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The shelf‐life of a product, from packing to “sell‐by” date is divided between the distributor and the retailer. If the time allowed for distribution is inadequate then either some good product has to be discarded, and/or some customers have to go short. In this article John Sussams discusses the financial and other consequences of this situation, and examines possible remedies. These involve speeding up the flow and/or increasing the shelf‐life available to the distributor so that small buffer stocks can safely be held to cover fluctations in demand. The writer concludes with a detailed case study.