Expiry losses are one of the biggest hidden costs for Pakistani medical stores. Stock sits on the shelf past its expiry date, cannot be sold and has to be written off, directly reducing your profit margin. For a mid-size pharmacy in Lahore or Karachi, annual expiry losses can run into hundreds of thousands of rupees.

The good news is that most expiry losses are preventable with the right inventory management system and processes. This guide explains how.

Why Expiry Losses Happen

  • Stock is purchased in large quantities without tracking individual batch expiry dates
  • Older stock is not rotated to the front so newer batches get dispensed while older ones expire
  • No early warning system alerts staff to stock approaching expiry
  • Slow-moving medicines sit unnoticed until they expire
  • Multiple locations make it hard to redistribute stock before expiry

The FEFO Principle: First Expiry, First Out

The standard inventory management principle for pharmaceuticals is FEFO, which stands for First Expiry, First Out. Unlike general retail where you sell the oldest stock first, with medicines you sell whichever batch expires soonest regardless of when it arrived. This requires tracking expiry dates per batch and flagging which batch should be dispensed next.

Without software, FEFO is difficult to maintain consistently, especially in a busy pharmacy counter where staff are focused on speed. With software, the system tells the counter staff which batch to pick automatically.

Setting Up Expiry Alerts

Good pharmacy software lets you configure automatic expiry alerts at 30, 60 and 90 days before a batch expires. This gives you time to return stock to the supplier, run promotions to clear it or redistribute it to another branch before it becomes a write-off.

In Lifeline HMS, expiry alerts appear on the pharmacy dashboard and can be configured per medicine category. Slow-moving medicines with higher expiry risk can be set to alert earlier.

Minimum Stock Levels and Reorder Points

Overstocking is a major driver of expiry losses. Buying six months of a slow-moving medicine to get a better price from your supplier often results in a write-off if demand changes. Setting minimum and maximum stock levels helps you order the right quantity at the right time.

  • Set minimum stock levels for fast-moving medicines to avoid stockouts
  • Set maximum stock levels for slow-moving medicines to avoid overstocking
  • Use purchase history reports to see 3 and 6-month consumption trends
  • Reorder based on actual consumption data, not supplier pressure

Managing Multiple Suppliers

Supplier management matters for inventory control. Keeping a record of which supplier provides which medicines, at what price and with what return policy gives you leverage when stock approaches expiry. Some suppliers accept returns for unexpired but slow-moving stock, which is worth negotiating into your supplier agreements.

Using Software to Reduce Losses

Manual spreadsheet tracking works to a point but breaks down as stock complexity grows. Pharmacy management software automates the critical tasks: batch tracking, expiry alerts, FEFO dispensing guidance, low stock warnings and purchase history reporting. The time saved on manual tracking and the reduction in write-offs typically more than covers the cost of the software.