Monitoring expiry dates and FIFO notifications

Purpose

1.1 Ensure perishable food items are used before expiry by monitoring inventory expiry dates, maintaining strict FIFO, and alerting staff to minimize waste, ensure compliance, reduce costs, and uphold high Alsatian cuisine standards in restaurants.
1.2 Automatically detect and flag inventory at risk, synchronize records across systems, and send proactive stock rotation reminders to operational teams for optimal menu consistency and food safety.

Trigger Conditions

2.1 New inventory batch received or updated in POS/ERP.
2.2 Item expiry date approaches a defined threshold (e.g., 7, 3, 1 day before expiry).
2.3 Stocks consumed in recipes, reducing batch quantities.
2.4 Scheduled daily or real-time checks for approaching expiry or FIFO violation.
2.5 Manual data entry of new expiry dates or overrides by staff.

Platform Variants

3.1 Microsoft Power Automate
• Action: Flow trigger “When an item is modified” in SharePoint inventory list; configure scheduled recurrence for daily expiry scan.
3.2 Google Apps Script
• Feature: Time-driven trigger reading Google Sheets inventory; send custom notifications to Google Chat or Gmail when expiry dates are imminent.
3.3 Slack API
• Endpoint: chat.postMessage; post FIFO alerts to kitchen or procurement channels with actionable batch info.
3.4 Twilio SMS
• Function: Message API; configure “expiry_alert” for templated SMS to staff or suppliers when products near expiry.
3.5 SendGrid
• Feature: Transactional email API; trigger scheduled expiry/fifo alerts including detailed batch info to specified mailing groups.
3.6 HubSpot
• Workflow: “Inventory Expiry Alert” workflow; user property triggers email/Slack reminders to team based on custom expiry fields.
3.7 Zoho Inventory
• Feature: “Custom Function” or webhook on item expiry; auto-generate and email FIFO/pending expiry reports.
3.8 Trello
• Automation: Scheduled Butler command to create cards per expiring batch, assign staff, and set due reminders.
3.9 Monday.com
• Feature: “Automations” with conditions on expiry/status column; auto-update item status, notify assigned user.
3.10 Airtable
• Automation: Script or scheduled trigger; reflects soon-to-expire stock, sends email/SMS to specified chef/manager.
3.11 Odoo
• Automation: Scheduled server actions on “Lot/Serial Expiry Date”; auto-create activity for warehouse, notify procurement.
3.12 SAP Business One
• Function: User-defined alerts using Query Generator; notify via internal message/email when expiry conditions met.
3.13 Oracle NetSuite
• Workflow: SuiteFlow triggers on inventory record expiry fields, launches alerts and task assignments.
3.14 Salesforce
• Process Builder or Flow: Checks custom ‘Expiry Date’ fields, launches task, email, or platform notification.
3.15 Freshdesk
• Feature: Scenario Automation; ticket creation if inventory/expiry records filed, assign to operations manager.
3.16 Notion
• Automation: Integration with third-party (Zapier/Make) to create new page or update database when product approaching expiry, ping team.
3.17 Mailgun
• Function: Scheduled API send for templated expiry reports to staff or suppliers.
3.18 Asana
• Automation: Rule triggers based on expiry custom fields; create new task and assign to inventory handler.
3.19 QuickBooks
• Function: Inventory ageing reports, set scheduled export and custom notification on nearing expiry via available add-ons.
3.20 Jira
• Automation: Create issue from expiry criteria, assign to relevant operations/devops for supply chain review.
3.21 Shopify
• App: Inventory management integration to trigger webhook when product expiry threshold hits; email/Slack to operations.
3.22 Klaviyo
• Flow: Automated email reminders to operations list, triggered via custom expiry attribute in product catalog.

Benefits

4.1 Reduces risk of serving expired food, upholds health standards.
4.2 Minimizes waste, saving costs on stock.
4.3 Enforces FIFO discipline for recipe integrity.
4.4 Automates compliance documentation for audits.
4.5 Improves supplier communication if replenishment required.
4.6 Frees staff time so focus remains on guest experience.
4.7 Provides robust audit trail for stock events and decisions.