Every grocer throws food away. The question is how much, and whether you find out in time to do something about it. Tracking lots and expiry dates sounds like a warehouse job, but for a single store it comes down to three habits.
1. Record the date when stock arrives
The only moment you reliably know the expiry date is when the delivery is in front of you. Record the lot or batch and its expiry date as you receive it. Later, nobody will remember which pallet of yogurt came in on Tuesday.
You don't need to do this for everything. Start with what spoils: dairy, meat, bakery, prepared foods, baby food and anything with a short shelf life.
2. Sell the earliest-expiring stock first
Warehouses call it FEFO: first expired, first out. On the shelf it means rotating stock so older items are at the front. At the till it helps if the system offers the earliest-expiring batch first, so the stock count stays honest about which lot actually left.
3. Look at what's about to expire, every week
A near-expiry report each week shows what to discount, bundle or pull before it becomes waste. A "use it today" price on tomorrow's expiring bread is better than the bin. Make it a routine: same day, same person, ten minutes.
Block expired stock from being sold
The worst case isn't throwing something away. It's selling it. A system that can block expired batches at the till, and keep them off the website, protects your customers and your reputation.
Why it matters for online orders
When you sell online, expiry tracking stops being only a shelf problem. If the website shows ten cartons of milk and four of them expired yesterday, someone gets a substitute or a refund. When the online store reads the same stock as the register, expired or pulled items come off both at once.
What ScomsPOS does
In ScomsPOS, lots and expiry dates are recorded when stock arrives, the earliest-expiring batch is offered first at checkout, a near-expiry report shows what to discount, and expired stock can be blocked from sale. Because the online store reads the same stock, it stays accurate too. See the grocery store POS, or our guide to grocery online ordering.
Frequently asked questions
Do small grocery stores need lot tracking?
For perishable items, yes. Record the lot and expiry date on arrival for dairy, meat, bakery and other short-life products, and sell the earliest-expiring stock first.
What is FEFO?
First expired, first out: selling the stock that expires soonest before newer stock, both on the shelf and in the system's stock count.
How does expiry tracking help online orders?
If the online store reads the same stock as the register, expired or pulled items come off the website at the same time, so customers don't order stock you can't sell.
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