A Complete Guide to Warehouse Abbreviations and Jargon

A business owner should have enough knowledge about warehouse abbreviations and business expressions. These expressions may be abbreviated or used in jargon. Some abbreviations are professional and essential in warehouse management. Here in this article, we list some of the most used ones with a brief explanation of each.

Warehouse Abbreviations

ASN

The Advanced Shipping Notice is a notification that the client receives before the good is dispatched.

SSCC

The Serial Shipping Container Code is an identification code in warehouse abbreviations that is used for the parcels inside a large container. The SSCC in most of the common systems is an 18-digit code to which the container with a unique ID is assigned.

IMF

The inventory Master File is the list of entire products in the warehouse with their real-time quantity.

3PL

Third-party logistics is a commonly used warehouse abbreviation which is a strategy that refers to assigning the logistics affairs to a 3^rd party service provider to better fulfill the orders.

EDD

The estimated delivery date determines the date that the customer receives the order.

FC

If the company uses a third-party logistics service provider, the FC would refer to the fulfillment center which is the actual warehouse that the 3PL uses to store the goods.

GTIN

This is the global trade item number including a 14-digit code that identifies the products, items, and services.

HAZMAT

This expression refers to hazardous materials including toxic or flammable items that should be stored in a secure place. These products need special care and protection.

ISBN

International standard book number. If you supply books for your customers, you should be careful about copyrights and intellectual property.

Logistics abbreviations list

DSI

This is an index in the inventory and stock management system that indicates the average time needed to sell the inventory. This ratio starts from the day you purchase it from the supplier to the day you fulfill it and the customer receives it from you. A lower DSI is optimum for the business.

Read more: What are the key factors to the successful eCommerce order fulfillment process?

 OOS

An out-of-stock situation which refers to the state that you ran out of stock and no order can be placed for the item.

PCOGS

The  Product Costs of Goods Sold determine the quantity sold multiplied by the cost price of the seller.

POD

The  Proof of Delivery indicates the delivery process is done successfully to the right address and person.

PPM

the Pure Profit Margin is an index that refers to the ratio between the average selling price and the cost price. Actually, it indicates how much you earn from each product per sale.

ROAS

The Return on Ad Spend describes the ratio of the revenue you earn to the advertisement budget.

ROI

This is one of the most used expressions in the business which stands for return on investment. It indicates how much you earn in comparison to the number of assets your invest in a business.

RRP

The Recommended Retail Price represents the optimum or current price that corresponds to the demands in a market. This price is usually set by the producer.

SEO

Search engine optimization includes the technics and strategies used to keep the business top in a search engine like Google. This is a critical factor for high organic traffic on your business website.

SKU

The Stock Keeping Unit is a unique code to identify and track the goods in your warehouse.

Read more: Fulfillment Costs: Know Everything About 3PL Warehousing Costs

3PS

The third-party seller refers to a retailer that sells your product in any channel without storing your goods in its warehouse, but rather asking you to dispatch it to their clients.

UPC

The  Universal Product Code is a 12-digit number that is assigned to an item to track it in the store or in the market.

VAT

This is the most common expression in tax affairs. The value-added tax is a type of indirect tax added to the price of goods and services for the value added at every step of the production cycle from the very first raw materials to the final sale steps in the retail store.

C/O

This is the certificate of origin that determines the country of origin of the product.

CSC

This warehouse abbreviation refers to the container service charge which is a fee for product transportation from the warehouse to the carrier and vice versa.

Read more: Rail Logistics Services Know Anything About Its Advantageous And Usages

FCL

The full container load indicated the total size of the container that can encompass your items.

INV

This term refers to the commercial invoice that is issued by the seller to determine the product value.

POL and POD

These warehouse abbreviations refer to the port of loading and port of destination respectively.

ATD

The actual time of departure refers to the time that the vehicle of shipment departs from the warehouse to the client’s destination.

B/L

The bill of landing is a bill attached to the goods indicating the details of the landing on the product.

CAF

The Currency adjustment factor is an important expression in trading and business. When a product leaves a warehouse till it is delivered to a foreign customer, the currency may fluctuate and therefore the price that the customer pays at door may change in terms of value. This factor is the additional fee that is charged because of this fluctuation.
Read more: What Is Third-Party Logistics, Know It & Use It Happily

MCR

It is multichannel retailing, which is a retailing strategy in which the company set multiple channels for selling a product, such as physical retailing, online one, third-party sale, or any other strategy.

OMS

This warehouse abbreviation stands for order management system/software that provides the supplier with the information needed to fulfill an order efficiently and accurately. This system helps the retailer to track and pick the product using the determined codes and dispatch it as perfectly as possible to the customer.

EXW

This term stands for ex-works which refers to the door to door shipping. In this type of shipment, the product is packaged and dispatched from the fulfillment center with the least responsiveness to the customer’s place merely via simple post services.

FCA

This warehouse abbreviation is the free carrier shipment in which the retailer pays the most costs of shipping to the customer’s place or destination.