Quick answer: FEFO (First Expired, First Out) tracking is managed through warehouse management system. It must be enabled at the SKU level before inventory arrives.
What Does FEFO Stand For
FEFO stands for First Expired, First Out. It’s the picking logic used for date-sensitive inventory: instead of picking whatever unit is nearest or arrived first, the warehouse picks the unit with the earliest expiration date first.
This ensures older stock ships before newer stock, minimizes the amount of product that expires in the warehouse, and protects customers from receiving items that are close to or past their use-by date.
For brands in supplements, nutraceuticals, food, beverages, skincare, or healthcare, FEFO isn’t optional; it’s the standard your customers and retail partners expect, and in some cases, it’s a regulatory requirement.
How to Enable FEFO in Fulfyld
Let’s go through each step you need to go through:
Step 1: Flag Expiration Date Tracking Before Onboarding (or as Early as Possible)
The most important thing to know about FEFO at Fulfyld is that it needs to be configured at the SKU level in Shipedge before your inventory is received. If expiration tracking isn’t enabled when a replenishment is received, the warehouse cannot retroactively apply expiration dates to units already in storage.
If you’re still in onboarding, this is the right time to raise it. When you fill out the SKU/Shipping Method Excel Template in Step 1 of onboarding, note which SKUs require expiration date tracking. Flag this explicitly with your onboarding coordinator or sales representative so it’s configured in Shipedge before your first replenishment arrives.
Step 2: Confirm the Date Format Used on Your Products
Before your account manager configures expiration tracking in Shipedge, make sure you know how dates are printed on your products. Common formats include MM/YYYY, MM/DD/YYYY, and best-by month only.
Inconsistency between what’s on the product and what’s entered in Shipedge is the most common source of FEFO errors. Also, clarify whether your products use “expiration date,” “best by,” or “use by” as these can have different implications depending on your product category.
Step 3: Include Expiration Dates in Every Replenishment
When you submit a replenishment in Shipedge for each inbound inventory shipment, include the expiration date (or lot/batch number if applicable) for each SKU on that shipment. This is how the warehouse team knows what to record when they receive and put away your inventory.
If a single replenishment contains multiple lots of the same SKU with different expiration dates, note each lot separately with its corresponding quantity and date. Mixing lots without identifying them is a common mistake that breaks FEFO logic.
Step 4: The Warehouse Logs Expiration Dates at Receiving
Once your replenishment arrives at Fulfyld’s warehouse, the receiving team will scan and put away your inventory. With FEFO enabled, they will record the expiration date from each unit or case during the receiving process and associate it with the specific bin location where that inventory is stored in Shipedge.
If units arrive without readable or consistent expiration date markings, the warehouse team will flag this to your account manager rather than guessing. This is another reason it helps to communicate your date format in advance.
Step 5: Shipedge Directs Picks by Expiration Date
Once FEFO is configured and your dated inventory is received, Shipedge takes over. When an order comes in for an expiration-tracked SKU, the system tells the picker which bin location to pull from based on which lot expires soonest.
You don’t need to manage this manually; it happens automatically at the warehouse level on every pick. You can verify how inventory is being tracked by pulling an inventory report from the Reports tab in the Fulfyld client portal.
What to Do When a New Shipment Has a Different Expiration Date
This is routine for date-sensitive brands. When you send a new replenishment of the same SKU with a later expiration date, submit it as a separate replenishment in Shipedge with the new date clearly noted. The warehouse will receive and store it in a separate location from the existing lot.
Shipedge will continue to direct picks from the earlier-expiring lot first until that stock is depleted, then automatically shift picks to the newer lot.
Do not combine lots in a single replenishment if they have different expiration dates. Keep them separate so the system can maintain clean FEFO logic across both.
Still Have Questions?
To get FEFO configured on your account or to discuss lot tracking for your specific product type, reach out to your dedicated account manager directly, or contact the Fulfyld team at hey@fulfyld.com or (256) 716-8241.