# Fulfillment Lexicon

> Plain-English definitions of the fulfillment, parcel, freight, inventory, customs, and returns terms used by US ecommerce brands, with formulas and worked examples.

Independent and vendor-neutral. 300 terms. Last reviewed 2026-10-16. Full text of every entry: https://fulfillment.wiki/llms-full.txt

## Fulfillment & Warehousing

How orders move through a warehouse, from receiving and putaway to picking, packing, and shipping, and how brands choose and work with fulfillment partners. (https://fulfillment.wiki/category/fulfillment-warehousing/)

- [3PL Onboarding](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/3pl-onboarding/): The process of moving a brand's fulfillment to a new 3PL, including contract setup, system integration, SKU data, packaging specs, inbound inventory transfer, and test orders before go-live.
- [B2B Fulfillment](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/b2b-fulfillment/): Fulfilling orders for business customers such as retailers, wholesalers, or distributors, typically shipped in cases or pallets with retailer-specific labels, documents, and delivery appointments.
- [Batch Picking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/batch-picking/): A picking method where one picker collects items for several orders in a single trip, then items are sorted into individual orders.
- [Buy Online, Pick Up In Store (BOPIS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/buy-online-pick-up-in-store/): An order placed online and collected by the customer at a store, usually the same day.
- [Case Picking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/case-picking/): Picking full cases or cartons rather than individual units, common for wholesale, retail replenishment, and B2B orders.
- [Cluster Picking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cluster-picking/): A picking method where one picker fills several orders at once by placing items directly into separate order totes or cart slots, so no later sorting step is needed.
- [Cross-Docking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cross-docking/): Unloading inbound freight and loading it directly onto outbound trucks with little or no storage time in between.
- [Custom Packaging](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/custom-packaging/): Shipping boxes, mailers, inserts, or tissue designed and printed for a specific brand, used to protect products and create a deliberate unboxing experience for the customer.
- [Cutoff Time](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cutoff-time/): The latest time an order can be placed and still ship the same business day.
- [Dark Store](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/dark-store/): A retail-style site closed to shoppers and used only to fulfill online orders.
- [Discrete Picking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/discrete-picking/): A picking method where one picker picks one order completely, from start to finish, before starting the next order; also called single-order picking.
- [Distributed Inventory](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/distributed-inventory/): Splitting inventory across several fulfillment centers so orders ship from the location closest to the customer. Also called multi-node fulfillment.
- [Distribution Center (DC)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/distribution-center/): A warehouse that receives bulk inventory and redistributes it in cases or pallets to stores, wholesale customers, or fulfillment centers.
- [Dropshipping](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/dropshipping/): A model where the seller does not hold inventory; a supplier ships orders directly to the customer.
- [Each Picking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/each-picking/): Picking individual units rather than full cases or pallets, the most common picking type in DTC ecommerce; also called piece picking.
- [Forward Pick Replenishment](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/forward-pick-replenishment/): Moving inventory from reserve or bulk storage to forward pick locations so they stay stocked for order picking, triggered by min/max levels, demand, or scheduled waves.
- [Fourth-Party Logistics (4PL)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/fourth-party-logistics/): A provider that manages a brand's whole logistics network, including choosing and coordinating multiple 3PLs, carriers, and freight forwarders, rather than operating warehouses itself.
- [Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/fulfillment-by-amazon/): Amazon's service in which sellers send inventory to Amazon fulfillment centers and Amazon picks, packs, ships, and handles returns.
- [Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/fulfillment-by-merchant/): Selling on Amazon while the seller or its 3PL stores and ships the orders.
- [Fulfillment Center (FC)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/fulfillment-center/): A warehouse built to process high volumes of small customer orders, as opposed to a distribution center that mainly ships full cases and pallets to stores.
- [Hazmat Storage](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/hazmat-storage/): Storing products classified as hazardous materials, such as aerosols, flammable liquids, or lithium batteries, in areas and ways that meet fire codes and safety regulations.
- [Kitting](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/kitting/): Assembling multiple SKUs into one ready-to-ship unit, such as a gift set or subscription box, before orders arrive.
- [Long-Term Storage Fee](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/long-term-storage-fee/): An extra storage charge applied to inventory that has sat in a warehouse longer than a set period, used by 3PLs and marketplace fulfillment programs to discourage slow-moving stock.
- [Micro-Fulfillment Center (MFC)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/micro-fulfillment-center/): A small, often highly automated fulfillment site located inside or near a dense metro area to enable fast local delivery.
- [Monthly Minimum](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/monthly-minimum/): A minimum amount a 3PL bills each month regardless of actual activity, charged as a top-up when a brand's fulfillment and storage fees fall below that threshold.
- [Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/multi-channel-fulfillment/): Using one inventory pool to fulfill orders from several sales channels. Amazon's MCF service ships non-Amazon orders from FBA inventory.
- [Packing Slip](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/packing-slip/): A document placed inside a shipment that lists the items, quantities, and order number in the package, usually without prices, so the recipient can check the contents.
- [Pallet Position](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/pallet-positions/): One storage location in racking sized to hold a pallet; a common unit for pricing warehouse storage.
- [Peak Season](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/peak-season/): The period of highest order volume, in US ecommerce roughly from late October through the end of December, centered on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- [Pick and Pack](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/pick-and-pack/): The warehouse process of retrieving ordered items from storage (pick), then placing them in shipping cartons with packing material and a label (pack).
- [Pick Face](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/pick-face/): The front, accessible storage location from which pickers take units for orders, such as a shelf bin or flow rack lane, as opposed to reserve or overstock storage.
- [Pick List](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/pick-list/): A list, printed or shown on a scanner, telling a picker which items, quantities, and storage locations to collect for one or more orders, usually sorted in walking order.
- [Putaway](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/putaway/): Moving received goods from the dock to their storage location and recording that location in the WMS.
- [Quality Control Inspection](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/quality-control-inspection/): A check of products or orders against defined standards, done at receiving, before packing, or before shipping, to catch damage, defects, wrong items, or wrong quantities.
- [Receiving](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/receiving/): The warehouse process of unloading inbound shipments, checking them against the purchase order or ASN, and recording the inventory.
- [Same-Day Fulfillment](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/same-day-fulfillment/): Picking, packing, and handing an order to a carrier on the same business day it is received, provided the order arrives before the warehouse's cutoff time.
- [Service Level Agreement (SLA)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/service-level-agreement/): Contracted performance targets between a brand and a logistics provider, such as same-day ship rate, order accuracy, and dock-to-stock time, often with penalties for misses.
- [Ship-from-Store (SFS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/ship-from-store/): Fulfilling online orders using inventory in physical retail stores.
- [Slotting](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/slotting/): Deciding where each SKU is stored in the warehouse based on sales velocity, size, and which items sell together.
- [Split Shipment](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/split-shipment/): An order shipped in more than one package or from more than one location.
- [Subscription Box Fulfillment](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/subscription-box-fulfillment/): Fulfilling recurring orders that ship on a fixed schedule, often as large batches of identical or near-identical boxes assembled from several SKUs at once.
- [Temperature-Controlled Storage](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/temperature-controlled-storage/): Warehouse space kept within a set temperature range, such as refrigerated, frozen, or climate-controlled ambient storage, for products that spoil or degrade outside that range.
- [Third-Party Logistics (3PL)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/third-party-logistics/): A company that stores a brand's inventory and picks, packs, and ships its orders under contract, usually charging per order, per pick, and per unit of storage.
- [Value-Added Services (VAS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/value-added-services/): Optional warehouse tasks beyond standard pick, pack, and ship, such as kitting, gift wrapping, labeling, bundling, inserts, relabeling, or product inspection, usually billed separately by a 3PL.
- [Void Fill](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/void-fill/): Packing material such as kraft paper, air pillows, or packing peanuts used to fill empty space in a shipping box so items do not shift or break in transit; also called dunnage.
- [Wave Picking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/wave-picking/): Releasing groups of orders to the floor at scheduled times (waves), often grouped by carrier cutoff, shipping method, or zone.
- [Zone Picking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/zone-picking/): A method where each picker is assigned to one area of the warehouse and orders pass from zone to zone until complete.

