Lots and best-before dates
How batch numbers and best-before dates reach the warehouse, what we do with them, and why it is worth asking your supplier once.
Where they come from
Off your packing list
We read lots and best-before dates from the delivery you announce — there is nothing extra to fill in.
Goods are then picked oldest-first (FEFO), so the stock closest to its best-before date leaves first. If a delivery arrives without those details we cannot add them afterwards, which is why it is worth asking your supplier to put them on the packing list once, rather than chasing them per shipment.
Questions
Common ones
Where do lot numbers and best-before dates come from?
From your packing list, if it carries them. We read common German and English column names for both. When the list has neither, the goods are received without them and it cannot be corrected afterwards, so it is worth asking your supplier to include them.
Do I need to do anything so lots and best-before dates are tracked?
Yes, once per article, and it has to be done before stock arrives. Each item carries two flags — is_batch and is_best_before — and they are in the product template above. With them on, we record the lot and the date for every unit at goods receipt and pick oldest-first. With them off, we book the goods as plain stock. Turning them on afterwards means re-doing the entire goods receipt at the pallet, so decide before the first delivery. They are per-article: dated goods can carry them while something undated does not.
Last updated 19 September 2026
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