How does FIFO stock rotation work?
New stock goes behind the stock already there, so the oldest is always at the front and is picked first. Flow racks do this by design: cartons are loaded at the back and roll forward to the pick face.
- Label each delivery when it arrives, so its age is clear.
- Put new stock behind or below the stock already there.
- Pick from the front, where the oldest stock is.
- Count regularly to catch stock that was put in the wrong place.
Record stock at goods-in
FIFO starts when stock arrives. The operator scans the delivered item, enters what actually arrived and, for a lot-tracked item, its lot. StoresFlow shows the exact quantity before it is confirmed, and the stock waits in receiving until it is put away, so it is never offered to a job early. StoresFlow prepares labels for each item, lot and bin.
Put new stock away to the approved bin
The approved put-away rule names the bin for each receipt, and StoresFlow refuses any other bin. New stock goes where the rule says, not wherever there is space.
Direct each pick to the oldest stock
When a job line is reserved, StoresFlow allocates the oldest stock first. The pick screen then offers only the bins the job's stock was allocated from. Where the order of deliveries matters, give each delivery its own lot, so each is ranked by when it arrived.
Scan to verify the pick
The picker scans the bin they take from. A bin the job's stock was not allocated from, such as one holding newer stock, is refused and nothing is selected. The pick is recorded only when the picker confirms the material, quantity and location they physically checked.
Count to catch rotation errors
A count shows stock that went to the wrong place or was left behind. A supervisor counts a bounded set of bins, reviews each difference and applies the correction with a reason. Nothing changes until the difference is reviewed.
FIFO or FEFO?
FEFO (first expired, first out) uses the stock that expires first, whatever order it arrived in. Use FIFO for stock without an expiry date and FEFO for dated materials such as adhesives and sealants. StoresFlow's approved policy ranks stock by either rule, and never allocates, picks or issues an expired lot.
What StoresFlow does not do
- LIFO (last in, first out). StoresFlow never ranks the newest stock first.
- Stock valuation or FIFO costing for your accounts.
- Racking or the order of cartons within a bin. StoresFlow directs the pick to a bin; the order inside it is physical.
- Ranking items without lots by delivery date. They are ranked by when each bin first held the item, so give deliveries their own lots where their order matters.
- Checking the lot at the pick. The pick checks the material and the bin the job's stock was allocated from.
Common questions
What is the golden rule for stock rotation?
First in, first out: use the oldest stock before newer stock of the same item. Where stock has an expiry date, first expired, first out comes first.
How does FIFO work when restocking?
New stock goes behind or below the stock already there, so the oldest stays at the front to be picked first. In StoresFlow, new stock is put away to the bin the approved rule names, and each job's stock is reserved oldest first.
What is the first step in implementing FIFO?
Record and label stock as it arrives, so its age is known. In StoresFlow, goods-in records what actually arrived, with its lot for a lot-tracked item, before anything is put away.
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