For a pharma distributor, expiry isn't a nice-to-have attribute. It decides what you can legally and commercially ship. Here's how to run FEFO (first expiry, first out) so short-dated batches don't reach retailers.
Start at the dock
Batch number, manufacturing date and expiry date should be captured when goods are received, on the same document that counts the cartons. If they're written in later, someone will forget.
- Make those attributes mandatory for your pharma product group.
- Reject or flag deliveries that arrive with too little shelf life left.
- Record good and damaged quantities separately.
Keep batches apart
Batches get mixed when they share a bin. Use a system that refuses to put two expiry dates in one bin, so a picker can't grab the wrong one by accident.
Pick by expiry, not by arrival
Suppliers don't ship in expiry order. A batch that arrived last week may expire before one that arrived last month. Picklists should draw the earliest valid expiry first.
Add an outbound tolerance
Retailers and distributors usually insist on a minimum remaining shelf life, often expressed as a number of days. Set an outbound expiry tolerance per product so lots inside that window are skipped automatically, even if they're the earliest.
Quarantine what has expired
Expired stock should be flagged dead automatically and removed from pickable inventory, then routed to write-off or return-to-supplier. Never rely on someone remembering to pull it.
Be able to trace a batch
When a supplier recalls a batch, you need to know where every unit went. A lot-level ledger (receipt, bin moves, picks, dispatches, returns) lets you answer in minutes, not days.
Checklist
- Batch and expiry mandatory at receiving
- No mixed expiry in a bin
- FEFO picklists with an outbound tolerance
- Expired lots auto-flagged dead
- Full movement ledger per batch
Download the Warehouse Efficiency Checklist for the wider list.
How Waretech does it
Waretech treats expiry as an attribute of the lot, picks FEFO with your tolerance, flags expired lots as dead stock, and logs every movement. See the pharma solution or book a demo on your own batches.