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Manage Lot Numbers and Expiration Dates

Table of Contents

Overview

Skustack is the primary tool used to manage lot numbers and expiration dates. There are various scenarios where you will need to deal with lot numbers and expiration dates, such as when expirable inventory is received (e.g., receiving POs or transfers, positive adjustments, etc.), where a lot number/expiry date needs to be added. Similarly, when inventory goes out (e.g., picking, negative adjustments), an existing lot number must be selected to deduct from.

For other scenarios like receiving RMA’s or warehouse inventory transfers, it is usually necessary to select a lot number that was shipped with the order/transfer. If no lot number is selected during shipping, you will have the option to create a new one.

Before working with lot numbers and expiry dates, ensure that all settings are configured correctly for your account.

Prerequisites

Several settings must be configured to enable the lot expiration tracking functionality:

  1. To effectively track lot numbers, set up bin-enabled warehouses. Lot numbers can only be tracked through warehouses where inventory is strictly managed per bin.
    When transferring quantity out of a bin-enabled warehouse to a non-bin-enabled warehouse, the lots will be lost.
  2. Enable the client setting Enable Lot Expiry Workflow in Skustack. Enabling this setting ensures that lot expiration is properly tracked and managed within the systems.
  3. Contact your onboarding representative or Sellercloud Support to enable the following app setting: EnableProductLotExpiry.
  4. For Independent kits, contact your onboarding representative or Sellercloud Support to enable the AutoUpdateExpirableStatusOnKitParentsBasedOnComponents app setting:
    1. This setting will not allow manual editing of the Expirable setting of independent kit parents and will make it dependent on the Expirable setting of the components.
    2. Any time IsExpirable is updated on any components, it will automatically update the kit parent.
      • When initially starting to use this workflow, this setting should be enabled before any of the components are marked as Expirable so the parent status will be updated accordingly.
      • For any parent that already has assembled quantity, a Product Lot Expiration Import plugin must be used to import the lot information. Contact your onboarding representative or Sellercloud Support for assistance.

Initial Lot Numbers Import

You can use the Product Lot Expiration Import plugin to import lot information for any expirable items that already have quantity in bins. This plugin should only be used the first time you are importing lot numbers. Contact your onboarding representative or Sellercloud Support for assistance.

Add Lot Numbers

In this section, you will learn how to add a lot number/expiry date when inventory comes in (ex: receiving POs or transfers, positive adjustments, etc). Let’s look at how we would add a lot number and expiration date for positive adjustments:

  1. Go to the Manage Bins module.
  2. Open the bin and select the product you want to adjust the quantity for.
  3. Scan or enter the adjusted quantity.
  4. Tap the More Lot/Expirys in the dialog.
  5. Either select an existing lot from the list or start typing to search for the lot number – The list will filter as you type.
  6. If the lot number does not exist yet, a calendar will appear on the dialog and you will need to select the expiration date and tap Add New Lot Expiry.
The visibility of lot numbers in the Skustack app may be limited due to the number of lots created in the system. If you enter a lot number that already exists but is not displayed in the list of lot numbers on the dialog, you can still select the correct expiration date, and the system will automatically identify the matching lot number to prevent duplicates.

Select a Lot Number When Inventory is Leaving the Bin

Here we will select an existing lot number when inventory is leaving the bin (ex: picking, negative adjustments, etc). Let’s consider the example of selecting lot number and expiry date for negative adjustments:

  1. Go to the Manage Bins module.
  2. Open the bin and select the product you want to adjust the quantity for.
  3. Scan or enter the adjustment quantity.
  4. The Select Lot Number dropdown will appear with the available lot numbers. It will also include the expiration date, bin, and qty for each lot number.
  5. The lot number selected needs to have enough qty in the bin that is selected. You will not be allowed to pick or adjust down more units of a lot number than are available in the selected bin.

View Lot Numbers

There are several ways to find information about lot numbers in the Skustack app:

  1. In the Product Info module:
    1. Search for the product.
    2. Open the Lot Expirys.
    3. You will see a list of all lot numbers on the product and which bin they are in as well as the qty.

  2. In the Manage Bins module:
    1. Search for a bin.
    2. Swipe left on a product.
    3. Tap the Lot/Expiry icon to see the lot numbers in that bin, as well as the qty and expiration date.

Lot number management for independent kits differs from non-kits. Learn more here.

Manage Lot Numbers

There are several ways to manage lot numbers in the Skustack Admin portal.

