Two batches of the same foundation sit in one store. The earlier-expiring stock is in the backroom, while the new delivery is already on display. Headquarters may see an alert, but it does little if staff cannot identify which batch to pick or which units to return. Batch identity must survive receiving, display, sales, counting and return, with a document and accountable person behind every change of state.
Product, retail operations, warehousing and IT should establish the rules together. Product and quality teams decide what may be sold and what needs expiry-related handling; stores execute the physical work; systems record batch, quantity, location and status. This article concerns operating stores. A system migration also requires separate work on historical data, physical differences and opening inventory.
Treat the batch as part of inventory identity
Shade and size identify a foundation SKU, but the same SKU is manufactured and delivered in multiple batches. The SKU says what the product is; batch and dates identify which production stock it belongs to; location and status explain where it is and whether it can be sold. A SKU total cannot identify which goods need attention. A batch number without a quantity cannot connect an alert to physical stock.
Align product records with physical labeling. A receipt should trace at least the SKU, batch, production date or labeled use-by date, quantity, source document, store and stock location. Product or quality teams must confirm the original date fields, calculation rules and display. Record each store's quantity separately even when the batch code is shared; a headquarters total does not replace store detail.
A readable batch code on packaging does not mean checkout captures it on every item. If batches are recorded only at receipt and sales deduct a SKU total, define how the system infers the batch, how advisers select matching goods, and how counts correct mismatches. Otherwise, first-expiry-first-out exists only in the ledger.
Verify quantity, batch and condition at receipt
When two batches of one SKU arrive, confirming “ten foundations” is insufficient. Match each batch's packaging, dates and quantity to the dispatch record, inspect condition and assign the appropriate sellable, pending-review or damaged state. If the upstream document contains only SKU totals, obtain and verify batch detail during handover. Do not fill missing dates from a product default.
Preserve both the goods and the evidence behind a discrepancy. If the dispatch says ten units and one arrives damaged, identify its batch, retain the necessary evidence and follow the approved receiving process. Some projects confirm receipt first, then initiate a damage return. Automatically creating actual-receipt quantities and discrepancy documents at closure requires confirmation of configuration or development scope. Simply changing ten to nine leaves later teams unable to distinguish under-dispatch, transit damage and store loss.
Unreadable codes, dates that conflict with documents and abnormal product condition require a clearly marked pending-review location, recorded quantity and owner. Product or quality teams then decide whether the goods become sellable, are returned or remain restricted. Clear physical labels matter especially at concessions and pop-ups with limited backroom space, where staff could otherwise pick the wrong item.
Make the stock deduction match the product handed over
With multiple valid batches, brands may use first-expiry-first-out, subject to remaining-life, channel and campaign rules. If a customer receives a newer batch while the system deducts an older one, older goods disappear from the ledger but remain on the shelf. Alerts and return quantities then become unreliable.
Execution must match recording detail. Where actual batch codes are captured, verify the batch linked to the transaction. Where checkout scans only the SKU, staff need batch labels and a picking routine, supported by spot checks of earlier-expiring stock. Before replenishment, inspect those batches in the backroom. Where still eligible for sale, move them to an accessible picking location and confirm the system's deduction sequence. A rule staff cannot execute should not exist only in a policy document or system setting.
Cross-store transfers, store fulfillment of online orders and customer returns also need batch continuity or a deliberate re-identification step. For a customer return, inspect packaging, resale eligibility and the actual batch even if the original order identifies the product and purchase date. Unidentified or unsellable goods belong in inspection or restricted stock, not automatically in the SKU's available balance.
An alert needs a decision before a stock-state change
There is no single near-expiry window suitable for every beauty product. The brand sets warning thresholds, minimum acceptable remaining life and approval responsibilities by category, labeling, channel, supply terms and internal quality requirements. Goods still within their labeled life may remain on sale, move to a different display, enter an approved promotion or return to the warehouse. A warning by itself does not require a write-off.
A useful list includes SKU, batch, expiry date, store and location, quantities by stock status, reservations, recent sales and alert generation time. Retail operations assesses whether a store can sell the stock within the permitted window; product and quality teams decide treatment; the store physically checks the quantity and reports differences by a defined deadline. “Twenty near-expiry units of SKU X” does not establish where the stock is or how much is already reserved or pending return.
Once a stop-sale decision is made, restrict the relevant batch and quantity immediately. Tell the store to remove, label and recount the goods. Check the availability used by mini-programs, OMS or other sales channels; pause new orders and picking for that batch until the restriction is reflected there. Goods past their labeled expiry or with uncertain quality should stop being sold and go to the brand's quality and compliance teams for disposition. Moving an alert threshold must not return them to available stock.
