In fulfillment, batches and best-before dates play a critical role. They affect warehousing, product quality, and customer satisfaction — and keeping track of batch-level stock isn't always easy. In this post, we look at why these two topics matter and how to handle them in fulfillment and beyond.
In the world of fulfillment, batches and best-before dates play a decisive role. They affect warehousing, product quality, and customer satisfaction. And it's not always easy to keep track of batch-level stock levels. In this post, we'll take a closer look at why both topics matter and how you can handle them in fulfillment and beyond.
We'll show you which areas batch-pure storage and best-before dates are particularly important in, and why following these rules has a direct impact on your business success.
Batches (often also called LOTs) are specific quantities of products that were manufactured or processed under the same conditions. With batches, you ensure consistent quality and a way to identify products. That's why every batch gets a unique batch number, also called a LOT number. With it, a product can be traced back to its producer and ingredients. Batches are especially critical in pharmaceuticals, food, and cosmetics, because traceability of products and assurance of product quality are essential. By managing and tracking batches, companies can react quickly to quality issues, run recalls, and ensure regulatory compliance.
LOT tracking, or batch traceability, follows the path of a product batch across the entire supply chain — from manufacturing all the way to the end consumer. Products affected by quality issues or recalls can be identified precisely and quickly this way. In some industries, like food and cosmetics, batch traceability is even a legal requirement.
Batch or LOT numbers usually consist of a letter and a series of numbers. The letter stands for the month of manufacture. In our example, the letter G stands for July. The other numbers provide information about the production date and the earliest expiration date.
Here's what kind of information about a product can be derived from a batch number:
To trace a batch seamlessly, several other data points besides the LOT number are required by law. These include, for example:
In case a product needs to be recalled, you can trace it seamlessly through inventory management or ERP systems (Billbee, Xentral & co).
LOT tracking, or batch traceability, ensures quality, safety, and transparency along the supply chain. But not only that — it also has a major impact on warehousing. Only by labeling batches can you achieve batch-pure storage. But what does that mean? Simply put: each storage location is filled with only one specific batch. This requires an efficient warehouse management system. Fulfillment providers help automate these processes and create transparency for buyers.
Other important aspects of batch traceability in fulfillment include:
Another key point in efficient and, above all, safe warehousing: BBDs on products. Here too, sticking to a few important rules is essential. We'll show you what those are now.
The term best-before date (BBD) is used in logistics to indicate the period during which a product, when stored properly, retains its quality. The BBD is usually shown on perishable products like food and medicine, but also on cosmetics, for example. According to the German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety, BBDs must be shown under Article 19 of the EU Cosmetics Regulation if the shelf life is 30 months or less.
Only when you take the BBD into account during storage and shipping can you ensure that products are prioritized in time before the BBD expires. That way, the longest possible remaining shelf life after purchase is guaranteed.
Manufacturers and labs run tests and analyses to calculate the minimum shelf life of products. Various factors are taken into account, including the composition, type of ingredients, storage conditions, and expected shelf life. There's a distinction here between the best-before date and the use-by date.
When the best-before date has passed, it usually doesn't mean that, for example, a food has gone bad. It only indicates the date until which a product retains its properties under appropriate storage. So up to that date, a product is at its best. After that, it doesn't necessarily become inedible or harmful to health.
Similar rules apply to cosmetic products. Cosmetic items are declared with different shelf lives:
It's different with a use-by date. This applies, for example, to highly microbiologically perishable foods. Packaging therefore has to carry the wording "use by …" because there are microbiological risks to human health after the date has passed. The specified storage description — for example, refrigeration temperature — is especially important here.
The best-before date depends on many factors. To deliver on those, the right storage of products plays an essential role — from the moment of manufacture to the end customer.
In fulfillment, you or your provider have to pay attention to the best-before date because:
Customer satisfaction plays a central role: Fulfillment providers are responsible for properly processing buyers' orders and making sure they receive high-quality products. By carefully checking and respecting BBDs in fulfillment, you make sure that only flawless products are delivered — which in turn leads to higher customer satisfaction.
Companies have to comply with legal requirements: In the European Union, there are regulations that govern the labeling and sale of products with expired shelf life. Stores can avoid legal issues and prevent possible fines or sanctions.
Another important aspect is avoiding returns. If customers receive products with expired shelf life, they're likely to send a return. That leads to extra costs and effort in fulfillment. By strictly observing the best-before date, those costs are kept to a minimum.
Managing batches and BBDs comes with a few challenges. To ensure efficient management of batches and best-before dates, we have to put effective systems and processes in place. Some fulfillment providers offer smart solutions here that break down the complexity of managing batches and best-before dates.
A few factors make managing batches and BBDs very complex. Larger product quantities have to be precisely monitored and documented. Tracking and managing individual batches can also be very time-consuming and error-prone. That's why smooth coordination between different parts of the company is needed — like seamless communication and an effective flow of information between purchasing, warehousing, sales, and marketing.
Legal requirements around batch and best-before management add even more complexity. To identify expiring products in time and minimize losses, efficient inventory management and forecasting are required. Employees have to be trained accordingly to handle expired products correctly.
Effectively managing batches and BBDs in fulfillment is important to ensure product quality and minimize risks. Companies can apply best practices to handle this task successfully, like:
With the Zenfulfillment Logistics Operating System®, you get tailored solutions for managing batches and meeting best-before dates in fulfillment. These include, for example:
The manual back-and-forth with your warehousing partner around best-before dates and batch management can be frustrating, especially during urgent product recalls. With the Zenfulfillment Operating System, you have full control over BBDs and batch management. Thanks to real-time visibility of stock levels, easy traceability of batch information, and the option to lock batches from picking, smooth management is possible without the headaches. That means: you no longer have to worry about expired products being shipped to customers, and you no longer have to spend time tracing back which batch was used at the order level.
Of course, the importance of batches and BBDs doesn't only extend to fulfillment, but also to:
It's important that batch and shelf-life data is coordinated across different parts of the company. By integrating this information into the various business processes, you ensure smooth operations and happy buyers.
Batches and best-before dates are critical pieces of information that E-Commerce stores have to take into account. They influence not only storage and fulfillment, but also quality assurance and customer satisfaction. If you or your provider work cleanly here, you create the best possible transparency.
Batches (also LOTs) are groups of products that were manufactured, processed, or packaged in a specific period using the same production batch or the same batch of raw materials.
A LOT number, also called a batch number, contains the most important information about a batch, like the manufacturing date and information about expiring components.
Batch traceability (or LOT tracking) is important so you can precisely identify, recall, and ensure consumer safety and supply-chain quality assurance for the products affected in case of quality issues, recalls, or other incidents.
The best-before date, or BBD, indicates the date by which a product, under recommended storage conditions, should retain its specific properties like taste, smell, texture, and quality without posing a risk to health.
BBDs are usually determined through lab tests and monitoring of product quality over a specific period to determine how long the product retains its desired properties under appropriate storage conditions.
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