Stock Handling

Introduction

The Good Distribution Practice guidelines are designed to ensure the quality, safety and integrity of products throughout the supply chain.
  • These guidelines help prevent the introduction of substandard or falsified products into the market.



Receiving

Upon receipt, each incoming delivery should be checked against the relevant documentation and physically verified by

  • Label description
  • Type and quantity (subdivided according to the supplier's lot number if necessary)
  • Relevant purchase order information including Certificate of Analysis (CoA) and Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) (where applicable) originated from approved suppliers.

All containers should be carefully inspected for tampering, contamination and damage.

  • If necessary, the suspected container or the entire delivery should be quarantined or set aside for further investigation.
  • Records should be detained for each delivery.

Products with specific storage requirements [e.g. poisons, psychotropic substances and dangerous drugs, time and temperature sensitive products (TTSP)] should be immediately identified and stored according to legislations and written procedure.



Stock Rotation and Control

Periodic stock reconciliation should be performed to compare the actual and recorded quantities of products or cosmetics.

  • All significant stock discrepancies should be investigated to identify any inadvertent mix-ups or wrong issues of stock.

Issues should normally observe the principle of stock rotation (FEFO - first expiry, first out).

  • Precautions should be observed to avoid issuing expired products or cosmetics, such as regular checks of expiry dates.

Cartons or bulk containers of products/cosmetics should be adequately labelled with at least the product name, batch number and where necessary, expiry data or retest date.



Returned and Rejected

All returned and rejected products/cosmetics should be placed in quarantine and clearly marked as such.

  • They should be stored separately in restricted area.

Records of returned products/cosmetics should be maintained, including

  • Name and address of the consignee returning the products/cosmetics.
  • Name or designation of products/cosmetics, batch number and quantity returned.
  • Reasons for return.
  • Use or disposal of the returned products/cosmetics and record of the assessment performed.



Distribution

A system should be in place by which the distribution of each batch of products/cosmetics can be readily identified to permit its recall.

For all suppliers, a document (e.g. Delivery Order) must be enclosed stating the

  • Date,
  • Name of products/cosmetics,
  • Batch number,
  • Quantity supplied,
  • Name and address of supplier,
  • Name and delivery address of the consignee (actual physical storage premises, if different) and
  • Applicable transport and storage conditions.
Records should be kept so that the actual location of products/cosmetics can be known



Disposal

Destruction of products/cosmetics should be carried out in accordance with the national legislative and regulatory requirements and with due consideration to protect the environment.

  • Disposal records should be maintained for a defined period.



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