## Inventory Planning

The terms behind deciding how much stock to buy, where to hold it, and how to keep inventory records accurate across channels. (https://fulfillment.wiki/category/inventory-planning/)

- [ABC Analysis](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/abc-analysis/): Sorting SKUs into classes by their share of sales: A items are the few that drive most revenue, C items are the many that drive little.
- [Allocated Inventory](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/allocated-inventory/): Units that are still physically in the warehouse but have been reserved for specific open orders, so they can no longer be sold to new customers.
- [Available to Promise (ATP)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/available-to-promise/): The quantity of a SKU that can still be committed to new customer orders by a given date, calculated from on-hand stock and scheduled receipts minus existing commitments.
- [Backorder](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/backorder/): An order accepted for an item that is out of stock, to be shipped when new inventory arrives.
- [Bill of Materials (BOM)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/bill-of-materials/): A list of the component SKUs and quantities that make up a finished product or kit.
- [Consignment Inventory](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/consignment-inventory/): Stock held at a retailer's or brand's location while the supplier keeps legal ownership, with the holder paying only for units after they sell.
- [Cycle Count](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cycle-count/): Counting a small portion of inventory on a rotating schedule instead of shutting down for a full physical count.
- [Dead Stock](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/dead-stock/): Inventory that has not sold for a long period and is unlikely to sell at full price.
- [Demand Forecasting](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/demand-forecasting/): The practice of estimating future unit sales by SKU, channel, and time period, using sales history, seasonality, promotions, and known events such as launches.
- [Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/economic-order-quantity/): The order size that minimizes the combined cost of placing orders and holding inventory.
- [First Expired, First Out (FEFO)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/fefo/): A rotation rule where the units with the earliest expiration date ship first, regardless of when they were received.
- [First In, First Out (FIFO)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/fifo/): A rotation rule where the oldest inventory is shipped first.
- [Global Trade Item Number (GTIN)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/global-trade-item-number/): The GS1 family of product identifiers (GTIN-8, -12, -13, -14) used worldwide to identify items and cases.
- [In-Transit Inventory](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/in-transit-inventory/): Goods that have left a supplier or another warehouse but have not yet been received at their destination, whether on the ocean, in a truck, or moving between fulfillment centers.
- [Inventory Reconciliation](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/inventory-reconciliation/): The process of comparing inventory quantities across systems such as the WMS, ecommerce platform, marketplaces, and accounting ledger, and against physical counts, then investigating and correcting variances.
- [Inventory Write-Off](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/inventory-write-off/): An accounting entry that removes the value of inventory from the books because it can no longer be sold, such as expired, damaged, lost, or obsolete units.
- [Lead Time](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/lead-time/): The total time from placing a purchase order to having inventory available to sell, including production, transit, customs, and receiving.
- [Lot Tracking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/lot-tracking/): Recording the production lot or batch number of each unit received and shipped so it can be traced later.
- [Min/Max Inventory](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/min-max-inventory/): A replenishment method in which each SKU has a minimum level that triggers an order and a maximum level that the order quantity brings inventory back up to.
- [Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/minimum-order-quantity/): The smallest quantity a supplier will accept in a single purchase order.
- [On-Hand Inventory](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/on-hand-inventory/): The total quantity of a SKU physically present in a warehouse or store, including units allocated to orders, on quality hold, or damaged.
- [Open-to-Buy (OTB)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/open-to-buy/): A budget for how much new inventory can still be purchased in a period without exceeding the planned ending inventory, after accounting for planned sales, markdowns, and stock already on order.
- [Overstock](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/overstock/): Inventory held in excess of what forecast demand requires over the planning horizon, often measured as units beyond a target number of days or weeks of supply.
- [Periodic Inventory System](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/periodic-inventory-system/): A method of tracking inventory in which quantities are determined by physical counts at set intervals, and cost of goods sold is calculated from those counts rather than recorded with each sale.
- [Perpetual Inventory System](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/perpetual-inventory-system/): A method of tracking inventory in which every receipt, sale, transfer, and adjustment updates quantities and values in real time, so records always show a current balance.
- [Preorder](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/preorder/): An order taken for a product before it is available, usually ahead of a launch.
- [Purchase Order (PO)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/purchase-order/): A document a buyer issues to a supplier listing the SKUs, quantities, unit prices, delivery dates, and payment and shipping terms for an order of goods.
- [Reorder Point (ROP)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/reorder-point/): The inventory level at which a new purchase order should be placed so stock arrives before you run out.
- [Replenishment](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/replenishment/): The process of restoring inventory to target levels, either by ordering from suppliers or by moving stock from reserve storage or another warehouse into the locations where it sells or is picked.
- [Safety Stock](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/safety-stock/): Extra inventory held to cover variation in demand and supplier lead time.
- [Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/sales-and-operations-planning/): A recurring cross-functional process, usually monthly, in which sales, marketing, operations, and finance agree on one demand plan and the supply, inventory, and budget needed to meet it.
- [Seasonality](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/seasonality/): A predictable pattern in which demand rises or falls at the same times each year, driven by holidays, weather, school calendars, or shopping events.
- [Serialization](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/serialization/): The practice of assigning a unique serial number to each individual unit of a product and recording it at receiving, shipment, and return.
- [Shrinkage](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/shrinkage/): Inventory lost to theft, damage, miscounts, or administrative errors, measured as the gap between recorded and actual stock.
- [SKU Rationalization](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/sku-rationalization/): Reviewing the product catalog and discontinuing SKUs that contribute little revenue or margin relative to their operating cost.
- [Stock Keeping Unit (SKU)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/stock-keeping-unit/): A brand's internal code for one distinct sellable item, with a separate SKU for each variant such as size or color.
- [Stockout](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/stockout/): The state of having zero sellable inventory for a SKU.
- [Universal Product Code (UPC)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/universal-product-code/): A 12-digit barcode standard, issued through GS1, used to identify retail products in North America. It is one format of the broader GTIN.
- [Vendor-Managed Inventory (VMI)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/vendor-managed-inventory/): An arrangement in which a supplier monitors a customer's inventory and sales data and decides when and how much to replenish, within agreed stock limits.
- [Virtual Bundle](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/virtual-bundle/): A sellable product made of two or more component SKUs that is not pre-assembled, with its available quantity calculated from component stock and its components picked separately at order time.

