TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to Batch & Expiry Management

Locad provides robust Batch & Expiry Management to help brands, customer success teams, and warehouse operations maintain strict quality control. This is critical for products like food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and supplements where shelf-life is constrained.


By tracking batches and expiry dates:

  • Quality Assurance: Close-to-expiry stock is automatically quarantined to prevent shipping spoiled goods to customers.
  • FEFO Picking: Outbound fulfillment defaults to First Expired, First Out (FEFO) to minimize stock wastage.
  • Recall Readiness: Precise batch traceability ensures you can easily locate and block affected stock in case of a product recall.

Walkthrough (Workflow & Setup)


Step 1: Product Setup in Locad

To manage batch and expiry, configuration begins at the Inventory Product level:

Option A: Individual Product Setup (via Locad Merchant Portal)

  1. Navigate to Products > Inventory Products.
  2. Enable the expiry_managed_enabled checkbox (or batch_managed_enabled).
  3. Set the sell_byshelf-life requirement. This defines the minimum days of remaining shelf life needed for an item to be considered sellable.
    • Allowed options: 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, 180, 365 days. (Defaults to 10 days if unspecified).

Option B: Bulk Product Setup (via File Upload)

You can enable/disable expiry or batch management in bulk for multiple products by uploading an Excel template:

  1. Navigate to Products > Inventory Products > Bulk Upload.
  2. Download the product upload template.
  3. Update the following columns in the spreadsheet:
    • Expirable: Enter True to enable expiry tracking, or False to disable it.
    • Batchable: Enter True to enable batch tracking, or False to disable it.
    • SellBy: Enter the shelf life threshold in days (e.g., 30 or 60).

Stock Restriction: You can only toggle the Expirable or Batchable flag if the product's current physical inventory stock in the warehouse is exactly 0.


Step 2: Inbound Receiving at the Warehouse

When inventory arrives at the warehouse (Inbound ASN/Consignment):

  1. The warehouse system detects that the product is batch/expiry-enabled.
  2. Warehouse staff are required to scan or manually input the Batch Number and Expiry Date during receiving.
  3. This automatically records the batch details and expiration dates under the product's inventory records.


Step 3: Outbound Order Allocation & Picking (FEFO)

When a B2C or B2B order is received:

  1. The WMS uses FEFO (First Expired, First Out) logic to allocate the order item to the lot with the earliest expiration date that is still within the valid sell-by window.
  2. The warehouse picker collects the items from the designated lot.
  3. Once shipped, we track and logging the exact batch number and expiry date sent to the customer.


Step 4: Automated Expiry Quarantine

Locad automatically runs periodic checks to identify items that are nearing their expiration date:

  1. The system calculates if the remaining shelf life is less than the required 'Sell By' days.
  2. Any stock that matches this condition is automatically marked as expired in the warehouse.
  3. The warehouse quarantines this stock, preventing it from being allocated or shipped to customers.

FAQs:

  1. Can I configure a sell_by threshold on a product without enabling expiry management?

    • Ans - No. The sell_by setting requires lot and batch tracking to function. The system will throw an error if you attempt to add sell_by days while expiry_managed_enabled is set to False.

  2. What happens to quarantined / expired stock in the warehouse?

    • Ans - Once stock is updated to an "Expired/Unusable" state, it is marked as expired in the WMS. Merchants and customer success teams must coordinate a disposal order or stock pullout (B2B order) to clear the physical space.