The FEFO principle describes a warehouse strategy in which the goods with the earliest expiry date are the first to be removed from storage. “First Expired – First Out” (FEFO) literally means: “Expired first – Out first”.

The FEFO storage strategy generally only makes sense for perishable storage units, as the best-before date of the goods is regarded as the decisive criterion for storage. Classic examples are the food industry or the pharmaceutical industry.

Other storage strategies that can be used in intralogistics are as follows:

FIFO (First in – First out)

The FEFO principle should not be confused with the FIFO principle. FIFO is the abbreviation for “First in – First Out”. This means that the goods stored first are also removed first. However, the FIFO and FEFO principles can also be combined. Warehouse technologies in which the FIFO principle is applied are, for example, flow rack warehouses or container flow rack warehouses.

LIFO (Last in – First out)

With the LIFO principle, goods that were stored last are removed first. The LIFO principle is used, for example, in satellite racking systems and drive-in racking systems.

HIFO (Highest in – First out)

With the HIFO principle, the goods with the highest value are removed first. This means that the goods with the highest procurement value, i.e. the most expensive goods, are used first.

LOFO (Lowest in – First out)

The LOFO principle is the counterpart to the HIFO principle. Here, the goods with the most favourable procurement price are consumed first.

Compared to the FIFO, LIFO and FEFO strategies, the HIFO and LOFO storage strategies play a rather subordinate role.

Information on other storage strategies can be found under“Movement strategies: Stock transfer strategy“.

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