Expiry date monitoring and alerts

Purpose

1. Automate expiry date tracking for perishable items to prevent stock loss and ensure compliance.

2. Automatedly monitor inventory for near-expiry products, triggering notifications or actions.

3. Streamline the process by minimizing manual checks and automating alert dissemination.

4. Automate compliance by maintaining up-to-date records of expiring items for regulatory needs.

5. Automate supplier notifications for replenishment based on expiry-driven reorder points.

Trigger Conditions

1. Automatically triggers when a product’s expiry date approaches a predefined threshold (e.g., 7 days remaining).

2. Automates alerts when new inventory is added with an expiry earlier than expected shelf life.

3. Automator activates when existing expiry dates are edited or updated in inventory software.

4. System automates batch scanning events (barcode/RFID) that detect expiring stock.

5. Automatedly triggers when inventory counts synchronize with POS or supplier APIs.

Platform Variants

1. Google Sheets

• Feature/Setting: Use “onEdit” or timed Google Apps Script triggers to automate lookup and send alerts; sample: `Time-driven trigger → Script checks expiry dates daily, automates email if <7 days`.
  

2. Microsoft Power Automate

• Feature/Setting: Use scheduled cloud flows to automate expiry checks in Excel, automate Teams/email report; sample: `Recurrence trigger → List rows in Excel → Condition expiry < threshold → Send Teams automation`.
  

3. Airtable

• Feature/Setting: Automate formula fields + “When record matches conditions” automation; sample: `Expiry < Today()+7 triggers email/SMS`.
  

4. Slack

• Feature/Setting: Incoming Webhooks to automate posting to a #restock-alerts channel; sample: `Webhook executes bot message for automated expiry warnings`.
  

5. Twilio SMS

• Feature/Setting: Twilio Programmable SMS API to automate expiry alerts; sample config: `Automated POST to \`/Messages\` API with alert content`.
  

6. SendGrid

• Feature/Setting: Mail Send v3 API automates email alerts; sample: `Automator sends expiry notification via \`/mail/send\` endpoint`.
  

7. Microsoft Teams

• Feature/Setting: Flow bot to automate/automatedly post adaptive cards on expiry risks; sample: `HTTP POST to Teams channel via Incoming Webhook`.
  

8. Zapier

• Feature/Setting: Scheduled Zaps with filter and notification actions; sample: `Schedule Zap → Filter by expiry → Automate Slack/Email/Twilio alert`.
  

9. Freshdesk

• Feature/Setting: Automate ticket creation via API when shortage or expiry is detected; sample: `Automator posts to \`/api/v2/tickets\``.
  

10. Shopify

• Feature/Setting: Shopify Admin API auto tags low-stock or to-expire items; sample: `Automated GraphQL mutation tags product & notifies staff`.
  

11. Square

• Feature/Setting: Automates inventory webhook triggers; sample: `Inventory webhook → expiry < threshold → automated email/SMS `.
  

12. Toast POS

• Feature/Setting: Toast API triggers automation on expiring stock; sample: `API webhook ‘inventory.updated’ triggers expiry alert workflow`.
  

13. Mailgun

• Feature/Setting: Automate expiry notifications via Send Message API; sample: `POST to \`/v3/messages\` automates warning to staff`.
  

14. HubSpot

• Feature/Setting: Automator creates tasks/notifications in CRM pipeline for expiring items; sample: `POST to \`/crm/v3/objects/tasks\``.
  

15. Monday.com

• Feature/Setting: Date field triggers “notification automation” when near expiry; sample: `Board automation: date arrives → send alert`.
  

16. Zoho Inventory

• Feature/Setting: Use Workflow Rules to automate reminders; sample: `Create scheduled workflow: expiry date < x days → automated task/email`.
  

17. SAP Business One

• Feature/Setting: Custom triggers automate warnings via Alerts Management; sample: `Alert automation: expiration < N days → email to inventory manager`.
  

18. QuickBooks

• Feature/Setting: QuickBooks API automates adding memos/notes on expiry; sample: `Update inventory item endpoint → memo “Near expiry”`.
  

19. Notion

• Feature/Setting: Databases with Formula and Reminder functions; sample: `Automator flags expiry and creates Notion reminders`.
  

20. PagerDuty

• Feature/Setting: Event API automates critical expiry alerts to on-call staff; sample: `POST to \`/v2/enqueue\` triggers incident if expiry breached`.
  

21. Trello

• Feature/Setting: Card due dates with Butler automations; sample: `Expiry date set → Butler rule automates card move/alert`.
  

22. Oracle NetSuite

• Feature/Setting: User event scripts automate expiry checks; sample: `Scheduled SuiteScript automator scans for near-expiry, auto-email sent`.
  

Benefits

1. Automated expiry monitoring reduces product wastage, positively impacting profits.

2. Automation eliminates human error, ensuring accuracy and reliability.

3. Automated alerts save staff time, allowing focus on service over manual monitoring.

4. Automating supplier and compliance reporting strengthens vendor relationships and audits.

5. Automated notifications allow scalable inventory management across multiple locations.