Checklist template

Product freshness and code date audit for consumer goods

A ready-to-use checklist with 101 items in 6 sections, covering Shelf dates, Back room dates, Rotation, Removal, Credits, Trends. Use it as-is in Bindy, or adapt it to your own standards in minutes.

  • 6 Sections
  • 101 Items
  • 71 Yes / No checks
  • 6 Scored ratings
  • 101 Points

Use this template How audits work

1. Shelf dates 18 items

  1. The auditor carries the brand's current guide to reading its best-before, Julian and production codes Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Items of the brand checked for date on the sales floor Number
  3. Packages past their date found on the sales floor Number
  4. Packages found inside the pull window set by company policy Number
  5. No package past its best-before or expiration date is on the home shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  6. No package past its date is on a secondary display, clip strip or side rack Yes / No 1 pt
  7. No package past its date is in a checkout rack or checkout cooler Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Every facing of short-life items was checked to the back of the shelf, not only the front package Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Overstock kept on the top shelf above the section was checked for dates Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Date codes can be read on every package sampled, with no smudged, missing or stickered-over code Yes / No 1 pt
  11. For multipacks sampled, the date on the outer wrap matches the date on the units inside Yes / No 1 pt
  12. The slowest-selling item of the brand has the minimum remaining shelf life set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  13. No seasonal or limited-edition pack from a past season is on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  14. No pack advertising a contest or on-pack offer that has ended is on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Product of the brand carrying a reduced-price sticker is still inside its date Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Oldest date found on the sales floor Date
  17. Item carrying the oldest date found Short text
  18. Freshness of the brand on the sales floor Rating
    • No past-date or close-dated product 5 pts
    • Close-dated product only 3 pts
    • Past-date product found 1 pt

2. Back room dates 18 items

  1. The brand's back stock is kept in one assigned back room location Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Cases of the brand checked in the back room Number
  3. Cases past their date found in the back room Number
  4. No case past its date is held with saleable back stock Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Every back room case sampled has the minimum remaining shelf life set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Cases are stacked with the date label facing out Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Open cases are marked with the date they were opened or with the product date Yes / No 1 pt
  8. The oldest cases are at the front or the top of the stack, where they will be worked first Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Back stock held in overhead racking was included in the date check Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Back stock held in the cooler or freezer was included in the date check Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Shippers held for an upcoming promotion carry dates later than the end of that promotion Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Stock left over from a finished promotion is identified for working to the shelf first Yes / No 1 pt
  13. The most recent delivery did not bring dates older than the stock already in the store Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Product on the most recent delivery had the remaining shelf life guaranteed to the retailer at receipt Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Oldest date code found on the most recent delivery Date
  16. Weeks of supply in the back room for the slowest-selling item of the brand Number
  17. Back stock of the slowest-selling item can sell through before its date at the current rate of sale Yes / No 1 pt
  18. Date control in the back room Rating
    • Dated, ordered and within policy 5 pts
    • Within policy but not in date order 3 pts
    • Past-date or short-dated cases found 1 pt

3. Rotation 16 items

  1. Facings sampled for rotation Number
  2. Facings sampled where a newer date sat in front of an older date Number
  3. On shelves, the package at the front of each facing sampled carries the oldest date of that facing Yes / No 1 pt
  4. On peg hooks, the oldest package hangs at the front of the hook Yes / No 1 pt
  5. In gravity-feed racks, the oldest date is at the pick face Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Behind rear-loading cooler doors, the oldest date is at the front of each lane Yes / No 1 pt
  7. In stacked case displays, older cases are on top of newer cases Yes / No 1 pt
  8. In dump bins and shippers, the older product lies on top of the newer product Yes / No 1 pt
  9. No facing sampled holds more than two different date codes Yes / No 1 pt
  10. A partly sold shelf-ready tray is kept in front of a full new tray Yes / No 1 pt
  11. No top-shelf overstock sits above a facing that has room for it Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Who stocks the brand in this store Choice
    • Store employees
    • Direct store delivery driver
    • Third-party merchandiser
    • Sales representative
  13. A person who stocks the brand could show where the date code is printed on the package Yes / No 1 pt
  14. A person who stocks the brand described pulling older stock forward before loading new stock Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Close-dated product is placed where it sells first, not hidden at the back of the facing Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Rotation on the sales floor Rating
    • Oldest first in every facing sampled 5 pts
    • A few facings out of order 3 pts
    • Rotation not practiced 1 pt

