Supplement Fulfillment with Lot and Expiration Tracking

Supplement fulfillment starts with knowing which lot is on which shelf and when it expires. We receive finished, packaged, shelf-stable supplements in our Fort Worth warehouse, record each lot and its expiration date in ShipHero, and pick the oldest-dated lot first, so one stock pool feeds your store orders and your FBA prep.

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Close-up of a pile of amber softgel capsules with light shining through them

Tracked in: Lot and expiry in ShipHero
Pick order: Oldest expiration first
Shipped from: Fort Worth, TX 76177

Why a lot changes how a warehouse picks

When a warehouse picks the bottle that is easiest to reach, the newest stock leaves first and the older bottles run down their dates on the shelf.

A supplement SKU rarely arrives as one block of identical units. A brand reorders from its manufacturer every few months, and each production run carries its own lot number and its own expiration date. A year in, the same SKU is sitting on the shelf as three or four lots at once, and the bottles look identical from the aisle.

That is the difference from a candle or a t-shirt. For those, any unit is as good as any other. For a supplement, the date printed on the bottle is part of what the customer receives, and a pick that ignores it quietly creates stock nobody can sell. Brands also want a second thing from the same records: when a customer writes in about a bottle, to be able to say which lot it came from.

At Marketplace Prep that work runs on the same ShipHero floor as the rest of our DTC fulfillment. Lot and expiration are set up per SKU before stock arrives, which is why we agree how lots are labeled on your cartons during onboarding rather than sorting it out at the dock.

How a lot moves through our warehouse

Take one SKU with two lots on the shelf. Both are received, stored and picked under the same four steps. The difference is the expiration date, and the date decides which one goes out.

The date picks the lot, and the order keeps the record. Whichever lot goes out is written against the order, so it can be looked up later.

Lot and date at receiving

Inbound cartons are counted against what you told us to expect, and each lot is entered with its number and expiration date. A carton holding two lots is split by lot so the shelf records stay clean.

Oldest expiration picked first

When a SKU has more than one lot on hand, the earliest-dated lot is the one pickers are sent to. Newer lots stay put until the older one runs out. That is the default, and if you want a different rule for a SKU, we set it up your way.

A lot lookup when you need one

The lot that went out is recorded against each order. If you need to know which lot a customer received, or which orders a lot filled, we can look it up in ShipHero and send it to you.

Kits and subscription boxes

Starter sets, multi-bottle bundles and subscription boxes are built in the warehouse, and a bundle can be configured as a virtual kit in ShipHero so it ships as one order line. Printed inserts you supply can go in the box on request.

Your WhatsApp group for exceptions

Every client gets a dedicated WhatsApp group at onboarding. A date question on inbound stock, or a short count on a lot, gets answered in the thread rather than queued as a ticket.

One stock pool for your store and FBA

Most supplement brands sell on their own site and on Amazon. If each channel needs its own stock, every lot gets split twice, and the dates get harder to follow. Here the stock arrives once.

StepStore ordersFBA shipments

Where the stock sits

Store ordersIn the same ShipHero inventory, on our Fort Worth shelves, with its lot and date.

FBA shipmentsDrawn from that same inventory when you are ready to replenish Amazon.

What we do to it

Store ordersPick, pack and ship to your customer on a carrier label bought in ShipHero.

FBA shipmentsPrep to your Amazon shipment plan: FNSKU labels, poly-bagging where the plan calls for it, and cases forwarded to Amazon.

What you send in

Store ordersOne inbound shipment, received once with its lot and date records.

FBA shipmentsThe same inbound shipment. Nothing is received twice or counted twice.

The prep services themselves are described on our FBA prep and DTC under one roof page, and the stock-count mechanics behind a shared pool are on the multichannel fulfillment page. What Amazon asks of supplements in your category is set in Seller Central, so confirm it there before you build a shipment plan.

Who this is built for

Supplement fulfillment fits here when the product is finished, packaged and shelf-stable: sealed bottles, jars and pouches that are ready to sell.

