Expiry Tracking for FMCG Products in India
Built for distributors, super-stockists + FMCG-heavy kirana
A mid-size FMCG distributor in India loses ₹22-45 lakhs a year to expired stock on a ₹15-crore turnover. About half is theoretically recoverable as principal-company credit. Most distributors recover well under that ceiling because the batch + lot proof isn't documented at the level the principal will accept. Fixing the documentation discipline is what ShelfLifePro does.
The 3 places FMCG products go to die in the Indian distribution chain
In the warehouse
Slow-moving SKU sits behind a fast-moving SKU on the same rack. Newer stock keeps coming in. The older stock at the back gets blocked. By the time it surfaces, it's past expiry. Classic FIFO-instead-of-FEFO failure.
On the van / beat
Sales rep loads the van for Monday's beat. The biscuits with 45 days remaining go out alongside ones with 6 months. The retailer takes the longer-dated ones, refuses the shorter-dated ones, and the rep brings them back. They've now spent another week on the van.
At the retailer
The kirana accepts the stock. It sits on the back shelf. The shopkeeper doesn't know they have it. It expires on shelf. They want a credit. The distributor needs to prove the batch was theirs at the claim date. Most can't.
The recovery math nobody walks you through
Built for every tier of the FMCG distribution chain
Distributor / C&F
Batch + lot tracking from receipt to dispatch. FEFO at billing. Expiry-claim recovery workflow with the documentation principals actually accept. GST credit notes auto-generated for returns. Beat-plan integration so the sales rep on Tuesday's North Beat sees what's on the truck and what's expiring.
Super-Stockist
Multi-warehouse consolidated dashboard. Inter-warehouse near-expiry transfers (move stock from slow-moving warehouse to fast-moving warehouse before it expires). Per-warehouse FEFO discipline. ASM / RSM rolled-up view; warehouse-level slices for daily ops.
Van Sales / Retail
Mobile billing on the van with the same FEFO + expiry discipline. Sales rep sees days-to-expiry on every batch before invoicing the kirana. Reduces the most common cause of distributor-retailer disputes — short-dated stock landing at the retailer.
The feature set that closes the documentation gap
Batch + lot capture at receipt
Scan the carton barcode at the dock. Batch, lot, manufacturing date, expiry date — all captured automatically. No manual entry. The principal-claim proof exists from day 1.
WhatsApp expiry alerts
ASM, RSM, or owner gets the daily expiry alert at 7 AM. Tiered by days-to-expiry: 60 days, 30 days, 15 days, 7 days. Decision-grade not noise.
Expiry-claim documentation pack
When you raise an expiry claim with the principal, the documentation pack assembles in one click: batch number, lot number, primary invoice reference, current inventory-on-hand evidence, claim-date stock photo. The 3 docs the principal actually accepts.
GST credit-note workflow
Returns to principal generate the correct GST credit note with HSN + reverse-tax calculation. Flows into Tally / Marg / Busy. Reconciles in GSTR-1 cleanly.
Beat-plan + van sales integration
Sales rep on Tuesday's North Beat opens the mobile app. Sees the batches loaded on the van + days-to-expiry on each. Bills the kirana with FEFO automatic.
Secondary-sales visibility
When a kirana scans + bills your stock through their own POS, the secondary-sales data flows back to you. Real demand pattern visibility, not just the primary you billed last week.
Inter-warehouse transfers
Slow-moving stock at Warehouse A approaching expiry; Warehouse B is short. Transfer recommendation surfaces automatically. Move it before it expires.
FSSAI date-marking compliance
Every label and dispatch document carries the FSSAI-aligned date format. Inspection-ready. The food-safety officer doesn't have a question for you.
What changes for an FMCG distributor in 90 days
Without ShelfLifePro
- Batch numbers captured on paper at receipt — half lost by claim date
- FIFO at warehouse picking — older slow-movers expire at the back
- Sales rep loads van blind to days-to-expiry on each batch
- Expiry claims rejected ~50% of the time on documentation grounds
- GST credit notes for returns done manually, error-prone
- No visibility into secondary sales until the principal sends data
- Monthly stock count reveals the expiry damage already done
With ShelfLifePro
- Batch + lot captured by carton scan — proof exists from day 1
- FEFO automatic at warehouse picking + at distributor billing
- Sales rep sees days-to-expiry on every loaded batch on the van app
- Expiry claims accepted ~80%+ — recovery up by 0.5-1.0% of turnover
- GST credit notes auto-generated, flow cleanly to Tally / Marg / Busy
- Secondary-sales visible in real time from retailer scans
- Daily expiry alerts at 7 AM — surface the problem before it expires
Built for the Indian FMCG context, not adapted from a US tool
ShelfLifePro is built in India for the Indian FMCG distribution chain. The principal-claim workflow follows the actual documentation that HUL, ITC, Nestlé, Britannia, Dabur, and the other top-50 FMCG companies require to accept an expiry credit. The GST credit-note logic follows the actual GSTR-1 reconciliation flow. The beat-plan integration matches how FMCG salesforce actually runs in Tier 1, 2, 3 markets.
Distributor pricing starts at ₹2,699/month (Pro Growth tier), retail at ₹1,799/month (Smart Retail). Free 14-day trial, no card needed.
FMCG expiry tracking — questions distributors actually ask
Read more on FMCG expiry + distributor inventory
Stop leaving ₹4-14 lakhs of expiry credit on the table
Free 14-day trial. No card needed. Setup support included for distributor + super-stockist accounts. Tally / Marg / Busy integration on request.