issued on FEFO terms: first to expire, first out. The rule can be checked only if the count is done batch by batch.

What to record, and how

Each line should hold four things: the item code, the batch (lot) number, the expiry date and the quantity. Record each batch on its own line and do not merge them. If different batches are mixed in one carton, open it and count them separately. For speed, when one batch has many cartons, enter the date once and keep adding to the quantity.

Often the barcode holds only the item code, and the batch and date are typed in from the label. Some two-dimensional codes contain the batch and date, but do not assume it; check your own labels first.

Three rules help when reading dates:

• Do not confuse the manufacturing date with the expiry date. If a label shows only the manufacturing date and a shelf life (say, 24 months), calculate the end date and record it.
• If only the month and year are shown (03/2027), the goods are usually treated as fit until the last day of that month. Write that down as a company rule.
• If a date is smudged or unreadable, do not guess: mark the position "date unknown" and set it aside.

Expiry zones

Colour every batch on the list on the traffic-light principle. The values below are a sample; you set the limits yourself to suit the goods and customer terms. For a product with a six-month life: more than 90 days left is green, 30 to 90 days is amber, under 30 days is red. For short-life dairy the limits are measured in days. Large retail outlets may require a certain share of remaining life on receipt, so check your contract too.

An example. Three batches of yoghurt were counted: batch A has 120 pieces with 5 days left; batch B has 50 pieces with 12 days; batch C has 30 pieces with 21 days. With limits of 7 and 14 days, A is red, B amber and C green. So a decision on 120 pieces is needed today: sell them at a discount or return them to the supplier. The overall figure (200 pieces) says nothing about it.

What to do with what you find

The colour of the zone decides the action:

1. Red: put it on sale at once or run a promotion, and return it to the supplier if the contract provides for that. Expired goods are moved to a separate place and kept off sale, and the write-off is documented with a report and photos.
2. Amber: move to the front of the shelf and warn the sales staff.
3. Green: store as usual.

Common mistakes:

• Only the first carton's date is recorded and the rest are assumed to be the same.
• A red list is drawn up but given to nobody, and the work ends there.
• Batches are merged into one line and the total says "all is well".

Conclusion

Counting by batch and expiry takes a little longer, but in return it shows losses in advance: goods near expiry can still be sold before they have to be written off. If you would rather hand the count to specialists, the StockCheck team agrees the counting routine beforehand and delivers the result as Excel or PDF.