Medicine expiry in a pharmacy: how to stop losing money on the shelf

Expired medicine is pure loss for a pharmacy, and it is almost always preventable. The trick is to know what is going to expire before it does.

1. Check expiry when stock arrives

Don't accept short-dated stock without agreeing it with the distributor. Write the batch and expiry of every item from the bill as it comes in.

2. Sell the earliest expiry first

This is called FEFO: first expiry, first out. New stock goes behind old stock on the shelf. A cashier picking from the front should always get the oldest strip.

3. Look ahead every month

Make a list of everything expiring in the next three months. Move those to the front, mention them to doctors nearby if relevant, and sell them first.

4. Return in time

Many distributors take back near-expiry stock if it is returned early enough. Know each distributor's rule and return before the deadline, not after.

5. Buy closer to what you sell

Slow-moving medicines are the ones that expire. Order them in smaller quantities more often, even if the price per box is a little higher.

6. Substitutes instead of lost sales

If a customer asks for a brand you don't have, a medicine with the same formula (salt) from another company may keep the sale, with the customer's agreement.

Munshi's medical store software records batch and expiry on every purchase, sells the earliest expiry first, lists what will expire soon, and searches medicines by formula.