How should medicines that are nearing expiry or have expired be managed in a warehouse to prevent them from being supplied in error?

Managing medicines by expiry date, particularly those nearing expiry or already expired, is central to inventory control. The aim is to strictly apply the “first expired, first out” (FEFO) principle and prevent expired medicines from entering the market. First, your inventory management system, whether a computerised WMS or a manual system, must accurately record the expiry date of each batch and sort stock by expiry date so that batches expiring sooner are picked first. Second, establish an “expiry-soon alert” mechanism. For example, the system could automatically flag all medicines due to expire within the next 6 months. Third, establish a specific procedure for handling flagged items approaching expiry, such as prioritising their sale or negotiating their disposition with the supplier. Fourth, once a medicine has expired, remove it from released stock immediately, transfer it to a physically segregated, clearly identified “non-conforming goods” or “expired goods” area, update the inventory records and await destruction under the chemical waste procedure.