From spreadsheet to early warning: tracking expiry
Expiry dates are easy to record and easy to forget. Surfacing them before they pass is what prevents waste.
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Recording is not the same as watching
Many teams do record expiry dates. The problem is that a date in a column does nothing until someone looks at it, and looking takes time nobody has.
A better approach is to let the system do the watching and bring the soonest dates to the top.
Look 30 days ahead
A rolling window, such as lots expiring in the next 30 days, gives people time to use, transfer or return stock instead of discarding it.
Seeing expiring lots next to what is low at other locations also makes transfers an obvious option.
Make it everyone's job, lightly
Storekeepers can see what is expiring at their own location, while managers see it across all locations. Everyone gets the part that is relevant to them.