Expiry date tracking and alerts for perishable items

Purpose

1. Automate detection of approaching expiry dates for alcohol stock to ensure compliance, prevent loss, and maintain product quality.

2. Centralize expiry data, monitor inventory periodically, and alert staff before items become unsellable.

3. Support regulatory reporting, rotation guidance, and timely stock clearance for government retail monopolies.

4. Reduce manual tracking, improve inventory accuracy, and minimize legal risks.

Trigger Conditions

1. Scheduled inventory scans (daily/weekly) for new expiry risks.

2. Approaching expiry threshold (e.g., 30, 14, 7, 1 days left).

3. Stock updates—product received or entered with expiry date.

4. Manual lot entry or update in ERP/POS.

5. Regulatory check dates.

Platform Variants

1. Microsoft Power Automate

• Feature/Setting: Workflow triggers on SharePoint/Excel item changes for expiry fields; notification flows
  
• Sample: Configure trigger “When an item is modified”; send alert via Teams/email.
  

2. Zapier

• Feature/Setting: Zap triggers on inventory app updates nearing expiry; multi-step filtering
  
• Sample: Add filter “Expiry date is in next 30 days”; action “Send Slack/email alert.”
  

3. Salesforce

• Feature/Setting: Process Builder on stock object; trigger expiry workflow
  
• Sample: Set criteria on “Expiry_Date__c < TODAY() + 14” for alert task.
  

4. Google Apps Script

• Feature/Setting: Scheduled script on Sheets to calculate days to expiry; push notification
  
• Sample: Apps Script time-driven trigger checks expiry, sends Gmail alert.
  

5. AWS Lambda

• Feature/Setting: Serverless scan of expiry columns in RDS/DynamoDB
  
• Sample: EventBridge runs Lambda daily; API triggers SNS alert for near-expiry batch.
  

6. Azure Logic Apps

• Feature/Setting: Scheduled SQL/Blob query for expiry; send E-mail/Teams message
  
• Sample: Recurrence trigger, “Get rows” on expiry field, send action to notification connector.
  

7. Google Cloud Functions

• Feature/Setting: Automated expiry scan in Cloud SQL/Firestore
  
• Sample: Scheduled function queries expiring items, calls Pub/Sub for alerts.
  

8. Twilio SMS

• Feature/Setting: API sends SMS to managers for urgent expiry
  
• Sample: POST to /Messages API with body: “SKU {X} expires in 7 days”.
  

9. SendGrid

• Feature/Setting: Automated email on expiry events
  
• Sample: Use “mail/send” API in workflow to alert on expiring products.
  

10. Slack API

• Feature/Setting: Incoming webhook posts to inventory-alert channel
  
• Sample: POST JSON with “SKU, expiry date” to webhook URL.
  

11. SAP Business One

• Feature/Setting: User-defined alerts on expiry fields in inventory
  
• Sample: Alert function monitors “ExpiryDate” <= ADD_DAYS(CURRENT_DATE, 14).
  

12. Oracle NetSuite

• Feature/Setting: SuiteScript scheduled scripts on item expiry
  
• Sample: Script triggers email or dashboard alert as expiry date approaches.
  

13. Shopify Flow

• Feature/Setting: Workflow for stock expiry tags and notifications
  
• Sample: “Inventory update” trigger with expiry logic sends admin alert.
  

14. Monday.com

• Feature/Setting: Auto-notify rules on “date columns” for stock expiry
  
• Sample: Automation “When expiry column is within X” send dashboard/email update.
  

15. Asana

• Feature/Setting: Task created/tagged when expiry threshold reached
  
• Sample: Rules create a task “Dispose item X expiring in Y days”.
  

16. Airtable

• Feature/Setting: Script block or automation runs expiry checks
  
• Sample: If (expiry_date - today) < 14, trigger notification action.
  

17. Notion

• Feature/Setting: Database reminder and integration with automate apps
  
• Sample: Date property filter to display/notify items close to expiry.
  

18. Trello

• Feature/Setting: Butler automation adds card/comment/tag on expiring inventory
  
• Sample: “Due date” is expiry; trigger checklist or board alert.
  

19. HubSpot

• Feature/Setting: Workflow automation on inventory properties
  
• Sample: Workflow “If Expiry_Date < Today+14” send internal alert.
  

20. Freshdesk

• Feature/Setting: Ticket created for stock manager as item nears expiry
  
• Sample: API call from expiry workflow opens task ticket for resolution.
  

21. Smartsheet

• Feature/Setting: Automated alerts and update requests on date fields
  
• Sample: Alert workflow when expiry in sheet is within set threshold.
  

Benefits

1. Prevent unsellable stock by early intervention.

2. Ensure regulatory compliance for state-run alcohol distribution.

3. Minimize financial loss and waste from expired goods.

4. Streamline staff workload and increase stock turnover efficiency.

5. Enable proactive reporting to government oversight bodies.