FIFO (first in, first out) is a stock rotation rule requiring that the earliest received goods are dispatched first, preventing ageing stock and reducing quality risk in food warehousing.
In trade practice
Warehouse layouts are designed so that older pallets are physically accessible before newer arrivals, and warehouse management systems assign pick tasks by receipt date. At goods receipt, staff record the intake date against each pallet or batch. A common mistake is mixing old and new stock on the same racking bay, which breaks rotation discipline and can cause older goods to be overlooked during picking.
In a specification
Purchase or warehousing contracts may state that the operator must apply FIFO rotation and that audit records of pick sequences are available on request.