Complete both store dispatch and warehouse receipt
A store return request begins a process; it does not finish it. The full chain includes approval, physical count and packing, store dispatch, logistics handover, warehouse inspection and inventory or accounting updates in ERP or warehousing systems. Keep the same SKU, batch, quantity and return reason traceable through original references and action times. Near-expiry goods, transit damage and customer returns should not disappear into an unexplained “other outbound” category.
Define ownership while goods are in transit. A dispatched batch awaiting warehouse receipt must not count as both store-available and warehouse-available stock. Nor should it become untraceable because one side has already removed it. If the warehouse receives a different quantity, batch or condition, reconcile packing lists, photographs, logistics evidence and inspection records before an accountable owner adjusts the result.
Supplier return, destruction or another approved disposition is a subsequent decision. Keep that outcome distinct from the store-to-warehouse handover.
In a multi-system project, agree document ownership: who records submission, approval and dispatch in the retail system, who records receipt and discrepancies in ERP or WMS, and who retries and reconciles failed messages. Every system need not duplicate every detail, but the business reference must reveal where the batch went.
Separate system capability from brand operating rules
The PEKON Smart Retail System product information describes receiving, transfers and counts, batch-level production and expiry dates, batch quantities and configurable near-expiry warning thresholds. These provide a basis for recording and identifying stock requiring attention.
Verify the specific date fields, warning lead time, capture of actual batches at checkout, effect of restricted stock on each channel and ERP updates for warehouse returns against the current version and project scope. Classify requirements as standard functionality, configuration, integration, custom development or unsupported.
Viewing stock by batch is different from tracing every sale to the physical batch. Producing an alert is different from establishing approval, shelf removal, dispatch and warehouse receipt. Brands managing full-size products, samples, promotional gifts and testers also need distinct product and inventory-use definitions.
Test the chain with two batches of one SKU
Prepare ten foundations of the same shade and size. Batch A has four units already within the brand's warning window but still eligible for sale. Batch B has six units with a longer remaining life, including one damaged in transit. Before the test, specify the dispatch source, date fields, receiving discrepancy process, picking rules, near-expiry decision and warehouse reconciliation owner.
- Receive by batch. Check packaging and dates. Retain evidence for the damaged B unit. After receipt, verify four sellable A units, five sellable B units and one damaged unit pending treatment, or the equivalent result under the approved discrepancy-receipt process.
- Sell one A unit while eligible. Verify that the item physically picked matches the batch deducted. If POS captures only SKU, demonstrate shelf labels, picking actions and subsequent spot checks.
- Review A's remaining three units. Check the existing alert and physical quantity. An authorized person decides treatment. If returning them, restrict the batch immediately, remove it from display and confirm other channels cannot reserve it.
- Return the three A units. Trace approval, dispatch, transit and warehouse receipt. Confirm that five B units remain sellable and the damaged B unit retains its separate reason and treatment.
- Create an exception. Simulate one unit missing at warehouse receipt or a failed interface update. Identify who detects it, which document retains the in-transit quantity, who retransmits or adjusts, and how both locations reconcile.
The acceptance criterion is that physical goods, batch balances and documents explain one another at every step. Extend the test with missing dates, one batch in two stores and a customer return with an unknown batch. A generic product demonstration cannot establish these operating outcomes.
The deliverable is an executable receiving, picking, warning and return process, backed by stock records that can be checked by SKU, batch, location and state. Agree decision deadlines and responsibilities first, then verify that system and physical changes stay aligned.
FAQ
Can different expiry dates for one SKU be managed using only a total balance?
A total is useful for reporting, but each store also needs batch quantities, dates and statuses. Without that detail, teams cannot locate near-expiry goods or reconcile sales and returns by batch.
Can stores follow first-expiry-first-out without scanning batch codes at checkout?
They can use a picking rule supported by shelf labels, batch separation and spot checks. If the system infers the batch instead of capturing the item’s actual code, interpret the sales report accordingly; it is not evidence of item-level physical traceability.
Must every near-expiry alert lead to a warehouse return?
No. The brand decides based on category, remaining life, condition, channel and contractual arrangements. Goods past their labeled expiry or with uncertain quality should stop being sold and enter restricted handling. System status and physical handling must change together.
Can damage on receipt and near-expiry returns share one document?
The causes, responsibilities and subsequent handling differ. Whatever document design the project uses, keep reasons, batches, quantities and evidence distinguishable so warehouse receipt and ERP reconciliation can identify each separately.
Can an unreadable batch or date be copied from another item of the same SKU?
No. Isolate the stock and preserve photographs and source documents. Product or quality teams should verify packaging, dispatch and upstream batch records. Where the date cannot be established, keep the goods restricted and follow the brand’s handling decision.
When is the store-to-warehouse return complete?
The store has removed and dispatched the goods, the warehouse has confirmed batch-level receipt, quantities and discrepancies reconcile, and the related documents and statuses are updated. Supplier return, destruction or other disposition is a separate warehouse and quality decision.