How to configure Expiration Dates in Odoo

Product expiry, whether in a consumable form or not, is an inescapable aspect of the business operations of every organization. The management of inventories, together with product purchases and sales, makes it simple to cut down on the amount of product wasted due to expiry.

A number of different elements, including environment, the variation in product components, and age, determine the expiry of a product. When a corporation ships out-of-date goods to its consumers, not only does it lose money, but it also damages the company’s reputation.

For the purposes of business management structure, Odoo ERP provides a consolidated inventory that is appropriate for eCommerce and retails. With the help of the Odoo Inventory module, users will have an easier time managing the prices of the things they sell. Therefore, in today’s tutorial, we will show you how to configure expiration dates in Odoo. So, let’s dive in!

Table of contents:

• Importance of Configure Expiration Dates in Odoo
• How to configure Expiration Dates in Odoo
  • Step 1: Configure the application
  • Step 2: Modify product configuration
  • Step 3: Set up the basic configuration of Lots and serial numbers
  • Step 4: Create an expiration date for a product
  • Step 5: Generate the purchase order
• Wrapping Up

Importance of Configure Expiration Dates in Odoo

Whether or not a firm sells consumable goods, product expiry is an inescapable aspect of doing business that cannot be avoided. It is important to have an effective configuration for the inventory operations, as well as the sales and buy, to cut down on the amount of merchandise lost due to expiry. In addition, it is essential to note that the time that a product is considered to have expired is determined by a variety of factors, including environmental and age-related. In the event of retail and wholesale enterprises, the management of the firm should exercise the utmost caution regarding the limitations and time periods associated with expiry.

Whether done intentionally or accidentally, sending customers items that have passed their expiration date will have an adverse effect on the business. In addition to this, it would completely ruin the company’s image as well as its reputation among its clientele, which would result in a decline in the quality of the company’s relationships with its consumers and, as a consequence, a devastating hit to the business’s profitability. The operations of business management have always been challenging. There should be an effective team consisting of the manager as well as an executive to cope with the live environment where a number of elements need to be considered in operation.

The majority of items produced by a corporation have both an expiration date and a manufacturing date printed on them. By basing our tracking and management of the commodity on the serial numbers and the expiration date, we can swiftly track and manage the commodity. Using the Odoo 15 Inventory module as an example, let’s have a look at how to produce expiration dates for a product.

How to configure Expiration Dates in Odoo

Step 1: Configure the application

Because the functionality of Odoo’s expiry date operation is tied to that of the traceability option, the configuration of the platform’s serial and lot numbers is now taking place. To begin configuring the usage of the expiry date, the user must first choose the option to activate the expiration date and the option to show the expiration date on the delivery slip, which are both located in the settings tab of the inventory module.

Step 2: Modify product configuration

Within the inventory section of the product form, you now have the ability to define several dates:

• Product Use Time: This is the number of days that pass before the items begin to deteriorate to the point that they are no longer safe to use. This is utilized to compute the “Best before” date for each individual lot and serial number received.
• Product Life Time: This is the number of days that have passed after the items were manufactured before they may become harmful if consumed. This is used to compute the Expiration date corresponding to each lot or serial number received.
• Product Removal Time: This indicates the number of days that have passed after the products were supposed to be taken from stock. This is what is utilized to compute the Removal date for each individual lot or serial number that was received.
• Product Alert Time: This is the number of days that have passed since the last time an alert was generated for the lot or serial number. This is what is utilized to compute the Alert date for each individual lot and the serial number received. After the Alert date has passed, an Activity will be delegated to the Responsible user who was specified for the Product based on the relevant lot or serial number.

Step 3: Set up the basic configuration of Lots and serial numbers

After the user has finished establishing the inventory settings, they must navigate back to the appropriate product window and enter the lot and serial numbers there. Traceability choices should be defined in the product description’s inventory menu to range from “no tracking” to “by unique serial numbers” or “by lots.” Alternatively, “no tracking” can be selected.

To illustrate the process, a buy order is generated for each product within the purchasing module.

The user is responsible for providing the lot numbers and serial numbers connected with the related units of the items in the purchase order after they have received the product. To accomplish this, pick the menu icon that is located inside the product description next to the tab labeled “serial numbers.”

The user will see a pop-up window describing the lots and serial numbers in the figure below. This window will be displayed to the user. Include the initial serial number and the total number of units, and then choose the auto-assign option from the list of choices. Within the framework of the platform, it is impossible for any two individual units to share the same serial number and vice versa. In order to facilitate tracking and traceability processes, the platform must support just one instance of each lot and each serial number.

The lots and serial numbers that are connected to the corresponding purchase order have been presented under the traceability menu, which can be reached immediately from the buy order description menu.

Now you need to generate a sales quote for the corresponding product and assign the lot or the serial number of the product that is going to be sold.

Step 4: Create an expiration date for a product

After the user has configured the expiration settings, they can apply them to the goods. To accomplish this, choose the relevant product, locate the menu’s inventory section and look for the option to enable the expiration date. The user is now able to access the menu that describes the dates. For the platform to be functional, the dates pertaining to the expiry of items may be configured for the expiration time, best before time, removal time, and the alert time of operations.