## Parcel Shipping

Small-package shipping to US consumers: how carriers price and deliver parcels, the surcharges that inflate invoices, and the services DTC brands use most. (https://fulfillment.wiki/category/parcel-shipping/)

- [Additional Handling Surcharge](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/additional-handling-surcharge/): A per-package fee that UPS and FedEx charge for packages needing manual handling because of length, weight, or packaging, such as heavy cartons or items not fully encased in corrugated board.
- [Address Validation](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/address-validation/): The process of checking and standardizing a shipping address against postal and carrier data before a label is printed, flagging addresses that are incomplete, misspelled, or undeliverable.
- [Billable Weight](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/billable-weight/): The weight a carrier charges for: the greater of actual weight and dimensional weight, rounded up to the next pound.
- [Carrier Claim](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/carrier-claim/): A formal request to a carrier for reimbursement of a package that was lost, damaged, or delivered with missing contents, supported by proof of value and shipment details.
- [Carrier Pickup](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/carrier-pickup/): A scheduled or on-demand collection of outbound packages by a carrier from a warehouse, store, or office, instead of the shipper dropping them off at a carrier location.
- [Cold Chain Shipping](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cold-chain-shipping/): The shipping of perishable or temperature-sensitive goods, such as food, meal kits, and some pharmaceuticals, in insulated packaging with refrigerants so products stay within a safe temperature range.
- [Consolidator](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/consolidator/): A company that combines parcels from many shippers to sort and inject them into USPS or other networks at lower rates.
- [Cubic Pricing](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cubic-pricing/): A USPS pricing method for Priority Mail and Ground Advantage packages up to 0.5 cubic feet and 20 pounds that charges by package volume tier and zone instead of weight.
- [Delivery Area Surcharge (DAS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/delivery-area-surcharge/): A fee carriers add for deliveries to ZIP codes they classify as less accessible, such as rural or remote areas.
- [Delivery Exception](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/delivery-exception/): A carrier tracking status indicating that an unexpected event, such as weather, a bad address, damage, or a missed recipient, has delayed or interrupted a package's delivery.
- [Delivery Promise](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/delivery-promise/): The estimated delivery date shown to a shopper on the product page or at checkout.
- [Dimensional Weight (DIM weight)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/dimensional-weight/): A billable weight that carriers calculate from package volume. The carrier charges whichever is greater, actual weight or dimensional weight.
- [First Mile](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/first-mile/): The leg from the brand's or 3PL's warehouse to the carrier's first sorting facility.
- [Flat Rate Shipping](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/flat-rate-shipping/): A carrier pricing option, best known from USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate, that charges one price for a specific box or envelope regardless of weight or destination zone, up to 70 pounds.
- [Fuel Surcharge](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/fuel-surcharge/): A percentage added to transportation charges that moves with published diesel or jet fuel price indexes.
- [General Rate Increase (GRI)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/general-rate-increase/): A carrier's annual list-price increase, typically announced in the fall and effective in January.
- [Hazardous Materials Shipping (hazmat)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/hazardous-materials-shipping/): The regulated shipping of goods classified as dangerous, such as aerosols, flammable liquids, and lithium batteries, which requires correct classification, packaging, marking, and carrier approval.
- [Injection](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/injection/): Delivering presorted parcels directly into a carrier's facility (for example a USPS destination delivery unit) rather than having the carrier pick them up.
- [Last Mile](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/last-mile/): The final leg of delivery from a local station or hub to the customer's door.
- [Lithium Battery Shipping](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/lithium-battery-shipping/): The shipment of lithium ion or lithium metal batteries, alone, packed with equipment, or installed in equipment, under dangerous goods rules that set packaging, labeling, and quantity limits.
- [Negotiated Rates](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/negotiated-rates/): Discounted parcel prices agreed in a contract between a shipper and a carrier, typically as percentage discounts off published rates plus reduced or waived surcharges and minimums.
- [Oversize Package](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/oversize-package/): A parcel whose length or combined length and girth exceeds a carrier's standard size limits, triggering large package surcharges and minimum billable weights.
- [Parcel Select](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/parcel-select/): A USPS destination-entry parcel service in which shippers or consolidators drop presorted packages at USPS facilities near the recipient in exchange for lower postage.
- [Peak Surcharge](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/peak-surcharge/): A temporary fee carriers charge during high-volume periods, mainly from October through January.
- [Porch Piracy](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/porch-piracy/): The theft of delivered packages from doorsteps, porches, or building lobbies after the carrier has marked them delivered.
- [Priority Mail](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/priority-mail/): A USPS expedited parcel service with a 1 to 3 business day delivery standard for packages up to 70 pounds, priced by weight and zone, by flat rate, or by cubic tier.
- [Proof of Delivery (POD)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/proof-of-delivery/): A carrier record confirming that a package was delivered, typically showing the date, time, and location, and sometimes a photo, GPS point, or recipient signature.
- [Regional Carrier](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/regional-carrier/): A parcel carrier that serves a specific part of the country, often with lower rates and fewer surcharges than national carriers.
- [Residential Surcharge](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/residential-surcharge/): A carrier fee applied to deliveries to a home rather than a business address.
- [Return to Sender (RTS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/return-to-sender/): A carrier status for a package that could not be delivered, because of a bad address, refusal, or unclaimed pickup, and is being sent back to the shipper.
- [Shipping Insurance](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/shipping-insurance/): Coverage that reimburses a shipper for a package that is lost or damaged in transit, bought either as declared value from the carrier or as a policy from a third-party insurer.
- [Shipping Label](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/shipping-label/): A printed label carrying the carrier barcode, tracking number, service level, and addresses that a carrier scans to accept, route, and deliver a package.
- [Shipping Manifest](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/shipping-manifest/): A document or electronic record listing every package handed to a carrier in one pickup or drop-off, used to confirm acceptance of the whole batch at once.
- [Shipping Zone](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/shipping-zone/): A carrier's measure of distance between the origin and destination ZIP codes. In the contiguous US, parcel zones run from 2 (closest) to 8 (farthest).
- [Signature Confirmation](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/signature-confirmation/): A paid carrier add-on that requires someone at the delivery address to sign for a package, with adult signature versions requiring the signer to be 21 or older.
- [Surcharge](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/surcharge/): A fee added to the base parcel rate for specific conditions, such as residential delivery, delivery area, additional handling, large package, peak season, or fuel.
- [Time in Transit](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/time-in-transit/): The number of business days a carrier takes to move a package from first scan to delivery, which depends on service level, origin, destination, and shipping zone.
- [Tracking Number](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/tracking-number/): A unique identifier a carrier assigns to a package that links every scan event, from acceptance to delivery, so shippers and recipients can follow its progress.
- [USPS Ground Advantage](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/usps-ground-advantage/): A USPS ground parcel service for packages up to 70 pounds with a 2 to 5 business day delivery standard, launched in July 2023 to replace First-Class Package Service and Parcel Select Ground.
- [Zone Skipping](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/zone-skipping/): Consolidating many parcels into a truckload, moving them close to their destination region, and injecting them into a carrier network there.

