How to track lots, serials, and expiration dates for tighter inventory control

Managing your inventory isn’t just about knowing what you have in stock—it’s about being able to trace where it came from, where it’s going, and understanding how it fits into the bigger picture. Lot and serial number tracking is the very tool to get this highly detailed look at your stock. This article explores who should consider adopting serial, lot number, and expiration date tracking solutions, and how to set it up using automated inventory control software like HandiFox Online.

Is amplified traceability essential for all or just some businesses?

Not all companies need serial and lot number tracking, but many can benefit from it depending on the nature of their business, industry regulations, and operational requirements.

Companies that manufacture, hold, and sell short-dated or potentially harmful products are, more than anyone else, expected to maintain a tight inventory control. Keeping expiration dates in check and the ability to provide tracking documentation upon request has become an industry requirement as well as a prerequisite for a good name. More than others, industries like pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, automotive, electronics, and medical equipment should be concerned about stock traceability as they are subject to serious regulatory scrutiny. 

Why is tracking serial/lot numbers and expiration dates a must-do practice?

The effects of being able to assign and manage serial numbers and lots as they move through the supply chain are far-reaching.

Safety/regulatory compliance

The ability to quickly trace back a specific item or a whole batch makes your business responsive and responsible in the eyes of regulators. The ease of exporting documented tracking data spares you the hours of putting it together and removes manual work entirely.

Facilitated recalls

Recalls can be targeted to specific items within one lot and carried out swiftly thanks to the link between sold goods and customers/suppliers. This also eliminates waste since only affected products are identified and removed from the batch.

Granular visibility

You can follow lots from the moment products are received in the warehouse to when they get out of the door. This level of detail increases inventory accuracy without your ramping up efforts.

Eliminating spoilage

Not only does expiration date tracking keep you alert about soon-to-be-expired stock but it also helps sort and select products based on their expiry dates when selling. 

Optimized order fulfillment

The expiration date and lot control functionality supports the FIFO (First In- First Out) and FEFO (First Expired-First Out) fulfillment logic options. They allow selling off the earliest-expiring lots, minimizing the landing costs, and keeping your shelves stocked with fresh products.

Streamlined warranty and after-sales support

The ability to provide transparent product histories minimizes reputational damage and builds confidence in your brand’s commitment to quality and accountability. 

The basics of lot/serial/expiration date tracking in HandiFox Online

HandiFox Online offers both serial and lot number tracking complemented by expiry date tracking. Let’s see how it all works and streamlines your daily operations.

Serial/lot/expiration date tracking setup

Serial/Lot number and expiry date tracking can be enabled while creating a new item or editing an existing one. HandiFox allows tracking serial numbers, lot numbers, expiration dates, and these parameters in combination (for example, lot numbers+expiration dates). The numbers can be recorded from existing labels on packages or they can be user-assigned, manually or through barcode scanning.

As part of the initial setup, you need to define the logic that the system will utilize to arrange items on transactions. The First In - First Out (FIFO) method lists items in the order of how they were checked into the system (from the oldest to the latest). First Expired- First Out (FEFO) is a fulfillment method that lets you clear out soon-expiring articles first, irrespective of when they were received in the warehouse. This way, when getting products ready for shipment, you will be nudged to take those that should leave the warehouse sooner to keep the storage area organized and free of soon-expiring items.

Tracking serialized and lot-numbered items throughout the supply chain

HandiFox offers a dedicated Serial/Lot numbers page for quick and easy navigation through serial/lot number tracked inventory. Here, you can assign lots, adjust their quantities, see how they are distributed across multiple locations, and check their transaction history.

As soon as you’ve determined how you want to track a particular item, assigned serials, or lots, you can start scanning them into:

• Item Receipts
• Counting sessions
• Transfers
• Invoices
• Payments

On sales transactions, you can either manually add serials/lots or let the system suggest which serials/lots should be sold off based on the pre-defined tracking method (FIFO or FEFO).

You can also see serial and lot numbers included on printed packing slips and invoices.

In HandiFox Online, serials and lots are tracked throughout the entire supply chain so you don’t have to sift through transactions in search of a specific piece of data.

Other perks of serial/lot/expiration date tracking that you shouldn’t miss

HandiFox Online offers the ability to write off expiring/expired goods to reduce the risk of selling unsafe products and streamline expense reporting. HandiFox generates a new counting session as a result of this inventory write-off which is then found in QuickBooks Online as an inventory adjustment. 

For added accuracy, you can enable the settings that block saving transactions with wrong or insufficient serials and lots.

HandiFox Online allows printing barcode labels with serial/lot number information. 

The entire product journey can be seen on the Transactions by Serial/Lot numbers report page. Here you can use filters to narrow down the search or just look up a specific lot. The report is intended to show all of its movements, including who it was sold to, and, in case of a recall, you can do a quick quality check of the other items under the same lot ID.

Wrap-up

Whether you're producing, distributing, or running ane-commerce operation, you can ensure transparency through the serial/lot numbertraceability and expiration date tracking functionality. Get automated to addoperational efficiency, quality control, and confidence in managing yourwarehouse and sales operations. 

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