What is product spoilage?

Product spoilage extends well beyond the food industry. Think about how quickly technology becomes outdated. That stack of VHS training videos in your company warehouse is definitely spoiled. In our business, spoilage is a broad term. It means discontinued products, outdated brochures, technology that is outmoded, parts for machines that are no longer manufactured. These “spoiled” products don’t get smelly, but they do cost you money. That pallet of parts for a discontinued printer takes up space in the warehouse, and that space costs you money.

When you talk to your fulfillment expert about storing and shipping your products, make sure your discussion includes product spoilage. Here are some points you should cover.

1. When will your product be spoiled?

Provide expiration dates for your product. Those dates can be added to the computerized inventory management system so that your fulfillment company gets a reminder when items should be removed.

2. What should we do with spoiled products?

Like most fulfillment firms, we will get rid of your spoilage for you. But we’d like to know how you want us to do so. We recycle as much as possible but there are times when our clients will want us to take other measures, such as shredding, for confidentiality or security reasons.

3. How should different materials be handled?

Small differences can mean a lot to you and your company. For example, one of our clients asked that any materials that included the company logo be shredded. Materials without the logo could be recycled. A small distinction, but a very important one and one we needed to know.