Configure Products

  1. Navigate to the Skustack Admin portal at https://xx.skustack.com (replace “xx” with your server ID or team name).
  2. Enter your login credentials.
  3. On the left, select Products > Manage Products.
  4. Open the product details page of a product.
  5. Click Toolbox and select Shipping Preferences.
  6. Click the Edit button in the upper right-hand corner.
  7. Check the Is Expirable box. This will mark the product as perishable.

View Lot Numbers

To view lot numbers for a specific product:

  1. Navigate to Products > Manage Products.
  2. Open the product details page of a product.
  3. Click Toolbox and select Lot Numbers.
  4. You will see the information about lot numbers associated with this product.
    1. Use the Lot Number and Bin filters to search for specific lot numbers or bins.

To view lot numbers for all products:

  1. Navigate to Reports > Product Lot Numbers > Manage Product Lot Numbers.
  2. Configure your Default filters to make sure that the results display exactly what you need.
  3. Click Search. Each filter you apply gets highlighted. If a filter is gray or not displayed at all, it’s not active.
  4. To manage the columns in the grid, click the three dots icon on the top right and select Customize Columns. You can:
    1. Reorder columns by dragging them up or down in the list;
    2. Hide columns by clicking the Trash icons;
    3. Add columns by clicking Add column.
  5. To arrange the data in a different order, use the Sort by menu.
  6. To save your filtering and sorting options, click Save view, enter a Name, and click Save.
  7. Select a lot from the grid and access the Actions menu at the lower right-hand corner to Export to Excel.

Refer to the table below for a description of each filter.

FILTER DESCRIPTION
Lot Number The unique code you assign to a product lot for tracking purposes.
Product ID A product’s unique SKU identifier.
Expiry Date The date range within which a lot expires.
Is Expired Whether the lot is past its expiry date or not.
Days To Expiration The number of days left until the lot expiry date.

To view lot numbers associated with an order:

  1. Navigate to Orders > Manage Orders.
  2. Open the order details page of the order you want to check.
  3. Click Toolbox at the top right and select Lot Numbers.
  4. You will see information about lot numbers associated with products in this order.

 

Product Lot Number Activity

To view lot number activity such as POs, orders, and FBA shipments:

  1. Navigate to Reports > Product Lot Numbers > Product Lot Number Activity.
  2. Configure the filters at the top of the page to display exactly what you need. The report shows:
    1. Purchase orders containing products with lot numbers are in the PO DATA table.
    2. Orders containing products with lot numbers are in the ORDER DATA table.
    3. FBA shipments containing products with lot numbers are in the FBA SHIPMENT DATA table.

Refer to the table below for a description of each filter.

FILTER DESCRIPTION
Product ID A product’s unique SKU identifier.
Lot Number The unique code you assign to a product batch for tracking purposes.
Expiry Date The product lot expiry date.
Activity Date The date when the activity occurred.
Days To Expiration The number of days left until the lot expiry date.

Reconcile Lot Numbers

Reconcile your inventory to match a product’s bin quantity to the quantity of a specific lot number.

  1. Navigate to the Skustack Admin portal at https://xx.skustack.com (replace “xx” with your server ID or team name).
  2. Enter your login credentials.
  3. On the left, select Reports > Product Lot Numbers > Lot Numbers Reconciliation.
  4. Configure your Default filters to make sure that the results display exactly what you need.
  5. Click Search. Each filter you apply gets highlighted. If a filter is gray or not displayed at all, it’s not active.
  6. To manage the columns in the grid, click the three dots icon on the top right and select Customize Columns. You can:
    1. Reorder columns by dragging them up or down in the list;
    2. Hide columns by clicking the Trash icons;
    3. Add columns by clicking Add column.
  7. To arrange the data in a different order, use the Sort by menu.
  8. To save your filtering and sorting options, click Save view, enter a Name, and click Save.
  9. Access the Actions menu at the lower right-hand corner to generate a Bin Lot Reconcile Audit Report, or select a product from the grid and Reconcile Bin Qty To Lot Qty. Reconciling the quantity will adjust the bin quantity to match the lot number data.

Refer to the table below for a description of each filter.

FILTER DESCRIPTION
Company The company selling the product.
Warehouse The warehouse where the product is currently stored.
ProductID The product’s unique SKU identifier.
Bin Name The bin where the product is currently placed.
Bin Qty Range The quantity of the product in a bin.

Enable or Disable Lot Numbers

By disabling expired lot numbers, warehouse managers can ensure compliance and uphold product quality by preventing the distribution of expired products to customers. Disabling the lot number ensures that these products are not accidentally selected for picking.

To enable or disable a lot number:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Warehouse Lot Numbers.
  2. Apply your desired filters.
  3. Select the lot numbers from the grid.
  4. Access the Actions menu to either Enable or Disable the lot numbers.
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