Lot and expiry control workflow: capture, FEFO, alerts and holds
Food and medical-device traceability have different actors, records and retention duties. SFCR section 91 normally requires requested food records within 24 hours unless the Minister specifies another permitted period; device distribution records must support a rapid recall. Plan the required extraction as well as capture at receipt and pick.
All plans record lot and expiry references on receipts, balances, picks and transfers and support FEFO selection. The expiry view has configurable thresholds, initially 30, 60 and 90 days. Authorized managers can request quantity holds; there is no automatic lot-wide recall stop or built-in lot-trace report.
Connect workflow fit to rollout context earlier.
All plans record lot and expiry references on receipts, balances, picks and transfers and support FEFO selection. The expiry view has configurable thresholds, initially 30, 60 and 90 days. Authorized managers can request quantity holds; there is no automatic lot-wide recall stop or built-in lot-trace report.
Food, beverage and health product warehouses on every plan.
Distributors that must ship the earliest-expiring lot first.
Teams that need suspect stock held with a reason while a question is open.
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ImplementationCompare related WarePulse options
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Plan the next warehouse step
Bring one regulated item with its lots and a week of orders, and we will run it through receipt, allocation, an expiry alert and a hold with you.
Workflow steps
- Receive two lots of one item with different expiry dates and allocate an order.
- Try to pick the later lot and read the override prompt.
- Place the earlier lot on a recall hold and confirm it leaves available stock.
Implementation planning
- Items import from CSV with their lot and expiry tracking settings, and opening stock imports with lot numbers and expiry dates.
- The checked allocator uses expiry for expiry-tracked stock. Do not rely on the stored strategy field as FIFO or LIFO execution; validate any required non-expiry rotation separately.
- A lot trace list has to be extracted through work scoped during implementation, since there is no built-in trace report.
Questions to resolve
- Can we release a held lot ourselves? Only a manager can place or release a hold.
- Will FEFO block urgent orders? A picker can take another lot with a recorded reason.
What WarePulse delivers inside this workflow
How WarePulse changes execution, handoffs, and reviewability inside this workflow.
Items are set to track lots, expiry or both, and tracked items cannot be received without that data.
Allocation takes the earliest-expiring lot in active locations, and the pick enforces it; overrides need a reason.
The expiry view uses configurable thresholds, initially 30, 60 and 90 days. An authorized action holds available expired quantity at its existing location and reports skipped balances or errors; it does not physically move the stock.
Holds with a reason (quality check, damage, customer return, expired, recall, investigation or other), placed and released only by managers.
Quarantine locations keep stock out of allocation.
Lot and expiry move with the stock on transfers.
What this workflow usually gets wrong
The process friction that quietly extends lead time, hides exceptions, and stretches labor.
Lots are written on paperwork but not on the stock record, so a recall starts with a search.
Pickers take the nearest pallet, not the earliest-expiring one.
Expired stock is found when a customer rejects it.
A suspect lot keeps shipping while the question is investigated.
Built for warehouses where this station is the bottleneck
The teams and roles this workflow impacts first.
Food, beverage and health product warehouses on every plan.
Distributors that must ship the earliest-expiring lot first.
Teams that need suspect stock held with a reason while a question is open.
Four controls, in order
Capture the identifiers before putaway, check FEFO selection at the pick, and review approaching expiry. A hold removes specified available quantity from new allocation. A recall procedure must also review other locations, reservations and shipments, with physical segregation where required.
Turn on lot and expiry tracking item by item, starting with regulated products.
Review FEFO override reasons every week.
Act on the 90-day alert, not the 30-day one.
Agree before go-live how a lot trace request will be answered.
Where to go next
Lot tracking
What WarePulse stores for each lot and where it appears.
See detailsFood and beverage
Rotation, retailer rules and expiry for food warehouses.
See detailsCompliance support
Records and audit logging for traceability questions.
See detailsFEFO composite scenario
A disclosed composite scenario for FEFO distribution.
See detailsPricing
Lot and expiry tracking is included on every plan, from Standard at $699 CAD a month for one warehouse.
See detailsImplementation
Loading lot-tracked items and opening stock with lots and expiry dates.
See detailsTrust Center
Audit logging and roles behind holds and releases.
See detailsHow to roll it out
Set tracking
Mark which items track lots, expiry or both.
Capture at receipt
Record lot and expiry on each receipt line; tracked items cannot be received without them.
Rotate by expiry
Allocate and pick the earliest-expiring lot; any other lot needs a reason.
Act on alerts
Review the configured expiry thresholds and request an authorized hold for available expired quantity. Check skipped balances and errors and arrange any required physical segregation.
Hold what is suspect
Place a hold with a reason such as recall or investigation; only a manager can release it.
Frequently asked questions
Does WarePulse support FIFO or LIFO?+
Which plans include lot and expiry tracking?+
Can WarePulse produce a lot trace report?+
Who can release a held lot?+
Start with the station creating the most operational drag today.
Run one regulated item through receipt, allocation, a 90-day alert and a recall hold, and check that the lot was known at every step.
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