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Expiry Risk

Expiry risk analysis helps identify inventory that may expire before it’s sold or used, enabling proactive management to minimize waste and losses.

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Operations (Warehouse/Inventory)

Start here:
  1. Expiry Risk Dashboard - View inventory at risk of expiring
  2. Expiring Soon - Items expiring in near term
  3. Expiry Alerts - Active expiry alerts
  4. Expiry Actions - Take action on expiring items
Daily workflow:
  • Review expiry risk dashboard
  • Check items expiring soon
  • Review expiry alerts
  • Take action on expiring items (FEFO, markdowns, etc.)

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Planner (Forecasting + Replenishment)

Start here:
  1. Expiry Risk Analysis - Analyze expiry risk by product/channel
  2. Expiry Trends - Identify expiry patterns
  3. Expiry Prevention - Adjust planning to prevent expiry
  4. Expiry Impact - Understand expiry impact on planning
Daily workflow:
  • Review expiry risk analysis
  • Identify expiry patterns
  • Adjust forecasts to prevent expiry
  • Optimize replenishment to minimize expiry

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Finance (COGS, Holding Cost, Cost-to-Serve)

Start here:
  1. Expiry Cost Analysis - Analyze cost of expired inventory
  2. Expiry Risk Valuation - Value of inventory at expiry risk
  3. Expiry Prevention ROI - Return on expiry prevention investment
Daily workflow:
  • Review expiry cost analysis
  • Monitor expiry risk valuation
  • Analyze expiry prevention ROI
  • Generate expiry reports

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Executive (Summary Dashboards)

Start here:
  1. Expiry Risk Summary - High-level expiry risk overview
  2. Expiry KPIs - Key expiry performance indicators
  3. Expiry Trends - Long-term expiry trends
Daily workflow:
  • Review expiry risk summary
  • Monitor expiry KPIs
  • Track expiry trends
  • Review expiry prevention initiatives

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Expiry Risk Concepts

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Expiry Date Tracking

Expiry date tracking enables:
  • FEFO (First Expiry, First Out): Prioritize items expiring first
  • Expiry Alerts: Alert when items approaching expiry
  • Expiry Risk Analysis: Identify items at risk
  • Expiry Reporting: Report on expiry events

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Expiry Risk Categories

Inventory can be categorized by expiry risk:
  • Critical Risk: Expiring within 30 days
  • High Risk: Expiring within 60 days
  • Medium Risk: Expiring within 90 days
  • Low Risk: Expiring beyond 90 days
  • No Risk: No expiry date or long expiry

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FEFO (First Expiry, First Out)

FEFO prioritizes items expiring first:
  • Picking: Pick items with earliest expiry
  • Shipping: Ship items with earliest expiry
  • Dispensing: Dispense items with earliest expiry (Healthcare)
  • Consumption: Consume items with earliest expiry

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Step-by-Step: Managing Expiry Risk

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1. View Expiry Risk Dashboard

  1. Navigate to Analyze → Expiry Risk
  2. View expiry risk summary:
    • Critical Risk: Items expiring within 30 days
    • High Risk: Items expiring within 60 days
    • Medium Risk: Items expiring within 90 days
    • Total at Risk: Total value at expiry risk

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2. Review Items Expiring Soon

  1. Filter by expiry date range
  2. View items expiring soon:
    • Product: Product name and SKU
    • Location: Location where item is stored
    • Quantity: Quantity at risk
    • Expiry Date: When item expires
    • Days Until Expiry: Days remaining
    • Value: Value of inventory at risk

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3. Analyze Expiry Risk by Dimension

Analyze expiry risk by:
  • Product: Products with highest expiry risk
  • Location: Locations with highest expiry risk
  • Channel: Channels with highest expiry risk
  • Lot: Lots with highest expiry risk (if lot tracking)

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4. Review Expiry Alerts

Review active expiry alerts:
  • Critical Alerts: Items expiring within 30 days
  • High Alerts: Items expiring within 60 days
  • Alert Details: Product, location, quantity, expiry date
  • Alert Actions: Actions to take

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5. Take Action on Expiring Items

Take action on expiring items: FEFO (First Expiry, First Out):
  • Prioritize expiring items in picking
  • Ship expiring items first
  • Dispense expiring items first (Healthcare)
Markdowns:
  • Reduce price to accelerate sales
  • Create promotions for expiring items
  • Move to clearance channels
Transfers:
  • Transfer to locations with higher demand
  • Transfer to channels with faster turnover
  • Transfer to locations with better storage
Disposition:
  • Return to supplier (if allowed)
  • Donate (if appropriate)
  • Dispose (if expired)

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Expiry Risk Metrics

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Expiry Risk Value

Total value of inventory at expiry risk: 
Expiry Risk Value = Σ(Quantity at Risk × Unit Cost)
Use cases:
  • Financial impact assessment
  • Expiry prevention ROI calculation
  • Risk prioritization

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Expiry Rate

Percentage of inventory that expires: 
Expiry Rate = (Expired Quantity / Total Quantity) × 100
Use cases:
  • Expiry performance measurement
  • Expiry trend analysis
  • Expiry prevention effectiveness

