Dr. Kavitha Rajan
Pharmacy Operations Consultant
Across Indian retail pharmacies, expiry-related write-offs account for an average 2.5–4% of annual revenue — a figure that wipes out most of the thin margins that pharmacies operate on. The problem is structural: high SKU counts (a typical pharmacy carries 3,000–8,000 SKUs), multi-batch purchasing, and manual tracking methods combine to make near-expiry detection nearly impossible without software assistance.
1Why Batch Tracking Is Non-Negotiable
Every medicine has a batch number, manufacturing date, and expiry date. Without linking each purchase to its batch data, you cannot answer: 'Of the 50 strips of Metformin 500mg on my shelf, which expire first?' Manual pharmacies typically sort by visual inspection — which works until stock volumes grow. At 5,000 SKUs, a missed expiry batch is statistically certain. Regulatory compliance under Schedule H and Schedule H1 also requires batch-level records for controlled substances.
2FIFO vs. FEFO: Which Method Protects Your Margins?
FIFO (First In, First Out) moves older stock first based on purchase date. FEFO (First Expired, First Out) moves the soonest-to-expire stock first regardless of when it was purchased — which is what pharmacies actually need. A software system enforces FEFO at the billing counter: when a pharmacist scans a barcode, the system automatically selects the batch expiring soonest. This single feature cuts expiry write-offs by 40–60% in the first year.
3Alert Systems and Near-Expiry Discount Strategies
Proactive alerts are the second line of defence. Configure your pharmacy software to flag batches expiring within 60 days so you can return them to the distributor (most distributors accept returns up to 3 months before expiry). For batches within 30 days with no return option, a near-expiry discount tag on the billing screen moves stock before it becomes a write-off. Document these discounts properly for GST input reversal purposes.
Key Takeaway
Expiry management in a modern pharmacy is a data problem, not a discipline problem. The pharmacist who loses ₹2 lakh a year to write-offs is not careless — they simply do not have the tooling to see it coming. Investing in batch-tracked inventory software with FEFO billing and automated expiry alerts is the single highest-ROI operational upgrade available to independent pharmacy owners today.
Dr. Kavitha Rajan
Pharmacy Operations Consultant
Dr. Kavitha is a pharmacist with 14 years of retail pharmacy experience across Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. She consults on operations and inventory systems for independent pharmacy chains.
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March 10, 2026
We run 3 stores and were writing off ₹1.8 lakh per year in expiries. After implementing batch tracking with FEFO, it's down to ₹40k. The distributor return window tip alone saved us ₹60k.
Ramesh, these are remarkable numbers. The distributor return window is the most underused lever in pharmacy — most owners don't realise they have 60–90 days to act.
March 14, 2026
What software supports FEFO in India? My current billing software does FIFO only and my distributor doesn't take returns easily.
Zoroflex's Pharmacy Suite handles FEFO natively. For distributor returns, it helps to maintain a written near-expiry log — some distributors respond better when you have documentation.