Managing Expiration and Shelf Life Dates

No one wants to buy food that is going to expire before they have time to consume it. No distributer wants to buy food that’s going to expire before they have time to sell it. Similarly, no manufacturer can use or sell inventory that is out of specification due to aging. That is why many food manufacturers have both a shelf life date and an expiration date which must be managed carefully during inventory and production planning. Unfortunately, keeping track of expiration date and shelf lives of intermediates and finished products is complicated, especially in a dynamic environment with frequent schedule changes.

Fortunately, PlanetTogether has you covered. When materials (such as yeast) age, they become usable in fewer end items. PlanetTogether allows material requirements to specify a maximum age or amount of usage the material required may have in a particular job or order. This way, jobs or orders that need less aged material can specify it accordingly. With intermediate and final goods keeping track of your material’s age is simple- just enable lot tracking and the age of each lot will be automatically tracked. 

With the right planning system, coordinating shelf life is easier and the costs of aging inventory will diminish due to effective production planning and scheduling.