4. Removal 16 items

  1. The person who services the brand knows how many days before the date product must be pulled Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Units removed from sale during this audit Number
  3. Retail value of the units removed during this audit (dollars) Number
  4. Past-date product found during this audit was removed from sale before the auditor left Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Product inside the pull window was shown to the department manager for markdown or removal Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Removed product was taken to the store's unsaleables area, not left in a back room aisle Yes / No 1 pt
  7. The unsaleables area is set apart from saleable back stock by a marked shelf, cage or bin Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Removed product is marked as not for sale Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Each removal is recorded with the item, the quantity and the date code Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Disposal follows the brand's policy for this retailer: destroy in store, return to the distributor or send to a reclaim center Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Donations of close-dated product in the last 3 months are recorded, where the brand's policy and the retailer's program allow them Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Items that company policy forbids selling close to date, such as infant formula, are pulled at the earlier limit Yes / No 1 pt
  13. The store keeps a date-check schedule for the category Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Date of the last date check recorded by the store for the category Date
  15. The last recorded date check falls within the interval set by the store's schedule Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Handling of past-date and close-dated product Rating
    • Pulled on time, recorded and segregated 5 pts
    • Pulled but not recorded or not segregated 3 pts
    • Left on sale 1 pt

5. Credits 17 items

  1. Policy that applies to out-of-date product in this store Choice
    • Credit per unit
    • Unsaleables allowance with no credit
    • Swap for fresh product
    • No credit or swap
  2. The store receiver or department manager knows which policy applies to out-of-date product of the brand Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Credits for out-of-date product are written only by a person the brand has authorized Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Each out-of-date credit sampled lists the item Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Each out-of-date credit sampled lists the quantity Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Each out-of-date credit sampled lists the date code of the product Yes / No 1 pt
  7. The quantity on the last out-of-date credit matches the product counted by the store receiver Yes / No 1 pt
  8. The store receiver signed or scanned the last out-of-date credit Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Credited product was destroyed or removed so that it cannot be credited a second time Yes / No 1 pt
  10. No credit sampled was written for product still inside its date Yes / No 1 pt
  11. One-for-one swaps of out-of-date product are recorded on a swap document Yes / No 1 pt
  12. The reason code on credits separates out-of-date product from damaged product Yes / No 1 pt
  13. A copy of each credit sampled is on file at the store Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Out-of-date credits written for this store in the last 4 weeks (dollars) Number
  15. Out-of-date credits in the last 4 weeks as a percentage of deliveries (%) Number
  16. Out-of-date credits for the last 4 weeks are within the limit set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Control of out-of-date credits Rating
    • Documented and verified by the store 5 pts
    • Documented but not verified 3 pts
    • Not documented 1 pt

6. Trends 16 items

  1. Date of the previous freshness audit in this store Date
  2. Past-date units found at the previous freshness audit Number
  3. No more past-date units were found at this audit than at the previous one Yes / No 1 pt
  4. No item was found past date at both this audit and the previous one Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Items found close-dated or past date at two audits in a row Short text
  6. Main cause of the out-of-date product found Choice
    • Over-ordering
    • Poor rotation
    • Slow sales
    • Short-dated delivery
    • None found
  7. The shelf capacity of each slow-selling item holds no more than it can sell within its shelf life Yes / No 1 pt
  8. The slowest-selling item sells at least one case within the shelf life of the product Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Items repeatedly found out of date have been raised with the retailer's category manager for fewer facings or delisting Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Short-dated deliveries found in the last 3 months were reported to the distributor or the supply chain team Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Overstock from the last promotion sold through before its date Yes / No 1 pt
  12. The store's date-check results reach the brand's sales representative, as confirmed by the department manager Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Corrective actions from the previous freshness audit have been completed Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Name of the department manager Short text
  15. Overall freshness control for the brand in this store Rating
    • Dates checked on schedule, stock rotated and removals recorded 5 pts
    • One of these three controls missing 3 pts
    • Two or more of these controls missing 1 pt
  16. Corrective actions required Comments

About this template

This checklist is part of the Bindy template library. Yes / No checks score 1 point when met; ratings score the points shown for each option. The overall score is the percentage of points earned, with N/A answers excluded. In Bindy you can add photos, assign corrective actions, require sign-off and compare results across sites.

Categories

Related templates

← All templates

Brand standards

At every site, every time

Start Free Contact us