Managing products with an expiry date: best practices across sectors
Expiry dates aren't just a food-industry concern — cosmetics, chemical products, medical supplies, dietary supplements... as soon as a product has a limited shelf life, the same problem shows up: how to avoid finding out too late that it's expired. Every sector has its own precise rules, but the underlying tracking principles are shared.
The basic principle: oldest expiry out first
The most common method across sectors is FEFO ("First Expired, First Out"): the product whose expiry date comes soonest should leave stock first, regardless of when it arrived. Without an explicit system, the natural habit is to grab whatever's physically most accessible — often the most recently arrived product, sitting in front of the others.
Useful tracking prevents, it doesn't just record
Waiting to stumble on an expired product when it's about to be used is already too late. Tracking that adds real value warns before the deadline, with enough time to sell it through, feature it, or pull it cleanly — not just log the date to check on it case by case.
The date alone isn't enough
Tracking a date without linking it to the rest of stock is pointless: you need to know how many units are affected, where they are, and who should be alerted. A product with an approaching expiry that nobody gets notified about changes nothing compared to not tracking the date at all.
Frequently asked questions
?Is expiry tracking mandatory in every sector?+
It depends entirely on the sector and country — some fields (food, pharmaceuticals) have precise regulatory obligations, others don't. When in doubt, it's better to check the regulation specific to your activity rather than rely on generic principles.
?How does Fluxalyo handle expiry dates?+
It's a setting you can enable in company settings: every product can then have a tracked expiry date, visible right on its page.
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