Shelf life management of items of supply is something that has been around ever since there have been shelves. A shelf life item is defined as an item that will deteriorate or become unstable over time; it therefore must be assigned a maximum storage period to ensure that it will perform satisfactorily when used. Industrial cribs and storerooms have hundreds of items that are time sensitive. Examples include batteries, hazardous materials and paint, welding materials and cleaning supplies.

The Shelf Life Module establishes and tracks the time sensitive items by lot numbers and expiration dates. A test tracking function permits the testing of qualified items to determine whether the item can still perform to its specification. Shelf life items include standard and hazardous items, both returnable and non-returnable.

Benefits

• Identification of date sensitive items
• Tracking of items with expiration dates
• Use of oldest material first
• Lot number control of date sensitive material

Module Description

Shelf Life Management (SLM) provides:

• Lot/Batch Management
• Lot Serialization
• Date Sensitive Material Management
• Location and Usage Tracking
• Retest and Scrap by Lot/Date
• MSDS documentation
• Reports and Listings

Date sensitive material is managed by expiration date. This date is entered at receiving time and tracked on all Check out and Check in transactions. During Check out the oldest item that is not expired is issued. An item may be retested and if acceptable may be assigned a new expiration date. Items may be scrapped by the entire lot or batch number, if they are past the expiration date.

Lot or batch numbers are used to track specific groups of inventory. Usually the grouping is by manufacturer, receiving date or manufactured date. During Check out and Check in the lot number is tracked, providing specific information on the usage and location of the items.

The Shelf Life Management module has listings and reports, which show the item, its expiration date, and lot number.