The management of best before dates (BBD) in WMS comprises at least the storing of dates of expiry after which the goods shall no longer be delivered or sold. In this context, the best before date is a stock-differentiating characteristic. Complex functions can quickly become necessary especially in the food and pharmaceutical industries. For these industries, e.g. customised residual lives, ascending sorting of best before dates at dispatch or a consideration of best before dates and residual lives as part of the availability check can be required. Furthermore, consideration of the latest permissible delivery date and of the latest permissible date of sale are important in some industries.