Stock on the shelf

The idea

Every packet on the shelf has a date on it. Sell the packet that expires first, not the one that arrived first and not the one that is easiest to reach. First to expire, first out. Then count the shelf often, because the books only know what you tell them.

Batches and dates

A batch is one lot of goods made together. Every packet in a batch has the same batch number, manufacturing date and expiry date. The company prints them; you record them on the GRN.

Usually the batch that arrived first expires first. But not always. A company may send an older batch in a later lorry, or one batch may have a shorter life. That is why the rule is first to expire, not first in.

At the counter

You stock a 100 g biscuit pack. Two batches are on the shelf:

A new lorry brings batch C, expiring in March, 240 packets. The godown boy stacks it in front because there is space there.

If the next loading picks from the front, batch C goes out first, batch A sits at the back, and in February you find 120 expired packets. At ₹22 each, that is ₹2,640 — more than the margin on several thousand rupees of sales of that pack.

The right picking order is A, then C, then B — earliest expiry first.

Two habits make this happen:

• Stack by expiry, not by arrival. The earliest expiry goes in front, every time a lorry is unloaded.
• Read a near-expiry list every week. Every batch expiring in the next few months, with quantity. Push those to the salesmen first, or return or claim them before the company's cut-off date.

The count

The books say what should be on the shelf. Only a count says what is.

A difference is a question, not a figure to type over. Find the reason first:

• A GRN entered with the wrong quantity.
• A return at the door not entered (chapter 2.10).
• Goods loaded but not billed.
• Damage thrown away without a note.
• Theft.

Fix the document that was wrong. Only what is left unexplained goes to a stock adjustment, approved by the owner (chapter 2.11).

Count a few fast-moving products every week (a cycle count) and the whole godown at least once a year, at year-end (chapter 2.12). The weekly count catches leaks while they are small.

Common mistake

Adjusting the books to match the count without asking why. The difference disappears from the report, but the cause stays. If a salesman is loading two extra cases a week without a bill, the adjustment hides it every month. Each unexplained difference is a small loss you have agreed to keep paying.

Where you'll use this

In Part 3, expired and damaged goods become claims and returns to the company, and each company has its own rules and deadlines for them. Your near-expiry list and batch records decide whether a claim is accepted or rejected.

Check yourself

1. Batch X arrived first but expires in June. Batch Y arrived later but expires in May. Which goes out first?
2. The count shows 8 packets fewer than the books. What do you do before adjusting?
3. Why count a few products every week instead of only once a year?

Answers

1. Batch Y — first to expire, first out.
2. Look for the cause: a wrong GRN, an unrecorded return, goods loaded without a bill, damage or theft. Fix the document; adjust only what remains, with approval.
3. Small differences are caught while the reason is still easy to find, and before they add up.