A barcode can decode a product, lot and date correctly while the lot is still ineligible for the order. The warehouse application must decide which inventory is available under the order's rules, allocate an eligible lot, compare the actual scan and commit the correct quantity. First-expired-first-out (FEFO) sorts eligible stock by expiry; it does not release frozen stock or override a customer's agreed shelf-life requirement.
This article uses a dated editorial example, not a customer operation or an AIDC GO software feature. Business Central's FEFO documentation is a named configuration example: item tracking, posted expiration data and location settings determine whether its FEFO picking applies. A different WMS may implement different screens and exception authority.
Separate captured fields from the allocation decision
The product identifier says what item the task concerns; the lot identifies a batch; an expiry date is an attribute with a defined meaning; inventory status says whether the stock is available for this transaction. The label may carry some, all or none of these fields. If the lot or expiry is absent from the barcode, the reader cannot invent it: the application must obtain it from an approved record or require an authorised verification path. The GS1 parsing guide addresses how encoded fields reach WMS inputs, while the quantity and unit guide covers quantity interpretation. Neither decides which lot an order may use.
For a GS1-labelled item, check the actual Application Identifiers, not just a date-looking string. The GS1 Logistic Label Guideline, version 1.3 distinguishes AI 10 batch/lot, AI 15 best-before and AI 17 expiration, with the latter dates represented as YYMMDD. AI 11 is production date, not an expiry date. The project's product master and policy must say which date controls picking. Do not silently treat best-before, production and expiry as interchangeable, or turn a locally printed date into a GS1 element without checking its carrier and syntax.
Test FEFO against three lots on one order
For warehouse picking, first-in-first-out (FIFO) follows the project's defined receipt or inventory-entry order, while FEFO follows the recorded expiry date. A lot received later can expire sooner, so the two rules can select different lots. Neither ordering overrides the project's available-stock status or the order's restrictions. Microsoft's location-aging FIFO example illustrates a configured warehouse-picking rule, not an accounting cost method or a default for every WMS.
Assume an editorial order for six pieces of ITEM-620, due to ship on 20 September 2026. For this order alone, the customer agreement requires at least 30 full calendar days remaining at shipment, and the quality team has already frozen one lot. These are example rules, not a law or universal FEFO threshold. The WMS contains accurate lot dates and statuses, and the three lots each have enough physical quantity for the order.
| Lot and recorded expiry | Eligibility on 20 September 2026 | Picking decision under the editorial rules |
|---|---|---|
Lot A, 1 October 2026 |
Not eligible: quality-frozen, regardless of its earliest date. | Do not allocate or release lot A without the authorised quality decision. |
Lot B, 15 October 2026 |
Not eligible: 25 calendar days remain, below this order's assumed 30-day minimum. | Reject a scan of lot B for this order; do not silently waive the requirement. |
Lot C, 10 November 2026 |
Eligible: 51 calendar days remain and stock is available. | Allocate lot C, then compare the physical scan and quantity with that allocation. |
The result is lot C, although it expires after A and B. FEFO only orders lots that survive all relevant eligibility tests. If a source document explicitly specifies a lot, the application's configured allocation logic must also resolve that instruction. Microsoft's Business Central example says specified serial or lot tracking on a source document is respected before its FEFO ordering; it does not establish how every WMS resolves a conflicting customer rule.
Compare the actual scan with the active work line
The operator opens the allocated pick for ITEM-620, six pieces of lot C. Scanning a product code verifies the item only if the application compares it with this work line. Scanning lot B must show a mismatch or an authorised exception, not silently substitute it because the product code is correct. Scanning lot C still leaves quantity, unit, source location and destination task to be confirmed. The picking-verification guide covers those source-to-tote checks; the present decision is why lot C was eligible in the first place.
Record the allocation, actual scanned lot, quantity and final inventory transaction separately. A successful decode is not evidence that FEFO was enabled, that a quality hold was cleared or that inventory was posted. A supervisor-approved lot substitution should preserve the original allocation, reason, approver and resulting stock movement so the later audit does not mistake a manual override for automatic FEFO.
Preserve the meaning of missing or conflicting data
If expiry is missing, the application should not assume the earliest or latest possible date. It should hold or route the lot under the project's approved data rule. If the label's date conflicts with the lot master, record both values and investigate which record or label needs correction before accepting the pick. If quality status changes after work was released, recheck eligibility at the configured decision point; an earlier allocation is not proof the stock is still available. If the picker cannot find the eligible lot, record a shortage or request reallocation rather than scanning a frozen or short-life lot to close the task.
In Business Central, FEFO behavior depends on item tracking, expiration dates and a location-level setting, and its documentation describes additional distinctions between inventory and warehouse picks. Those details belong to that software. Demonstrate the proposed WMS's actual allocation, scan rejection, override and transaction output with the project's labels and rules. Do not infer software behavior from a handheld specification sheet.
Evaluate the capture path with the same business sample
Use representative labels from all three lots, including the actual symbology, placement and worn or reflective packaging. Confirm what the scanner returns, how the application parses product, lot and date, whether the operator can see the allocated lot and reason for rejection, and whether the resulting inventory transaction agrees with the physical pick. If a label carries multiple symbols, the multiple-barcode selection guide covers choosing the intended identifier. If a supplier uses a GS1 Digital Link URI, the Digital Link guide covers URI-to-field mapping; neither substitutes for inventory eligibility.
The warehousing and logistics workflow page and handheld-terminal category provide context for the physical workflow, not a built-in FEFO guarantee. Use Integration Support to confirm the exact capture interface and application responsibilities, then contact AIDC GO with the three-lot test and intended exception policy. Model-specific scan, application and WMS support remain to be verified.