## Freight & Retail Compliance

Moving pallets and truckloads between factories, ports, warehouses, and retailers, and meeting the delivery rules big-box retailers enforce on suppliers. (https://fulfillment.wiki/category/freight-retail-compliance/)

- [Accessorial Charge](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/accessorial-charge/): A freight fee for services beyond standard dock-to-dock transport, such as liftgate, inside delivery, residential delivery, appointment, or detention.
- [Appointment Delivery](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/appointment-delivery/): An accessorial service in which the carrier schedules a specific date or time window with the receiver before delivering, often billed as a notify, call-ahead, or appointment fee.
- [Bill of Lading (BOL)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/bill-of-lading/): The legal document between a shipper and carrier listing what is shipped, its origin and destination, and terms of carriage. It also serves as a receipt.
- [Carmack Amendment](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/carmack-amendment/): The US federal law governing liability of interstate motor carriers and freight forwarders for loss or damage to goods, making the carrier liable for actual loss unless liability is lawfully limited.
- [Chargeback (Retail Compliance)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/chargeback/): A deduction a retailer takes from a supplier's invoice for violating its routing guide or vendor requirements, such as late delivery, wrong labels, or missing ASNs.
- [Collect Freight](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/collect-freight/): A payment term in which the consignee pays the carrier's freight charges, as opposed to prepaid freight, where the shipper pays, or third-party billing, where another party pays.
- [Contract Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/contract-rate/): A negotiated freight price agreed between a shipper and a carrier or broker for specific lanes or volumes over a set term, commonly six to twelve months.
- [Dry Van](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/dry-van/): An enclosed, non-temperature-controlled trailer, most commonly 53 feet long in the US, used for most palletized and floor-loaded general merchandise.
- [Floor-Loaded](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/floor-loaded/): A loading method in which cartons are stacked directly on the floor of a container or trailer rather than on pallets, maximizing cube use but requiring manual unloading.
- [Freight Broker](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/freight-broker/): A licensed intermediary that arranges truck transportation by matching a shipper's load with a motor carrier, without operating the trucks itself, and earns the margin between the shipper rate and carrier rate.
- [Freight Claim](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/freight-claim/): A written demand to a carrier for payment of loss, damage, or delay to goods in its care, supported by the bill of lading, delivery receipt, invoice, and proof of value.
- [Freight Class](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/freight-class/): A National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) rating from 50 to 500 that LTL carriers use to price shipments based on density, handling, stowability, and liability.
- [Freight Density](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/freight-density/): The weight of a shipment divided by its cubic volume, expressed in pounds per cubic foot, which determines the freight class for most LTL commodities.
- [Freight Reclassification](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/freight-reclassification/): A correction an LTL carrier makes to a shipment's freight class or weight after inspecting or reweighing it, which reissues the bill at the corrected class and usually adds an inspection fee.
- [Full Truckload (FTL)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/full-truckload/): A shipment that uses an entire trailer, usually a 53-foot dry van in the US, moving directly from origin to destination.
- [GS1-128 Label](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/gs1-128-label/): A standardized shipping label printed with the GS1-128 barcode symbology that encodes a carton or pallet's SSCC and, optionally, data such as purchase order and ship-to location.
- [Inner Pack](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/inner-pack/): A smaller package inside a master carton that groups a set number of units, used to protect product or match the quantity a store or customer orders.
- [Intermodal Freight](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/intermodal-freight/): Freight moved in a single container or trailer across more than one mode, most commonly a domestic or international container hauled by rail for the long haul and by truck at each end.
- [Less-Than-Truckload (LTL)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/less-than-truckload/): Freight shipping for loads too large for parcel but not large enough to fill a truck, where several shippers share trailer space.
- [Liftgate Service](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/liftgate-service/): An accessorial service in which the carrier uses a truck-mounted hydraulic platform to lower freight from the trailer to the ground at a location without a loading dock.
- [Lumper Fee](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/lumper-fee/): A charge for third-party labor that unloads a truck at the receiving facility, common at grocery and big-box retail distribution centers.
- [Master Carton](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/master-carton/): The outer shipping carton that holds a fixed number of units or inner packs of a single SKU as packed by the supplier, also called a case pack.
- [Middle Mile](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/middle-mile/): The movement of goods between facilities, such as from a port or DC to a fulfillment center, before final delivery.
- [Must Arrive By Date (MABD)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/must-arrive-by-date/): The date on a retail purchase order by which the shipment must arrive at the retailer's distribution center, used to measure on-time delivery.
- [National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/national-motor-freight-classification/): The industry standard, maintained by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA), that assigns commodities an item number and a freight class used to price LTL shipments.
- [On-Time In-Full (OTIF)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/on-time-in-full/): A retail supplier performance metric measuring the share of purchase orders or cases delivered within the required delivery window and in the full ordered quantity.
- [Over, Short, and Damaged (OS&D)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/over-short-and-damaged/): The category of delivery exceptions in which received freight exceeds, falls below, or arrives in worse condition than what the bill of lading lists, also used for the carrier department handling them.
- [Pallet](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/pallet/): A flat transport platform, typically 48 × 40 inches in the US, on which goods are stacked for handling by forklift.
- [Pool Distribution](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/pool-distribution/): A distribution method in which many orders for one region are consolidated on a truckload to a local terminal, then broken down and delivered to individual destinations by local carriers.
- [PRO Number](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/pro-number/): The tracking number an LTL carrier assigns to a shipment.
- [Refrigerated Trailer (Reefer)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/refrigerated-trailer/): A temperature-controlled trailer or container with its own refrigeration unit, used to move perishable or temperature-sensitive goods such as food, supplements, cosmetics, and some pharmaceuticals.
- [Routing Guide](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/routing-guide/): A retailer's rulebook for how suppliers must label, pack, ship, and schedule deliveries to its warehouses.
- [Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/serial-shipping-container-code/): An 18-digit GS1 number that uniquely identifies a carton or pallet, printed on a GS1-128 label.
- [Shipper Load and Count (SLAC)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/shipper-load-and-count/): A bill of lading notation stating that the shipper loaded and counted the freight without the driver verifying the quantity, typically used on sealed truckloads and containers.
- [Spot Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/spot-rate/): A one-time price quoted for a single shipment at current market conditions, as opposed to a rate locked in by contract for a set period.
- [Vendor Compliance](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/vendor-compliance/): The set of packaging, labeling, shipping, EDI, and delivery requirements a retailer imposes on its suppliers, enforced through scorecards and financial penalties.

