First-Expired-First-Out, or FEFO, is a warehouse picking rule that sends products with the earliest expiration dates out of storage before products that expire later. It matters for food, medicine, chemicals, cosmetics, and any inventory whose safety or value changes with time. A good FEFO system reduces waste, prevents expired shipments, and protects customers.
It also helps companies meet quality, traceability, and regulatory requirements.
Key Facts
- FEFO rule: pick the item with the smallest expiration date first.
- Remaining shelf life = expiration date - shipment date.
- Expired loss rate = expired units / total units received.
- FEFO depends on accurate lot numbers, expiration dates, and scan records.
- Products can arrive later but still be picked first if they expire earlier.
- FEFO is different from FIFO because FIFO uses receiving date, while FEFO uses expiration date.
Vocabulary
- FEFO
- First-Expired-First-Out is an inventory method that ships or uses items with the earliest expiration dates before items with later expiration dates.
- Lot number
- A lot number is an identifier assigned to a group of products made, received, or stored together for tracking.
- Expiration date
- An expiration date is the last date a product is considered acceptable for use, sale, or shipment under quality rules.
- Shelf life
- Shelf life is the length of time a product remains usable or sellable before it expires.
- Traceability
- Traceability is the ability to track a product's movement, location, lot, and history through the supply chain.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Picking the oldest received pallet first, which is wrong because FEFO is based on expiration date, not receiving date.
- Ignoring mixed lots in the same storage location, which is wrong because different lots may have different expiration dates and must be scanned or checked separately.
- Shipping products without checking minimum remaining shelf life, which is wrong because a customer may require a product to have enough usable time after delivery.
- Relying on visual labels alone, which is wrong because labels can be hidden, damaged, or misread, so barcode or system confirmation is needed.
Practice Questions
- 1 A warehouse has three lots of yogurt: Lot A expires on May 12 with 40 cases, Lot B expires on May 9 with 25 cases, and Lot C expires on May 20 with 30 cases. If an order needs 50 cases, which lots should be picked and how many cases from each?
- 2 A product expires on August 30. A customer requires at least 18 days of remaining shelf life on the shipment date. What is the latest date the warehouse can ship this product?
- 3 Explain why FEFO can reduce waste more effectively than FIFO for products that do not all have the same shelf life.