Lot numbers and expiration dates are important elements of inventory management. They allow businesses to have better control over their inventory, reduce waste, and ensure that they are selling safe and effective products. By tracking lot numbers and expiration dates, businesses can identify and isolate batches of products that are approaching or have passed their expiration dates.
If lot and expiration date management is enabled:
- Lot numbers and expiration dates are captured when we receive your inventory, as well as on the outbound shipments and noted in the orders
- You can request a report containing available lot/expiry tracked inventory data
How to enable lot and expiration date management:
This feature must be enabled by the MasonHub team and should be completed during onboarding before your first receiving. It is important that you indicate during the sales cycle and onboarding which SKUs require lot & expiry to be tracked.
If inventory arrives that is labeled with a lot or expiration date and your account is not configured for tracking lot or expiration date, then your inventory will be held and not received until we receive confirmation that we are expected to configure your account accordingly. This will result in a non-compliance charge and not adhere to standard SLAs.
How should inventory be labeled?
Consumable (Food, OTC, supplement) lot and expiration tracked products
- Must have the lot AND expiration date on each carton
- Must have the lot AND expiration date on each unit
- All products in a carton have the same lot/expiration. No mixed lot/expiration cartons.
Non-consumable lot tracked products
- Must have the lot on each carton and unit
- Must have a best before or end of shelf life date on the carton
- All products in a carton have the same lot number. No mixed lot cartons.
Accounts onboarded after May 1, 2023 are required to follow the lot and expiry labeling requirements and are subject to non-compliant fees. Accounts onboarded prior to May 1, 2023 may be exempt. |
Example carton label for lot or expiration tracked products
What happens when inventory is not labeled properly?
Inventory arrives that is not labeled with a lot or expiration date, but should be based on your SOP requirements
- The receipt is considered non-compliant and does not adhere to standard SLAs
- The inventory will be held and not received until we receive confirmation of what the lot and/or expiration dates are
- Additional, applicable fees will apply (labor, materials, storage etc.)
Lot tracked inventory arrives and does not have a best before or shelf life date on the master carton
- MasonHub will apply a 12 month shelf life to all lot tracked product that is received
What happens when products expire or the best before/shelf life date is reached?
Ideally inventory will be sold through before its end of life but if not, accounts should be managing their lot/expiry tracked inventory and requesting removal of the product based on their unique short-list requirements. In addition, MasonHub reviews inventory monthly to ensure no expired product remains in active inventory.
- Expired and end of life product will be moved to non-pickable status making it unavailable to any new orders
- Expired and end of life product will be moved away from sellable goods
- Accounts must submit a request for the product to be disposed or donated before it expires or once it is moved to non-pickable status
- Accounts are responsible for arranging disposal or donation via a third-party
- Applicable fees for labor and materials will be applied
If a best before or shelf life date is reached but the product actually has a longer life, you can request the product to be updated
- You must submit a request to support@masonhub.co including the SKU(s) and updated best before or shelf life date(s)
- MasonHub will relabel all master cartons with updated information
- MasonHub will update product status and best before or shelf life dates within the OMS
- Applicable fees for labor and materials will be applied
How are lot and/or expiration products returned?
Returns are processed per the account's standard SOPs with the additional step of verifying and inputting the lot of expiration date.
- If the product is not suitable for resale or expired it will be received as damaged
- If the lot or expiration information is missing from a return the product will be received as damaged
- If the product is suitable for resale it will have the lot/expiry information updated and returned to active inventory with like items
View Lot and Expiration on Your Customer's Order
If being tracked, the MasonHub Order Management System will display the lot and/or expiration date next to the shipped item on the order page.
You can also export these data from your search filter on the Orders & Shipments page.
Inventory Balance Report
Upon request, we can schedule an emailed report that shows on-hand and available inventory with lot and expiration date.
- Can send daily, weekly, or monthly
- Sent to an email address at your company. Setting up a distribution list is recommended
Reach out to your Account Manager if you are interested in this feature.