A fit

DTC supplement brands that sell finished, packaged, shelf-stable products through their own store.
Brands that reorder in production runs and end up holding several lots of one SKU at the same time.
Brands that want older lots to go out first, and want to be able to say which lot a customer received.
Brands that sell on Amazon too and want FBA prep and store orders working from one stock pool.
Brands with starter kits, multi-bottle bundles or subscription boxes to assemble.
Teams that want a person to message when a date or a count looks wrong, not a ticket queue.

How onboarding works

Four steps from the first call to the first lot-tracked order shipping out of Fort Worth.

01

Discovery call

We go through your SKUs, how many lots you usually hold at once, how your manufacturer marks them, and your order profile. We say plainly whether the catalog is one we should take.

02

Scoped agreement

Kits, inserts, FBA prep and how lots are communicated on inbound cartons are written into the agreement. Your prepaid wallet is funded before work begins, and your WhatsApp group is set up.

03

Connect and set up in ShipHero

Your store connects into ShipHero, your SKUs are set up for lot and expiration tracking, and kits are configured. The integration is tested before any live order runs through it.

04

Send inventory and go live

Stock comes in to 1925 Golden Heights Rd in Fort Worth. Each lot is received with its date, and once it is counted, orders start shipping oldest date first.

Questions we get

How does lot and expiration tracking work for supplement fulfillment?

When your stock arrives, the lot number and expiration date are recorded in ShipHero against the SKU, so one product can sit on our shelves as several lots with different dates. From then on every pick is made against those records, not against whichever bottle is closest. Before the first shipment arrives, we agree with you how lots are marked on the inbound cartons and how the dates reach us, so what the shelf says and what ShipHero says match.

Do you ship the oldest lot first?

Yes, by default, unless you prefer a different rule. The default is first expired, first out: when a SKU has more than one lot on hand, the lot with the earliest expiration date is picked first, and the later-dated lot waits until the earlier one is gone. That keeps older bottles from aging out on the shelf while newer ones ship. If a particular order has to come from a specific lot, tell us during onboarding and we will set up how that is requested.

Can you tell me which lot a customer received?

Yes. The lot picked for an order is recorded against that order in ShipHero, so we can look up which lot went out on a given order, and which orders shipped from a given lot. That lookup is the service. Any decision about what to do with that information, and any notice to your customers, stays with you.

Can one stock pool serve my store and my FBA shipments?

Yes. Supplements are prepped here for FBA as well as shipped as direct orders, so you send the stock in once and it is received into one inventory in ShipHero. Store orders are picked from it and shipped to your customers. Units you are sending to Amazon are prepped from the same shelves and forwarded as cases. That avoids buying and counting two separate stocks of the same lot. See FBA prep and DTC fulfillment from one building for how the two services share the floor.

Do you assemble supplement kits and subscription boxes?

Yes. We assemble kits and subscription boxes, and a starter set or a multi-bottle bundle can be set up as a virtual kit in ShipHero so it ships as one order line and draws its components down from the shelf. Printed inserts you supply can go in the box on request, and the kit work is scoped with you before it runs. More on how that is built is on the kitting and bundling page.

Can you store temperature-sensitive or CBD products?

No. Our supplement work is finished, packaged, shelf-stable product that is ready to sell. We do not offer refrigerated storage, and we do not take CBD products. If your catalog is a mix, tell us which SKUs are in the shelf-stable group and we will scope those.

How fast do supplement orders reach customers?

Delivery depends on the carrier service and the customer ZIP code. From Fort Worth, carrier published standards put most of the U.S. at 3 business days or less by ground, and those are the carriers' standards, not promises from us. The quote tool gives a ZIP-level answer for your own customer base.

What order volume do you need to take on a supplement brand?

Volume is counted in orders, with a floor of about 30 a month and no ceiling. The floor is there because lots need to move through the building, not sit in it. On the first call we look at your SKU count, how many lots you expect to hold at once, and how much shelf space that needs.

Selling supplements? Let's scope it.

Tell us how many SKUs you carry, how many lots you usually hold at once, and where you sell. We will tell you whether it fits and what the operation would look like.