Automated Expiry & Inventory Management

Replace error-prone spreadsheets and siloed databases with a shared, automated ledger. Smart contracts automatically update inventory status upon expiry, shipment, or sale. This reduces manual data entry by up to 80% and cuts associated labor costs, freeing staff for higher-value tasks. Example: A pharmaceutical distributor can automate batch tracking across warehouses, eliminating daily reconciliation reports.

Prove compliance with regulations like FDA DSCSA, EU FMD, or FSMA in seconds, not days. Every status change—from manufacture to expiry—is immutably recorded with a timestamp and authorized party. Automated alerts flag non-compliant inventory for quarantine. This slashes audit preparation time and provides a defensible, real-time compliance record, reducing regulatory risk and potential fines.

Transform expiry management from a cost center to a profit-protection tool. Real-time visibility across the entire supply chain allows for dynamic pricing of near-expiry goods and proactive redistribution to high-turnover locations. This minimizes write-offs and recaptures 5-15% of potential lost revenue. Example: A grocery chain uses smart expiry dates to automatically trigger markdowns or donations, optimizing sell-through.

Execute targeted, near-instantaneous recalls instead of costly blanket withdrawals. With a granular, item-level ledger, you can pinpoint affected batches down to the specific store shelf in minutes. This reduces recall costs by over 50%, limits brand damage, and demonstrates proactive safety to consumers. The transparent provenance trail also becomes a powerful marketing tool for quality-conscious buyers.

Gain predictive insights to right-size inventory and free up capital. Automated expiry data feeds into analytics platforms, enabling demand forecasting that accounts for shelf life. This reduces overstock of perishable goods, improves inventory turnover ratios, and reduces carrying costs by 20-30%. The result is a leaner, more responsive supply chain with capital redeployed to growth initiatives.

Monetize your supply chain data securely and compliantly. With verifiable, real-time inventory and expiry data, you can create trusted data feeds for insurers (for better risk-based premiums), lenders (for asset-backed financing), and sustainability auditors. This transforms compliance data from a cost into an asset, opening doors to new partnership models and revenue-sharing opportunities.

The Pain Point: Manual stock counts and paper-based logs lead to discrepancies, lost inventory (shrinkage), and costly reconciliation efforts between different systems (ERP, WMS).

The Blockchain Fix: Every item is tokenized with a unique digital identity on a shared ledger. Movement from manufacturer to distributor to retailer is recorded in real-time, creating a single source of truth. This eliminates manual counts and reduces shrinkage by providing auditable, real-time visibility.

Real-World Impact: A pharmaceutical distributor reduced inventory discrepancies by 95% and cut annual reconciliation labor costs by over $200,000.

The Pain Point: Identifying and removing expired or recalled goods is reactive, slow, and prone to human error, risking regulatory fines and consumer safety.

The Blockchain Fix: Smart contracts automatically trigger actions based on immutable expiry dates or recall notices. Systems can:

• Auto-flag items nearing expiry for priority sale.
• Lock expired items in the system, preventing sale.
• Instantly trace all affected batches in a recall, reducing scope and liability.

Example: A food supply chain using this system executed a recall in hours instead of days, limiting exposure to < 1% of total inventory.

The Pain Point: Preparing for regulatory audits (FDA, FSMA, GDP) requires manually compiling records from disparate systems, a process taking weeks and costing thousands in labor.

The Blockchain Fix: The immutable audit trail is the compliance report. Regulators can be granted permissioned access to verify the entire lifecycle history of any product—provenance, storage conditions, handling—instantly.

ROI Justification: One medical device company cut its audit preparation time from 3 weeks to 3 days, saving an estimated $75,000 per audit in administrative costs and reducing compliance risk.

The Pain Point: Inventory financing is based on static reports, and perishable goods often must be heavily discounted or written off as waste.

The Blockchain Fix: Real-time, verifiable inventory data enables dynamic financing models. Lenders can offer better rates against proven, traceable assets. Furthermore, smart contracts can automate discounting or diversion of soon-to-expire goods to secondary markets.

Quantifiable Benefit: A retailer implemented this to reduce perishable waste by 30%, translating to over $1.2M in annual recovered revenue, while improving working capital terms.

The Pain Point: Manual temperature logging and expiry tracking for vaccines and biologics leads to regulatory risk, costly spoilage, and patient safety issues.

The Blockchain Fix: Immutable, timestamped records of every temperature reading and location change from manufacturer to clinic. Smart contracts automatically flag excursions and trigger alerts or quarantine procedures.

Real-World ROI: A major pharma consortium reduced spoilage by 37% and cut audit preparation time from weeks to hours by providing regulators with a single, verifiable source of truth.

The Pain Point: Managing the lifecycle, certification, and mandatory retirement of thousands of aircraft parts is a manual, error-prone process critical for safety.

The Blockchain Fix: A shared, tamper-proof ledger for part serial numbers, maintenance history, and expiry dates. Smart contracts automatically enforce regulatory life limits and prevent installation of expired components.

Business Value: Enables predictive maintenance scheduling, ensures 100% compliance with FAA/EASA regulations, and creates a valuable digital twin of physical assets for resale.

The Pain Point: Seasonal goods and perishable inventory (like cosmetics) lead to massive markdowns, stockouts, and unsustainable waste.

The Blockchain Fix: Real-time, store-level visibility into stock levels and expiry dates. Smart contracts can automate dynamic pricing, initiate transfers between locations, or trigger donations before items expire.

Quantifiable Benefit: A European retailer implemented smart expiry tracking for cosmetics, reducing end-of-season write-offs by 22% and increasing sell-through rates by 15% through automated markdown strategies.

Acknowledging the Challenge: Success requires integration with existing ERP/WMS systems and collaboration across the supply chain. The technology is proven, but change management is key.

Our Recommended Path:

• Start with a Pilot: Focus on one high-value, problematic SKU or process.
• Leverage Consortia: Join industry-specific networks (e.g., Food Trust, MediLedger) to share infrastructure costs.
• Focus on Data On-Ramp: The biggest hurdle is getting clean, automated data onto the chain. Partner with IoT and scanner providers.

The Bottom Line: The ROI isn't just in cost savings—it's in risk mitigation, brand protection, and creating a competitive, transparent supply chain.