## Import & Customs

Bringing goods into the United States: trade terms, customs filings and fees, tariffs, and the port and container charges that affect landed cost. (https://fulfillment.wiki/category/import-customs/)

- [Antidumping Duty (AD)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/antidumping-duty/): An additional US duty on imports found to be sold below fair value, set by product, country, and often manufacturer, and collected alongside any countervailing duty on subsidized goods.
- [Automated Commercial Environment (ACE)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/automated-commercial-environment/): The electronic system US Customs and Border Protection uses to process imports and exports, receiving entry filings, ISF data, partner agency information, and duty payments.
- [Bonded Warehouse](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/bonded-warehouse/): A CBP-authorized facility where imported goods can be stored without paying duty for up to five years from import, with duty due only when goods are withdrawn for US consumption.
- [Cargo Ready Date (CRD)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cargo-ready-date/): The date a supplier confirms goods will be produced, packed, and available for pickup or delivery to the origin port or warehouse.
- [Certificate of Origin](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/certificate-of-origin/): A document or statement certifying the country where goods were produced, used to claim preferential duty rates under trade agreements or to meet an importing country's requirements.
- [Commercial Invoice](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/commercial-invoice/): The seller's invoice for an international shipment that lists the parties, goods description, quantity, value, currency, country of origin, and sale terms, used by customs to assess duties.
- [Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cost-insurance-and-freight/): An Incoterms rule for sea and inland waterway transport in which the seller pays freight and minimum insurance to the destination port, while risk passes to the buyer once goods are loaded at origin.
- [Country of Origin](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/country-of-origin/): The country where goods were wholly produced or, for goods with inputs from several countries, last substantially transformed into a new article with a new name, character, or use.
- [Customs Bond](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/customs-bond/): A surety bond posted with US Customs and Border Protection that guarantees an importer will pay duties, taxes, and fees and comply with import rules, issued as a single-transaction or continuous bond.
- [Customs Broker](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/customs-broker/): A licensed professional who files entries with US Customs and Border Protection and calculates duties on behalf of importers.
- [Customs Exam](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/customs-exam/): An inspection of an import shipment by US Customs and Border Protection or another agency, ranging from a non-intrusive X-ray scan to a full devanning at a centralized examination station.
- [Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/customs-trade-partnership-against-terrorism/): A voluntary US Customs and Border Protection program in which importers, carriers, and other supply chain parties adopt security standards in exchange for benefits such as fewer inspections.
- [De Minimis](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/de-minimis/): A value threshold below which imported shipments could enter duty-free with simplified entry. US Section 321 set this at $800 per person per day.
- [Delivered at Place (DAP)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/delivered-at-place/): An Incoterm where the seller pays transport to the destination but the buyer pays import duties and taxes. In ecommerce often called DDU (delivered duties unpaid).
- [Delivered Duty Paid (DDP)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/delivered-duty-paid/): An Incoterm, also used in cross-border ecommerce, where the seller pays all transport, duties, and taxes so the buyer owes nothing on delivery.
- [Demurrage](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/demurrage/): A fee charged when a container stays at the port or terminal longer than the allowed free time.
- [Detention](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/detention/): A fee charged when a container or trailer is kept outside the terminal, or a truck waits at a facility, beyond the allowed free time.
- [Drayage](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/drayage/): Short-distance trucking of ocean containers between a port or rail ramp and a nearby warehouse.
- [Duty Drawback](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/duty-drawback/): A refund of up to 99% of duties, taxes, and certain fees paid on imported goods that are later exported, destroyed, or used to make exported products.
- [Entry Summary (CBP Form 7501)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/entry-summary/): The CBP Form 7501 filing, usually submitted electronically through ACE by a customs broker, that declares classification, value, origin, and duties for an import and accompanies the duty payment.
- [Ex Works (EXW)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/ex-works/): An Incoterm where the seller only makes goods available at its own premises and the buyer handles all transport, export clearance, and risk.
- [Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/foreign-trade-zone/): A designated, CBP-supervised area in the US where foreign goods can be stored, processed, or assembled without paying US duties until they enter US commerce.
- [Free Carrier (FCA)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/free-carrier/): An Incoterms rule in which the seller delivers goods, cleared for export, to the carrier or person the buyer nominates at a named place, where risk passes to the buyer.
- [Free on Board (FOB)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/free-on-board/): An Incoterm where the seller delivers goods loaded onto the vessel at the named port of origin, after which the buyer bears cost and risk.
- [Free Time](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/free-time/): The number of days a terminal or ocean carrier allows an importer to pick up a container or return empty equipment before demurrage or detention charges begin.
- [Freight Forwarder](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/freight-forwarder/): A company that books and coordinates international shipments across carriers, ports, and customs on behalf of a shipper.
- [Full Container Load (FCL)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/full-container-load/): An ocean shipment that fills, or is booked as, an entire container for one shipper.
- [General Order (GO)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/general-order/): The status of imported goods not entered with US Customs within 15 calendar days of arrival, which are then moved to a general order warehouse at the importer's expense.
- [Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/harbor-maintenance-fee/): A US fee charged as a percentage of the value of commercial cargo loaded or unloaded at certain US ports, applying to ocean shipments but not air or most land imports.
- [Harmonized System Code (HS Code)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/harmonized-system-code/): A six-digit product classification code from the World Customs Organization's international Harmonized System, used as the base for national tariff schedules worldwide.
- [Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/harmonized-tariff-schedule/): The US system of product classification codes (based on the international Harmonized System) that determines duty rates for imports.
- [House Bill of Lading (HBL)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/house-bill-of-lading/): A bill of lading issued by a freight forwarder or NVOCC to its shipper customer, as distinct from the master bill of lading the ocean carrier issues to the forwarder.
- [IEEPA Tariffs](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/ieepa-tariffs/): Additional US import duties imposed by executive order in 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, applied by country of origin.
- [Importer of Record (IOR)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/importer-of-record/): The party legally responsible for an import into the US, including correct classification, valuation, and origin, payment of duties, and compliance with all import laws.
- [Importer Security Filing (ISF)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/importer-security-filing/): A US filing, also called 10+2, that ocean importers must submit to CBP at least 24 hours before cargo is loaded on the vessel abroad.
- [Incoterms](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/incoterms/): Standard trade terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce that define which party pays for and bears risk in each leg of an international shipment.
- [Less-than-Container Load (LCL)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/less-than-container-load/): An ocean shipment that shares a container with other shippers' cargo, consolidated and deconsolidated at warehouses.
- [Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/merchandise-processing-fee/): A US Customs user fee on imports, charged on formal entries as a percentage of entered value subject to a minimum and maximum per entry, and as a flat fee on informal entries.
- [Ocean Bill of Lading](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/ocean-bill-of-lading/): The document an ocean carrier or NVOCC issues for sea cargo that serves as a receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and, when negotiable, a document of title.
- [Packing List](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/packing-list/): A shipping document that itemizes the contents of each carton or pallet in a shipment, including quantities, weights, dimensions, and marks, without stating prices.
- [Port of Entry](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/port-of-entry/): The designated US location, such as a seaport, airport, or land border crossing, where imported goods are formally entered and cleared through customs.
- [Section 301 Tariffs](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/section-301-tariffs/): Additional US duties imposed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in response to a trading partner's unfair practices, most widely on many goods of Chinese origin since 2018.
- [Transloading](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/transloading/): Moving goods from an ocean container into a domestic 53-foot trailer, often near the port.
- [Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/twenty-foot-equivalent-unit/): A standard measure of container capacity equal to one 20-foot container. A 40-foot container is 2 TEU.
- [Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/uyghur-forced-labor-prevention-act/): A US law, effective June 21, 2022, presuming that goods made wholly or partly in China's Xinjiang region, or by listed entities, use forced labor and are barred from import.

