Every case on a food and beverage warehouse shelf has a clock on it. Get the batch wrong, ship the newer stock first or lose track of a pallet, and you pay for it in write-offs, customer credits and, in the worst case, a recall you can't trace.
Our latest TBO4 WMS release was built alongside a multi-warehouse food and beverage distributor that faced exactly these problems. Every enhancement is now available to all TBO4 customers, whatever ERP they run. Here is what's new and why it matters.
Receiving: get the data right at the dock
Most traceability problems start at receiving. If the batch number or expiry date is keyed in wrong, every later step inherits the mistake.
Batch codes and expiry dates that calculate themselves. Different product categories follow different rules. TBO4 now asks for the manufacture date and shelf life only where the category needs them. When the operator presses Add, it generates the batch code and expiry date. Codes can follow day-of-year (Julian) formats, YYYYMMDD dates or your own convention, and the rules are configured in TBO4 with no custom code in your ERP.
Receive first, raise the paperwork automatically. Some sites receive goods before a purchase order exists in the ERP. The Purchase Order Request module records what arrived, including batch, expiry and kit. A supervisor checks it on the PO Review screen, then TBO4 creates the Purchase Order and Purchase Receipt in your ERP together. Operators can also create new kits during receiving and print receiving slips and labels.
Unit cost captured at the dock. Operators can enter the actual unit cost while receiving. If they leave it blank, TBO4 uses the cost from the purchase order, so every receipt posts with a value.
Receipt numbers that mean something. Purchase Receipt numbers can be built from the PO number and container count, so finance and the warehouse refer to the same delivery the same way.
Allocation and picking: the right stock, every time
First Expiry, First Out (FEFO) is simple in theory. In practice it only works if the system reserves the right batch before the picker ever reaches the bin.
Kit-aware stock allocation. In Pick Pack Manager, TBO4 now allocates stock before orders are released. Lot and serial items follow FEFO. Standard items come from the bin or kit with the most quantity on hand. When an item is stored in kits, full-pallet kits get priority, which cuts the number of touches per order. Allocation can run fully automatically or be reviewed on screen when you want a human check.
Pickers only take what was reserved. When a pick is created, the item drill-down shows every kit for that line, filtered by bin and batch, with its allocated quantity. On confirm or scan, TBO4 picks only the allocated quantity from each kit.
Packing and stocktake: fix mistakes without starting again
Even well-run warehouses get things wrong. What matters is how quickly a mistake can be fixed without breaking the audit trail.
Amend a packed SSCC. A line was short-shipped or the wrong batch went into a carton. Instead of unpacking and repacking, the operator opens the SSCC in packing and scans what needs to change: a kit, a bin and item, a batch or serial, or a GS1-128 barcode. Quantities can also be entered manually. The operator locks the amendment, makes the changes and saves. TBO4 then reverses the original transaction and records the new quantities across all picking tables, leaving a clean audit trail.
Edit kit quantities during stocktake. If a kit's count is wrong after it has been scanned, the operator can correct the quantity straight from the stocktake audit, without rescanning the whole kit.
Built once, works with your ERP
This release was developed with a single customer, but TBO4 is ERP-agnostic. The business rules sit in the WMS, not in custom ERP code. That means every feature above works across the ERPs we integrate with, including SAP Business One, Acumatica, Sage 300, Microsoft Business Central and MYOB EXO.
It's also how TBO4 keeps improving. When one customer needs a better way to handle shelf life, every customer gets it.

See it in action
If you move food and beverage stock with batch and expiry control, we'd be glad to show you these features using your own products and workflows. Email sales@thericgroup.com or call +61 478 113 932 to book a demo.
