Common FEFO Mistakes and Best Practices for Beginners

FEFO (First Expired, First Out) is a powerful concept for protecting product quality and reducing waste, but beginners often stumble on practical implementation details. This article highlights common mistakes people make when applying FEFO and provides friendly, actionable best practices to avoid them.

Common FEFO mistakes

• Poor expiry capture at receiving: If expiry dates are not recorded accurately or consistently at intake, FEFO cannot work. Common issues include illegible labels, inconsistent date formats (e.g., DD/MM/YY vs MM/DD/YY), and human transcription errors.
• No lot or batch association: Without linking expiry dates to lot numbers or barcodes, systems can’t enforce FEFO at the unit or case level. This leads to the wrong items being picked even when the intention is to follow FEFO.
• Assuming FIFO equals FEFO: FIFO (First In, First Out) is often used interchangeably with FEFO, but FIFO rotates by receipt date, not expiry. When newer stock has an earlier expiry, FIFO can leave short-dated items behind.
• Poor warehouse layout: Storage areas that mix expiry dates or make near-expiry items inaccessible force pickers to use convenience over rotation rules. This occurs when space is limited or racking is not organized by expiry.
• Lack of system configuration or automation: Manual picking without software rules or barcode scanning increases errors and slows operations. Many warehouses try to enforce FEFO manually and find it unsustainable at scale.
• Ineffective handling of exceptions: Mixed-expiry shipments, damaged labels, and short-dated surpluses are often handled in ad-hoc ways that create confusion and inconsistency.

Best practices to fix and prevent mistakes

• Standardize and enforce expiry labeling: Require suppliers to use barcode labels that include expiry date and lot number. On receipt, scan labels to automatically capture expiry in your system. Establish a single date format and train staff to follow it.
• Implement lot/batch tracking: Configure your WMS or inventory system to associate expiry with lots. This allows automated picking logic and traceability for recalls or quality issues.
• Configure pick logic for FEFO: Make FEFO the default rotation rule for SKUs that are time-sensitive. Use software to prioritize the earliest expiry within the same SKU, and create alerts for exceptions or manual overrides.
• Design storage for visibility and flow: Use flow-through racks, dedicated pick faces by expiry, and clear signage. Keep short-dated items at prominent, accessible locations so they are naturally picked first.
• Create SOPs and train staff regularly: Document receiving, picking, and exception-handling procedures. Use hands-on training with real examples of mixed-expiry cases and barcode scanning drills.
• Use dashboards and KPIs: Monitor metrics like expired units, short-dated inventory percentage, and write-offs. Dashboards make problems visible and help prioritize corrective actions.
• Automate clearance workflows: Set up automatic triggers when items fall below a threshold (e.g., expiry in 30 days) to route inventory for promotions, transfers, donation, or return. Automation speeds response and reduces last-minute panic.

Handling specific problematic scenarios

• Mixed-expiry shipments: At receiving, separate mixed-expiry items and re-label them by expiry before putting them into storage. If mixing occurs because of supplier practices, consider contractual changes or rejecting non-compliant shipments.
• Short-dated overstock: Coordinate with sales and marketing for targeted promotions; consider temporary price reductions or bundling strategies. For regulated products, follow compliance rules for donation or destruction and document actions.
• Misplaced or mislabeled stock: Conduct periodic slot audits and cycle counts focused on expiry dates. Use scanning to reconcile physical location with system data and fix discrepancies immediately.

Real-life beginner-friendly example:

A small pharmacy warehouse repeatedly shipped items with too-short shelf life because staff followed FIFO. The fix was straightforward: start scanning expiry dates at receiving, configure the WMS to pick by earliest expiry, and rearrange three high-turn SKUs so that the nearest-expiry pallets were front-facing. Within two months, write-offs due to expiry fell by half.

Tools and low-cost interventions for beginners

• Barcode labels and handheld scanners: Often the most cost-effective way to capture expiry data reliably.
• Simple WMS features: Even entry-level systems usually support lot tracking and configurable pick logic—confirm these capabilities before buying.
• Visual controls: Colored bin tags for short-dated items or dedicated clearance racks help staff follow FEFO without constant supervision.

Final friendly advice

FEFO is practical and yields quick wins, but success depends on small, consistent actions: capture expiry reliably, make the right items easy to pick, let systems enforce the rules, and give staff clear procedures and training. Start with a focused pilot—one SKU family or zone—learn from that experience, and scale the practices across your operation. With modest effort, FEFO becomes a habit that saves money, improves customer trust, and supports compliance.