01
The dilemma
Expired batches were leaving the warehouse because picking did not respect expiry. At the same time, three clerks re-typed orders that arrived as PDFs, email and WhatsApp into the old accounting system. Expired-batch losses were running above $100k a year.
What was breaking
- Picking ignored expiry. Staff chose what was nearest. Lots close to expiry were still on the shelf when they should have gone out first.
- Orders arrived as documents. PDF, email and WhatsApp orders were copied by hand. The delay sat between the customer and the warehouse.
- No lot trail. A question about which batch went to which customer meant a search through paper and the old system.
The cost of standing still
Cold chain punishes a late pick and a missed expiry. The loss was both stock written off and a warehouse that could not promise same-day fulfillment.
02
The idea
Put the lot and its expiry on the same record as the pick, and stop the clerks re-typing orders that a checked extraction could draft for them.
The principles we worked to
- First expired, first out. The pick path prefers the lot that expires soonest, and blocks lots inside 30 days of expiry.
- A person still checks the document. Extracted order lines land on an exception queue. Nothing posts until someone accepts it.
- The lot stays attached. Scan at the handheld confirms batch and expiry, so the trail exists when someone asks later.
What we ruled out, and why
| Option considered | Why we did not take it |
|---|---|
| A labeling exercise on the old system | The old accounting tool could not drive directed picking or hold a lot trail the warehouse would actually use. |
| Fully automatic posting of extracted orders | Supplier PDFs are messy. A wrong line on a perishable order is worse than a clerk checking a draft. |
03
The build
Dynamics 365 held the inventory rules. Azure carried the documents in.
Lot and expiry on Business Central
Dynamics 365 Business Central with first-expired, first-out picking, and a lot model the warehouse can trace.
Directed picking
Handheld terminals confirm batch and expiry at scan. Lots within 30 days of expiry are not offered.
Document intake with a human check
Azure Event Grid receives purchase orders. Extracted lines from PDFs and email wait on an exception dashboard until a person accepts them.
Supplier acknowledgements
A two-way EDI link keeps purchase acknowledgements in step with the primary suppliers.
04
The impact
| Measure | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Expired stock write-offs | Above $100k a year | Near zero on the lots the new rules cover |
| Same-day fulfillment | Held up by re-keying and undirected picks | 96% of orders fulfilled the same day |
| Order entry | Three clerks re-typing documents | 22 hours a week of that re-keying removed |
| Lot trail | Paper and memory | Batch and expiry confirmed at scan |
Beyond the numbers
- Expiry became a rule, not a reminder. The pick itself refuses the lot that should not go out.
05
What comes next
The warehouse rules are live. Next is widening the same pattern.
- More suppliers on the acknowledgement link.
- A customer-facing lot lookup for recall questions.
Engagement delivered by the Ideentrix founding team. Technologies, scope and outcomes as recorded at project close, published with the client's consent.