## Returns

Reverse logistics for ecommerce: how returns are authorized, shipped, graded, and resold, and how brands control their cost. (https://fulfillment.wiki/category/returns/)

- [Box-Free Returns](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/box-free-returns/): A return method in which the customer brings an unpackaged item and a QR code to a drop-off location, where staff pack, label, and ship it back on the brand's behalf.
- [Cost per Return](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cost-per-return/): The total cost of handling one return, including return shipping, receiving and inspection labor, repackaging, refund processing, and lost value from items that cannot be resold at full price.
- [Disposition](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/disposition/): The decision on what happens to a returned item: restock as new, sell as open box, refurbish, liquidate, recycle, or destroy.
- [Exchange-First Returns](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/exchange-first-returns/): A returns flow that offers an exchange, such as a different size or color or store credit, before offering a refund, so revenue stays with the brand.
- [Liquidation](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/liquidation/): The bulk sale of returned, excess, or unsellable inventory to resellers or liquidators at a steep discount, typically by the pallet or truckload.
- [Recommerce](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/recommerce/): The resale of used, returned, or refurbished products, either through a brand's own resale channel or through marketplaces, instead of liquidating or discarding them.
- [Refurbishment](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/refurbishment/): The process of cleaning, repairing, testing, and repackaging a returned or used product so it can be resold, usually labeled as refurbished or renewed.
- [Restocking Fee](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/restocking-fee/): A charge deducted from a refund to cover the cost of processing a returned item.
- [Return Fraud](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/return-fraud/): The abuse of a return policy to obtain money or goods dishonestly, such as returning stolen, used, or swapped items, claiming empty boxes, or returning items never bought.
- [Return Grading](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/return-grading/): The inspection step that assigns a returned item a condition grade, such as new, like new, open box, damaged, or unsellable, which then determines its disposition.
- [Return Label](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/return-label/): A shipping label used to send a product back to a brand or its warehouse, either included in the box, emailed on request, or generated through a returns portal.
- [Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/return-merchandise-authorization/): An approval number or record issued before a customer returns an item, used to track and process the return.
- [Return Reason Code](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/return-reason-code/): A standardized code that records why a customer returned an item, such as wrong size, damaged, not as described, or changed mind, captured at return initiation or inspection.
- [Return to Vendor (RTV)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/return-to-vendor/): The process of sending defective, damaged, or excess inventory back to the supplier or manufacturer for credit, repair, or replacement under the purchase agreement.
- [Return Window](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/return-window/): The period after delivery or purchase during which a customer may return an item for a refund, exchange, or credit under the brand's return policy.
- [Returnless Refund](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/returnless-refund/): A refund or replacement issued without asking the customer to send the item back, used when return shipping and processing would cost more than the item can be recovered for.
- [Returns Consolidation](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/returns-consolidation/): The practice of collecting many individual returns at a drop-off point or hub and shipping them together in bulk to the brand or its warehouse instead of one parcel at a time.
- [Returns Portal](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/returns-portal/): A self-service web page where customers start a return or exchange, choose a reason and return method, and receive a label or drop-off code without contacting support.
- [Reverse Logistics](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/reverse-logistics/): Everything involved in moving goods from customers back to the brand, including return shipping, inspection, restocking, refurbishing, recycling, and disposal.
- [Wardrobing](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/wardrobing/): A form of return abuse in which a customer buys an item, uses it briefly, such as wearing clothing to an event, and then returns it as unworn for a full refund.