The user can pick the lot and serial number menu from the reporting tab of the module and then select the relevant one in order to give an expiry date to a certain lot or serial number. The dates tab will be displayed in the menu, and users may use it to adjust the expiration dates to match the specifications given in the product menu.

After activating the choices found inside the Traceability section, select the symbol that looks like a save button. Now, for the sake of this tutorial, we will select a product from the Products menu called “Bacon Burger,” and then we will specify the expiration date. Within the Products window’s General Information tab, you have the ability to enter a number of different measurements, including Product Type, Sales Price, Cost, Invoicing Policy, Product Category, and more, as seen in the screenshot that follows.

You will find the option to monitor products inside the Traceability section of the Inventory tab of the main window. As seen in the screenshot that follows, the tracking is done by lot and by individual serial numbers.

When you select “By Lots” as your tracking method, a new field labeled “Expiration Date” will appear before you. After you have checked the box to enable the Expiration Dates field, the Dates section will come up in front of you. Once you have selected either the By Lots or the By Unique Serial Number choices under the Tracking box, you will be able to view the Expiration Date.

The Expiration Time of a product is determined by the number of days that have passed after it was received from the supplier. After this time, the product is either unsafe to ingest or should not be consumed. In this section, we specify that the ‘Bacon Burger’ product has an Expiration Time of ten days. The Best Before Time is the count of days before the expiry date later in which items start to be destroyed, and we add six days here. In addition, the number of days before the product’s expiration date that it is withdrawn from stock is referred to as the Removal Time, and we increased that amount by seven for the Bacon Burger. The date on which an alarm should be activated for a product serial number is indicated by the “Alert Time” field, and the default value for this field is six days. Select the SAVE icon inside the Products box once you have finished inputting this information.

Step 5: Generate the purchase order

Let’s go on to the next step and make a purchase order for the bacon burger. Return to the Odoo 15 Purchase module and, on the Orders tab, click the Purchase Orders menu. The Purchase Orders pane displays the specifics, including the Reference, Vendor, Receipt Date, Total, and a few other pieces of information. To generate a new purchase order, open the Purchase Orders window and select the CREATE icon, as shown in the picture below.

Within the newly opened window, choose your supplier and then add the Product ‘Bacon Burger’ by selecting the option to Add a product. In this step, we will select five different amounts of the Bacon Burger and then click the icon labeled “SAVE,” as shown in the picture below.

After that, you will need to confirm your order and wait for the merchant to send you the items. The new window affords us the opportunity to examine the purchase order Receive From and Destination Location, as seen in the screenshot that follows.

You are required to provide a Lot/Serial number for the ‘Bacon Burger’ before your submission can be validated. Therefore, there is an icon labeled Details at the very bottom of the product information. A new window appears in front of you that displays the Product Name. The term “Demand” refers to the amount of the product as seen from the perspective of the inventory. Simply by selecting the Add a line option from the menu, you may submit an application for a serial number. The user can enter the Lot/Serial Number and the Units as 5 in this section. At a later time, return to the Detailed Operations box and, as shown in the following image, confirm your selection by clicking the CONFIRM icon.

You will need to click the VALIDATE button within the window that displays the purchase order.

After successful validation, the user will be presented with a Traceability smart button, which may be activated by clicking.

According to the Traceability Report, five different amounts of bacon burgers were transferred from the location of the vendor to the stockroom. As can be seen in the screenshot that follows, the Lot/Serial number, Date, and Reference are all available in this section.

After that, we should navigate to the Odoo 15 Inventory module and choose the Lot/Serial numbers menu from the available options. Choose the Lot/Serial number of your Bacon Burger from the drop-down menu here. As seen in the picture that follows, the user can view the Product name, the Company, and the generated Quantities in the window titled “Lot/Serial number of Bacon Burger.”

You are able to examine the Best Before Date, the Expiration Date, the Removal Date, and the Alert Date inside the area labeled “Date.” Additionally, we can amend it and make changes to the product date. If you choose the current date in the field labeled “Expiration Date,” you will be able to view an Expiration Alert in the space below the Lot/Serial Number, as shown in the picture below.

The Internal Reference, Created on, Product, and Company data are displayed in the application’s Lot/Serial Numbers box. Using the Filter option at a later time, you can sort the Lot/Serial numbers according to your preferences. Choose the Expiration Alerts option found inside the Filter menu, as seen in the picture on the right.

As a result, you can examine the Lot and Serial Numbers of items about to reach their expiration date.

Wrapping Up

This tutorial will help you understand how to configure expiration dates in Odoo. With the assistance of the Odoo Inventory module, users can swiftly generate expiration dates for the items used inside an organization. Customers will have a positive experience with the products that have best-before dates, which will result in more sales and increased profits for the company. As a result, Odoo ERP plays an integral part in effectively enhancing your company’s productivity and planning new ideas.