In sites that handle products with a shelf life — food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics — managing expiry (best-before / use-by) dates is essential. Here is a plain-language guide to the inventory basics for preventing waste from expiry and the accidental shipment of expired goods.
What is expiry date management?
Expiry date management means tracking stock of the same product separately “by date” so you can use up the oldest first.
Best-before, use-by, expiry — the names vary, but the idea is the same. Even for the same product, “stock expiring at the end of August 2026” and “stock expiring at the end of December 2026” are counted separately, and the nearest-dated stock is shipped or used first.
Why expiry date management matters
- Reducing waste: see which stock is nearing its date and decide to sell or use it up in time.
- Preventing shipment of expired goods: avoid the accident of shipping or serving expired stock.
- Enforcing first-in-first-out (FIFO): support a workflow that consumes older stock first. → What is first-in-first-out (FIFO)
- Optimizing ordering: judge the quantity you can use up within the date, and avoid over-purchasing.
Without expiry management, old stock left at the back of the shelf quietly expires — a “hidden waste” that adds up over time.
How to manage expiry dates
- Record the date as part of the stock information: at receiving, record the date per product and per received batch.
- Arrange and use in date order: make first-in-first-out the default for both storage and shipping.
- Get an early warning as dates approach: list expired and soon-to-expire stock and decide on markdowns, promotions or consumption.
Combined with lot management, you can track “which lot reaches its date when” more precisely. → What is lot management
The limits of managing expiry in Excel
- Splitting stock by date adds rows, making updates on every inbound/outbound cumbersome.
- Excel won’t warn you automatically about expired or soon-to-expire items, so you fall back on manual checks.
- The latest date information is hard to share between the floor (store, warehouse) and the office.
Expiry date management in an inventory management system
In the cloud inventory management system “KURAPRO,” you can start managing stock by date simply by enabling expiry as a stock field.
- You can manage stock counts separately by expiry date even for the same product.
- Expired stock is automatically shown as “expired” in stock alerts, helping you decide on disposal or returns.
- It can be managed together with lot and location, supporting traceability.
For settings and steps, see Stock fields (location, lot, expiry) and Stock alerts in the user guide.
Summary
- Expiry date management means separating stock by date and using up the oldest first.
- Its purposes are cutting waste, preventing wrong shipments, and enforcing first-in-first-out.
- An inventory management system can automate by-date management and expiry alerts.
With KURAPRO, you can manage stock by expiry, lot and location using nothing but your smartphone’s barcode scanner. Try it now on the free plan.
