Dachser Knowledge Base – Expiration Times and Warehouse Logistics

Al Capone and dates

According to legend, the first time expiration dates were recorded on packaging is attributed to Al Capone – the mafia boss was allegedly so outraged that his niece once got food poisoning from spoiled milk that he used his influence to lobby for a law requiring the indication of dates. With the development of science, of course, the need to prevent similar cases arose, probably without it. Nowadays, manufacturers use laboratory tests, microbiological, chemical and physical examinations to determine how long a given product is safe to consume and how long it retains its original quality and properties. According to the relevant EU regulation, the expiration date or shelf life covers two additional concepts: perishable products, such as meat or dairy products, must not be consumed beyond the “use by” date. The best before date is used for perishable foods (e.g. pasta, canned goods, biscuits, etc.) and only indicates that the quality of the product may deteriorate beyond this date, but it may still be edible.

Life in the Warehouse

In addition to the cold chains discussed in the previous part of our Knowledge Base series, professional warehousing is key to ensuring that fresh products always reach the shelves, but that there is no waste, and that supply can flexibly adapt to demand. The processes taking place in warehouses are guided by warehouse management systems that track, track and control products with meticulous precision. Dachser uses a system developed in-house, specifically tailored to the needs of the company and its customers, which uses the most modern technology currently available to support work, track the life cycle of each product, and manage individual processes.

The warehouse receives the expiration date of the products not only when the given product physically arrives, but also electronically in advance – enabling precise planning. The further path of the stored products is determined by inventory management, which, depending on the nature of the products (e.g. whether there is an expiration date), can be carried out according to various logics. In the case of food, three basic principles are mostly used, which aim to facilitate material movement, minimize perishability, and optimize inventory valuation, and which are supplemented by physical storage methods (e.g. racking, block storage). In the case of FIFO (first in, first out), the first product stored is the first to leave. According to the LIFO (last in, first out) principle, the last item to arrive is shipped first, so it is more often used for non-perishable goods. According to the FEFO (first expired, first out) principle, the products with the shortest expiration date are always the first to leave the warehouse, regardless of the order of arrival – it is easy to see that this minimizes waste and is especially effective for perishable goods. Dachser food warehouses meet all of these principles, and even beyond that, they are able to serve individual needs, and can tailor the management of the inventory route to the needs of the customers in every detail.

The application of the FEFO principle in practice involves complex processes. For example, it is conceivable that the yogurt mentioned above has two expiration dates in the given warehouse, although the difference is only one day, and there is still plenty of time for both – when picking, care must be taken to take out the one with the closest expiration date first, because retailers often only take over the products in order of expiration dates, meaning that the date of the next shipment cannot be earlier than the previous one.