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Days Until Expiry Distribution

Distribution of inventory by days until expiry:
  • 0-30 days: Critical risk
  • 31-60 days: High risk
  • 61-90 days: Medium risk
  • 90+ days: Low risk
Use cases:
  • Risk assessment
  • Planning horizon analysis
  • Action prioritization

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FEFO Implementation

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FEFO in Picking

When picking items:
  1. System prioritizes items with earliest expiry
  2. Pick list shows expiry dates
  3. Picker selects items expiring first
  4. System tracks FEFO compliance

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FEFO in Shipping

When shipping items:
  1. System prioritizes items with earliest expiry
  2. Shipment includes expiry information
  3. Items expiring first are shipped first
  4. System tracks FEFO compliance

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FEFO in Healthcare

In healthcare settings:
  1. Dispensing: Dispense items with earliest expiry
  2. Consumption: Consume items with earliest expiry
  3. Mandatory FEFO: FEFO may be mandatory for compliance
  4. Audit Trail: Track FEFO compliance

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What Success Looks Like

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Operations Success

  • ✅ Expiry risk identified early
  • ✅ FEFO implemented effectively
  • ✅ Expiring items managed proactively
  • ✅ Expiry events minimized
  • ✅ Expiry waste reduced

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Planner Success

  • ✅ Expiry risk considered in planning
  • ✅ Forecasts account for expiry
  • ✅ Replenishment optimized to prevent expiry
  • ✅ Expiry patterns identified
  • ✅ Expiry prevention effective

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Finance Success

  • ✅ Expiry costs tracked
  • ✅ Expiry risk valuation monitored
  • ✅ Expiry prevention ROI positive
  • ✅ Expiry waste minimized
  • ✅ Expiry costs reduced

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Executive Success

  • ✅ Expiry risk managed effectively
  • ✅ Expiry rates within targets
  • ✅ Expiry prevention initiatives successful
  • ✅ Expiry waste minimized
  • ✅ Compliance maintained (Healthcare)

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Common Pitfalls

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1. Not Tracking Expiry Dates

Problem: Not tracking expiry dates makes expiry risk management impossible. Solution: Enable expiry date tracking:
  • Configure expiry tracking per product
  • Enter expiry dates when receiving
  • Track expiry dates in system
  • Use expiry dates in operations
How to avoid: Make expiry tracking part of product setup.

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2. Not Implementing FEFO

Problem: Not using FEFO leads to items expiring before use. Solution: Implement FEFO:
  • Enable FEFO in picking
  • Enable FEFO in shipping
  • Enable FEFO in dispensing (Healthcare)
  • Track FEFO compliance
How to avoid: Make FEFO part of operational processes.

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3. Not Reviewing Expiry Risk Regularly

Problem: Not reviewing expiry risk regularly leads to surprises. Solution: Review expiry risk regularly:
  • Set up daily expiry risk review
  • Monitor expiry alerts
  • Take action on expiring items
  • Track expiry trends
How to avoid: Make expiry risk review part of daily workflow.

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4. Not Taking Action on Expiring Items

Problem: Identifying expiring items but not taking action. Solution: Take action on expiring items:
  • Implement FEFO
  • Create markdowns
  • Transfer to better locations
  • Dispose if expired
How to avoid: Make action part of expiry risk management.

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Troubleshooting

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Expiry Risk Not Showing

Symptoms: Expiry risk dashboard not showing data or showing incorrect data. Possible causes:
  1. Expiry tracking not enabled
  2. Expiry dates not entered
  3. Data not available
  4. Calculation issue
Steps to resolve:
  1. Verify expiry tracking is enabled
  2. Check expiry dates are entered
  3. Verify data availability
  4. Review calculation settings
  5. Contact support if issue persists

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FEFO Not Working

Symptoms: FEFO not prioritizing items with earliest expiry. Possible causes:
  1. FEFO not enabled
  2. Expiry dates not available
  3. FEFO configuration issue
  4. System issue
Steps to resolve:
  1. Verify FEFO is enabled
  2. Check expiry dates are available
  3. Review FEFO configuration
  4. Test FEFO functionality
  5. Contact support if issue persists

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Expiry Alerts Not Triggering

Symptoms: Items approaching expiry but alerts not triggering. Possible causes:
  1. Alert thresholds not configured
  2. Alert policies not enabled
  3. Alert delivery issue
  4. Expiry dates not tracked
Steps to resolve:
  1. Check alert threshold configuration
  2. Verify alert policies are enabled
  3. Check alert delivery settings
  4. Verify expiry dates are tracked
  5. Test alert functionality

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Can’t Take Action on Expiring Items

Symptoms: Unable to take action (FEFO, markdown, transfer) on expiring items. Possible causes:
  1. Permissions issue
  2. Action not available
  3. System issue
Steps to resolve:
  1. Check user permissions
  2. Verify action availability
  3. Refresh page and try again
  4. Contact support if issue persists

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Permissions & Roles

Viewing expiry risk requires standard user permissions. Taking action on expiring items may require inventory management permissions. Expiry tracking must be enabled for your products. Contact your organization administrator for details.