Glossary

Terms and definitions used in Vectis and e-commerce fulfillment.

A

Allocation The process of reserving inventory for an order. When an order is allocated, the required quantities are reserved at a specific warehouse, reducing available inventory.

ASN (Advance Ship Notice) A notification sent by a supplier before a shipment arrives, detailing what’s being shipped. Used to prepare for receiving.

Available Quantity Inventory that can be sold. Calculated as On Hand minus Reserved.

B

Backorder An order for items not currently in stock. The order is held until inventory is received.

Bin The smallest storage location in a warehouse. Part of the location hierarchy: Warehouse → Zone → Aisle → Rack → Shelf → Bin.

Bin Packing The algorithmic problem of fitting items into containers (boxes) efficiently. StoaPack solves this for shipping optimization.

BOL (Bill of Lading) A document issued by a carrier acknowledging receipt of cargo for shipment. Required for freight shipments.

C

Carrier A company that transports packages. Examples: FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL.

Channel A sales platform where orders originate. Examples: Shopify, WooCommerce (available now); Amazon, eBay, TikTok Shop, Etsy, Walmart (coming soon).

Cycle Count A partial inventory count where a subset of products is counted on a rotating basis, rather than counting everything at once.

D

Dimensional Weight (DIM Weight) A pricing method where shipping cost is based on package size rather than actual weight. Calculated as (L × W × H) / DIM factor.

Drop Ship Fulfillment method where the retailer doesn’t hold inventory. Orders are sent directly to a supplier who ships to the customer.

E

EasyPost A shipping API that Vectis uses to connect to multiple carriers with a single integration.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) A standardized format for exchanging business documents electronically. Common in B2B and retail (X12 850 for orders, 856 for shipments).

F

FIFO (First In, First Out) Inventory valuation method where the oldest inventory is sold first. Important for perishables and lot tracking.

Fulfillment The complete process of receiving an order, picking items, packing them, and shipping to the customer.

H

Hazmat Hazardous materials that require special handling, packaging, and documentation for shipping. Regulated by DOT (49 CFR) and IATA.

I

Idempotency A property of API operations where making the same request multiple times has the same effect as making it once. Prevents duplicate orders from retries.

Inventory The stock of products available for sale. Tracked by quantity, location, and status.

K

Kitting Combining multiple individual products into a single sellable unit. Example: Gift set containing three products.

L

Label The shipping label affixed to a package, containing carrier barcode, addresses, and tracking information.

LIFO (Last In, First Out) Inventory valuation method where the newest inventory is sold first.

Location A specific place where inventory is stored. Can be as broad as a warehouse or as specific as a bin.

Lot A batch of inventory received together, often with a shared expiration date or manufacturing date. Used for traceability.

M

Manifest A list of all packages being shipped together, typically at end of day. Provided to carrier for pickup.

Multi-Tenant Software architecture where a single application serves multiple customers (tenants) with data isolation between them.

O

OMS (Order Management System) Software that manages the order lifecycle from receipt through fulfillment. Vectis is an OMS.

On Hand The physical quantity of inventory in a warehouse. Does not account for reservations.

Order A customer’s request to purchase products. Contains line items, shipping address, and payment information.

P

Package A physical container (box, envelope, pallet) being shipped. An order may have multiple packages.

Packing Slip A document included in a package listing the contents. Does not include pricing.

Pick List A document or screen showing items to be retrieved from warehouse locations for orders.

PO (Purchase Order) An order placed with a supplier to replenish inventory.

R

Receiving The process of accepting inventory into a warehouse, verifying quantities, and updating the system.

Reservation A hold placed on inventory for a specific order. Reduces available quantity without changing on-hand.

Reorder Point The inventory level at which new stock should be ordered. When available quantity drops below this, an alert is triggered.

Routing The process of determining which warehouse should fulfill an order based on inventory, location, and business rules.

S

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) A unique identifier for a product. Used to track inventory and identify items in orders.

Split Shipment An order fulfilled from multiple locations, resulting in multiple packages shipped separately.

StoaPack Stoa Logistics’ 3D bin packing API that optimizes box selection for orders.

T

Tenant A customer account in a multi-tenant system. Each tenant has isolated data and configuration.

3PL (Third-Party Logistics) A company that provides outsourced logistics services, including warehousing and fulfillment, for other businesses.

Tracking Number A unique identifier assigned by a carrier to track a package through delivery.

Transfer Movement of inventory between locations, either within a warehouse or between warehouses.

U

UPC (Universal Product Code) A barcode standard used to identify products. The number below the barcode is the UPC.

V

Vectis Stoa Logistics’ Order Management System for e-commerce fulfillment.

W

Wave A batch of orders released for picking together, typically based on time or shipping cutoff.

Webhook An HTTP callback that sends data to an external URL when an event occurs. Used for real-time integrations.

WMS (Warehouse Management System) Software focused on warehouse operations: receiving, put-away, picking, packing, shipping. Complements an OMS.

Z

Zone A logical division of a warehouse. Used for organizing inventory and optimizing pick paths.