## Metrics & Unit Economics

The formulas logistics teams use to measure speed, accuracy, cost, and inventory efficiency, each with a worked example. (https://fulfillment.wiki/category/metrics-unit-economics/)

- [Average Order Value (AOV)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/average-order-value/): The average amount of revenue per customer order over a period, calculated by dividing total order revenue by the number of orders.
- [Backorder Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/backorder-rate/): The percentage of orders, or order lines, that contain at least one item that could not ship immediately because it was out of stock and was placed on backorder.
- [Carrying Cost](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/carrying-cost/): The total cost of holding inventory over time, including capital, storage, insurance, shrinkage, and obsolescence.
- [Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cash-conversion-cycle/): The number of days between paying suppliers for inventory and collecting cash from customers for the sale of that inventory.
- [Click-to-Door Time](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/click-to-door-time/): The total elapsed time from when a customer places an order online to when the package is delivered, combining warehouse processing time and carrier transit time.
- [Contribution Margin](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/contribution-margin/): Revenue minus all variable costs of a sale, such as product cost, shipping, fulfillment, payment processing, and often marketing, showing what each order contributes toward fixed costs and profit.
- [Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cost-of-goods-sold/): The direct cost of the inventory a business sold during a period, typically including product cost, inbound freight, duties, and other landed costs, but not outbound shipping or marketing.
- [Cost per Order (CPO)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cost-per-order/): The total cost to fulfill and ship one customer order.
- [Cost per Unit Shipped](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cost-per-unit-shipped/): The total fulfillment and shipping cost for a period divided by the number of units shipped in that period.
- [Cost to Serve](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cost-to-serve/): The total cost of fulfilling and supporting a specific customer, channel, or order type, including fulfillment, shipping, returns, customer service, and channel fees.
- [Damage Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/damage-rate/): The percentage of orders or units that arrive damaged or are found damaged in the warehouse, usually measured from customer claims and return reason codes.
- [Days of Inventory (DOI)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/days-of-inventory/): The number of days current inventory will last at the expected sales rate. Also called days of supply or days inventory outstanding.
- [Dock-to-Stock Time](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/dock-to-stock-time/): The time between a shipment arriving at the warehouse dock and its inventory being available to sell.
- [Fill Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/fill-rate/): The percentage of customer demand shipped from available stock on the first shipment, measured by units, order lines, or whole orders.
- [Forecast Accuracy](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/forecast-accuracy/): A measure of how close forecast demand was to actual demand, commonly expressed as 100% minus the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) across SKUs or periods.
- [Fulfillment Cost as Percent of Revenue](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/fulfillment-cost-as-percent-of-revenue/): The share of net revenue spent on warehousing and order fulfillment, including storage, receiving, pick and pack, and packaging, with outbound postage either included or reported separately.
- [Gross Margin](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/gross-margin/): Revenue minus cost of goods sold, expressed in dollars or as a percentage of revenue, showing what is left from sales after the direct cost of the products.
- [Gross Margin Return on Investment (GMROI)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/gross-margin-return-on-investment/): A ratio showing how many dollars of gross margin a business earns for each dollar invested in inventory, measured at cost over a period.
- [Inventory Accuracy](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/inventory-accuracy/): How closely the inventory quantities in the system match what is physically in the warehouse.
- [Inventory Turnover](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/inventory-turnover/): How many times a brand sells through its average inventory in a period.
- [Inventory-to-Sales Ratio](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/inventory-to-sales-ratio/): The value of inventory on hand at the end of a period divided by sales for that period, showing how many months of sales current inventory represents.
- [Landed Cost](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/landed-cost/): The total cost of getting a product to your warehouse ready to sell: purchase price plus freight, insurance, duties, tariffs, brokerage, and handling.
- [Lines per Order](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/lines-per-order/): The average number of distinct SKUs, or order lines, in each customer order, regardless of the quantity ordered on each line.
- [On-Time Delivery (OTD)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/on-time-delivery/): The percentage of orders delivered by the date promised to the customer.
- [Order Accuracy](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/order-accuracy/): The percentage of orders shipped with the correct items and quantities.
- [Perfect Order Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/perfect-order-rate/): The share of orders delivered on time, complete, undamaged, and with correct documentation.
- [Return Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/return-rate/): The percentage of items or orders sold that customers send back.
- [Sell-Through Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/sell-through-rate/): The share of received inventory that sold during a period.
- [Ship-on-Time Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/ship-on-time-rate/): The percentage of orders shipped by their required ship date or within the agreed handling time, measured at carrier handoff.
- [Shipping Cost as Percent of Revenue](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/shipping-cost-as-percent-of-revenue/): The share of net revenue spent on outbound postage to customers, before or after subtracting shipping fees collected from customers.
- [Stockout Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/stockout-rate/): The percentage of active SKUs, or SKU-days, with zero available inventory during a period, sometimes measured instead as the share of orders affected.
- [Storage Utilization](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/storage-utilization/): The percentage of a warehouse's usable storage capacity that is currently occupied, measured by locations, pallet positions, or cubic volume.
- [Time to Ship](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/time-to-ship/): The elapsed time between an order being placed or released to the warehouse and the package receiving its first carrier scan or ship confirmation.
- [Units per Hour (UPH)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/units-per-hour/): A labor productivity measure equal to the number of units a worker or team processes in one labor hour for a task such as picking, packing, or receiving.
- [Units per Order (UPO)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/units-per-order/): The average number of individual items in each customer order over a period, also called units per transaction.
- [WISMO Rate](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/wismo-rate/): The share of orders that generate a customer contact asking about order status, where WISMO stands for "Where is my order?"

