Stock That Expires Is Money You Already Spent Twice

When stock expires on your shelf you pay for it twice: once when you bought it, and again when you dispose of it. Unlike most losses, this one is entirely predictable — you knew the expiry date on the day it arrived.

For a pharmacy, a cold store, a frozen foods business or a supermarket, expiry is not an accident. It is a cost you either manage or absorb.

Why "first in, first out" is not enough

Most owners know to sell older stock first. The problem is that the oldest delivery is not always the one expiring soonest. A batch bought in March with a long shelf life can outlast one bought in June that was already close to date.

What you actually want is FEFO — first expired, first out. That is only possible if you know the expiry date of each batch, not just the quantity on hand.

What to record at goods-in

The decisive moment is receiving, not selling. If it is not captured here, nothing downstream can recover it.

• Batch or lot number — the unit a recall or a claim will be issued against.
• Expiry date — per batch, not per product.
• Quantity received in that batch — so partial deliveries stay traceable.
• Supplier and cost — so you can see which supplier's stock keeps arriving short-dated.

That last one surprises people. Once you can measure it, you often find write-offs concentrate around one or two suppliers who are quietly clearing their own short-dated stock into your store.

The three numbers worth watching

Value expiring in the next 30, 60 and 90 days

This is the number that changes behaviour, because it is still actionable. Stock expiring in sixty days can be promoted, moved to a busier branch, or returned if your supplier terms allow. Stock that expired last week can only be counted.

Write-offs as a share of purchases

Track it monthly per category. You are looking for the trend and for categories that sit persistently high.

Stock sitting longer than its normal cycle

Slow lines tie up cash and are the most likely to expire. If an item has not moved in ninety days, the question is not whether to discount it but how much.

Cold chain adds a second clock

For frozen and chilled goods, shelf life assumes the temperature held. A few hours at the wrong temperature during a power cut can shorten it invisibly — the date on the pack still says one thing while the product says another.

If you handle cold stock, log temperature at receiving and at intervals, and record any excursion against the batch. When a customer complains or a claim arises, that log is the difference between a supplier credit and an argument.

Where the money comes back

Businesses that start tracking batches usually find the same pattern: a small number of lines account for most of the loss, and those lines are being over-ordered because nobody could see the write-offs against them. Fixing the order quantity on ten products often recovers more than any negotiation with suppliers.

Frequently asked questions

Is batch tracking worth it for a small pharmacy? For regulated goods it is not really optional — a recall requires you to identify affected batches and who received them. The write-off savings are the secondary benefit.

Do I need to scan barcodes? It helps at volume, but the discipline matters more than the hardware. Recording batch and expiry at goods-in gets you most of the value.

What about items with no expiry date? Track age instead. Slow-moving stock ties up the same cash whether or not it can spoil.