What is batch tracking?

Recording a batch or lot number for each receipt and sale so goods can be traced.

How do I reduce expiry losses?

Sell FEFO, watch near-expiry stock, discount or transfer early and agree return terms with suppliers.

What is a recall trace?

Finding every customer and invoice that received a recalled batch.

Does software refuse expired goods?

NexoraIMS refuses expired goods on receipt and never picks recalled batches.

Batch and Expiry Tracking: A Practical Guide for Pharma, Food and FMCG

If you sell medicines, food or anything with a shelf life, the batch is the unit of safety and the expiry date is the unit of profit. This guide shows what to capture and when.

What to capture on receipt

Batch or lot number
Manufacturing date
Expiry date (or shelf life)
Quantity received and rejected
Supplier and bin location

Expired goods should be refused at the door. Stock that needs inspection should wait in quarantine until passed.

Sell by expiry, not by arrival

Use FEFO so the earliest expiry sells first. Compare it with other methods in FIFO vs FEFO vs LIFO.

Watch the clock

Time to expiry	Action
More than 6 months	Normal sale
3-6 months	Prioritise, push to fast customers
1-3 months	Discount, transfer to the faster-selling warehouse
Under 1 month	Clear, return to supplier, or write off

Thresholds vary by product and customer terms; many retailers refuse short-dated goods.

Recall readiness

When a manufacturer recalls batch B-402 you need to know within minutes which customers and invoices received it, how much is still in stock and what has been returned. With batch numbers on every invoice line, this is one lookup rather than a week of searching.

Checklist for distributors

Batch and expiry captured on every receipt
Expired goods refused
FEFO picking default
Daily near-expiry alert
Clearance plan for stock at risk
Recall trace tested twice a year

In NexoraIMS

All of the above are built in: batch tracking, FEFO, daily alerts, the Expiry, clearance and recall page with discount suggestions and the recall impact list. See batch and expiry tracking software.