## Systems & Automation

The software and warehouse automation that run modern fulfillment, from order and warehouse management systems to robots and sortation. (https://fulfillment.wiki/category/systems-automation/)

- [Advance Shipping Notice (ASN)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/advance-shipping-notice/): An electronic notice sent before a shipment arrives, listing its contents, packaging, and expected arrival. In retail EDI this is the 856 document.
- [Application Programming Interface (API)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/application-programming-interface/): A defined way for one software system to request data or actions from another, such as a storefront sending orders to a 3PL's system or pulling inventory levels back.
- [Automated Bagging](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/automated-bagging/): Packing orders with a machine that opens a poly or paper bag, accepts the items, seals it, and often prints and applies the shipping label in one step.
- [Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/automated-storage-and-retrieval-system/): Computer-controlled equipment that stores totes, bins, or pallets in dense racking and automatically retrieves them on demand.
- [Automation Payback Period](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/automation-payback-period/): The time it takes for the savings from a warehouse automation project, mainly reduced labor and errors, to equal its total upfront investment.
- [Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/autonomous-mobile-robot/): A robot that navigates a warehouse using sensors and maps, without fixed tracks, to move totes, carts, or shelves.
- [Carrier Invoice Audit](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/carrier-audit/): Reviewing carrier invoices for errors such as duplicate charges, wrong surcharges, incorrect weights, and late deliveries eligible for refunds.
- [Cartonization](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/cartonization/): Software logic that picks the best box size for each order based on item dimensions, weight, and fragility.
- [Collaborative Robot (Cobot)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/collaborative-robot/): A robot designed to work safely alongside people without full safety caging, such as a mobile cart that follows or meets pickers, or a robotic arm at a workstation.
- [Conveyor System](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/conveyor-system/): Powered or gravity-driven belts and rollers that move totes, cartons, or parcels between areas of a warehouse, such as from picking to packing to shipping.
- [Dimensioner](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/dimensioner/): A device that measures the length, width, and height of an item or parcel automatically, often combined with a scale and barcode scanner as a DWS (dimension, weight, scan) system.
- [Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/electronic-data-interchange/): Standardized electronic documents exchanged between trading partners, such as purchase orders (850), invoices (810), and advance ship notices (856).
- [Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/enterprise-resource-planning/): Business software that manages core company records such as finance, purchasing, inventory valuation, and sales orders in one system, often acting as the system of record.
- [Goods-to-Person (GTP)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/goods-to-person/): A fulfillment model where automation brings inventory to a stationary picker at a workstation, instead of the picker walking to the inventory.
- [Inventory Synchronization](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/inventory-synchronization/): Keeping available inventory quantities consistent across a warehouse system and every sales channel, so each storefront and marketplace shows what can actually be shipped.
- [Labor Management System (LMS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/labor-management-system/): Software that measures worker productivity against engineered or historical standards, forecasts labor needs, and supports staffing, incentives, and coaching in a warehouse.
- [Multi-Carrier Shipping Software](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/multi-carrier-shipping-software/): Software that connects to several parcel carriers so a shipper can compare rates, buy labels, print documents, and track packages from one interface.
- [Order Management System (OMS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/order-management-system/): Software that collects orders from all channels, applies routing rules, and sends each order to the right warehouse or store.
- [Pick-to-Light (PTL)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/pick-to-light/): A system of lights mounted on storage locations that show pickers where to pick and how many units, confirmed by pressing a button.
- [Print-and-Apply](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/print-and-apply/): Equipment that prints a shipping or compliance label and applies it to a carton or parcel automatically, usually as the package moves along a conveyor.
- [Put-to-Light](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/put-to-light/): A system of lights on a wall or rack of cubbies, each assigned to an order, that shows a worker where to place each scanned item when sorting batch-picked units into orders.
- [Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/radio-frequency-identification/): A technology that reads data from tags using radio waves, allowing many tagged items, cases, or pallets to be identified at once without a direct line of sight.
- [Rate Shopping](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/rate-shopping/): Automatically comparing carrier and service options for each shipment and selecting the cheapest that meets the delivery promise.
- [RF Scanner](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/rf-scanner/): A handheld or wearable barcode scanner with a wireless connection to the warehouse system, used to confirm receiving, putaway, picks, and counts in real time; also called an RF gun.
- [Robotic Piece Picking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/robotic-piece-picking/): Using a robotic arm with vision software and a suction or finger gripper to pick individual items from bins or totes, usually at a goods-to-person station.
- [Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/robots-as-a-service/): A pricing model where a warehouse pays a recurring fee, often monthly or per unit handled, to use robots instead of buying them outright.
- [Sortation System](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/sortation-system/): Automated equipment that identifies items or parcels, usually by barcode scan, and diverts each one to the correct destination, such as an order, a packing station, or a carrier lane.
- [Supply Chain Control Tower](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/supply-chain-control-tower/): A software dashboard that combines data from suppliers, forwarders, carriers, warehouses, and sales channels to show inventory and shipments end to end and flag exceptions.
- [Throughput](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/throughput/): The amount of work a warehouse, process, or machine completes in a period of time, such as orders shipped per day or units picked per hour.
- [Transportation Management System (TMS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/transportation-management-system/): Software for planning, booking, tracking, and paying for freight shipments.
- [Voice Picking](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/voice-picking/): A picking method where workers wear a headset that gives spoken instructions, such as location and quantity, and confirm each step by speaking, leaving hands and eyes free.
- [Warehouse Control System (WCS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/warehouse-control-system/): Software that directly controls automated equipment such as conveyors, sorters, and storage systems, telling each machine what to do and reporting its status.
- [Warehouse Execution System (WES)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/warehouse-execution-system/): Software that sits between a WMS and warehouse automation, releasing and balancing work in real time across people, robots, and equipment based on current capacity.
- [Warehouse Management System (WMS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/warehouse-management-system/): Software that directs and records warehouse activity: receiving, putaway, inventory locations, picking, packing, and shipping.
- [Webhook](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/webhook/): An automatic message one system sends to another web address when a specific event happens, such as an order being placed, shipped, or cancelled, so the receiver does not have to keep asking.
- [Yard Management System (YMS)](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/yard-management-system/): Software that tracks and directs trailers and containers in a warehouse yard, including check-in, parking spots, dock door assignments, and movement between yard and dock.

## Optional

- [About and editorial policy](https://fulfillment.wiki/about/)
- [A–Z index](https://fulfillment.wiki/glossary/)