WMS glossary

A provider that runs storage and distribution on your behalf. It uses its own WMS and needs client-level stock separation, billing for services and reporting.

See also: Multi-client warehouse, Service billing

Detailed guide →

The operator takes the next task from the system; location, quantity and sequence appear on the screen. It is the opposite of paper or memory-driven work; deviations are recorded.

See also: RF operation, Exception queue

The core system that holds finance, purchasing, sales, production and inventory records. It knows stock quantity; in most deployments it does not run in-warehouse locations, tasks and RF flows.

See also: WMS (Warehouse Management System), ERP–WMS integration

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Work that breaks a rule (shortage, damage, missed scan, mismatch) landing on a separate list. If the queue is not cleared, the system looks live while the floor stalls.

See also: Short pick, OSD (overage / shortage / damage), Directed work

Keeping several clients' stock, user permissions and reports separate in the same facility. It is the base requirement of 3PL deployments.

See also: 3PL (Third-party logistics), Service billing

Serving store, marketplace and own-site channels from the same stock. In the warehouse it requires channel priority, different packing and its own returns flow.

See also: OMS (Order Management System), Returns management

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Calculating charges per storage, movement, value-added service and shipment in a 3PL. The basis of the calculation is the movement records in the WMS.

See also: 3PL (Third-party logistics), Value-added services (VAS)

Software that runs the work inside a warehouse: it records every movement at location and stock level from receiving to shipping, assigns it as tasks and keeps it traceable.

See also: ERP, WCS (Warehouse Control System), TMS (Transportation Management System)

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The supplier announcing a shipment in advance: items, quantities, pallets and label data. With an ASN receiving is scan-based; without it, it is count-based.

See also: Goods receipt, SSCC (serial shipping container code)

Making the operator count without showing the expected quantity. It improves counting discipline and exposes supplier shortages, at some cost in time.

See also: Goods receipt

Routing incoming goods straight to shipping without putting them away. It lowers holding cost but demands accurate ASNs and tight timing.

See also: ASN (Advance shipping notice), Staging

Taking incoming goods into stock by counting, checking and recording them. Errors made here (wrong item, short quantity, skipped check) propagate to every later process.

See also: ASN (Advance shipping notice), Blind receipt, Quality control, hold and release

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The system document for a shipment expected from a supplier or another warehouse. It is born from an ASN or purchase order; receiving is posted against it.

See also: ASN (Advance shipping notice), Goods receipt, Outbound delivery

Receiving that counts more, less or damaged goods versus the document. The three basic exception types; each needs its own reason code, photo and supplier notice.

See also: Goods receipt, Reason code, Damage code

Moving received goods to a suitable location. With rule-based putaway the system suggests the location from item attributes, volume, turnover and equipment constraints.

See also: Slotting, Replenishment

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Keeping goods in a blocked status until they are judged usable, then releasing them. It is a mandatory step in food, pharma and automotive.

See also: Stock status, Quarantine area

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The physical area where blocked, damaged or pending goods are separated. It is the shop-floor counterpart of the blocked status in the system.

See also: Quality control, hold and release, Stock status

Feeding pick-face stock from reserve locations. It is triggered by min/max levels or by orders; late replenishment stops picking.

See also: Putaway, Pick face

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Classifying items by movement volume or value. In the warehouse it is usually based on pick frequency and drives slotting and count frequency.

See also: Slotting, Cycle count

Counting a portion of the warehouse at regular intervals without stopping operations. It catches errors earlier than a year-end full count.

See also: Full (physical) count, Inventory accuracy

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The last date an item can be used. It affects both putaway and picking rules; remaining shelf life is often a contractual requirement.

See also: FEFO / FIFO, Lot / batch

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FEFO: the nearest expiry leaves first. FIFO: the first received leaves first. Food and pharma use FEFO; durable goods usually use FIFO.

See also: Expiry date, Lot / batch

Counting all stock at once, usually with operations halted. It is needed for financial closing but does not by itself sustain accuracy.

See also: Cycle count

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A defined place where stock sits: aisle, rack, bin or bulk area. Without an addressing scheme, “we have stock” is not operationally useful.

See also: LPN / pallet ID, Location-to-location transfer

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A bin’s limit in volume, weight or pallet count. The WMS cuts putaway suggestions against that limit; undefined capacity produces blocked aisles and damage.

See also: Putaway, Location, Cube utilisation

Blocking inbound and outbound moves to an address until a count or quality decision ends. Counting an unfrozen location produces variance because it keeps moving.

See also: Cycle count, Quarantine area

Moving stock from one location to another. Unscanned moves are the most common cause of count discrepancies and mis-picks.

See also: Location

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A number given to goods produced or received under the same conditions. It is the basis of recalls, complaint investigation and shelf-life management.

See also: Expiry date, Serial number, FEFO / FIFO

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The system showing a negative balance. It usually signals out-of-sequence postings or unscanned moves and should be blocked by rule.

See also: Inventory accuracy

A standard reason written on an adjustment, shortage, damage, return or count variance. Free text that cannot be reported blinds quality and stock analysis.

See also: Stock adjustment, OSD (overage / shortage / damage), Damage code

A number identifying a single physical unit. Used for warranty, service and high-value tracking; it requires its own scan at picking and shipping.

See also: Lot / batch, Traceability

Detailed guide →

Deciding which item sits in which location based on turnover, volume, weight and affinity between items. It is an analysis that must be repeated regularly.

See also: ABC analysis, Pick face

A deliberate change to system quantity after a count or finding. An adjustment without authority, reason code and dual control breaks traceability.

See also: Reason code, Dual control, Cycle count

States of the same item such as available, blocked, quarantined, damaged or reserved. Status determines what is actually sellable.

See also: Quality control, hold and release, Reservation

A planned goods movement between two warehouses or sites. It creates an outbound at the sending site and an inbound at the receiving site; in-transit stock is tracked separately.

See also: Outbound delivery, Inbound delivery, Pipeline stock

Being able to show retrospectively which lot an item came from, where it sat and who received it. It is the measurable counterpart of a recall.

See also: Lot / batch, Serial number, İTS (Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System)

Deciding which stock fulfils which order. Priority rules are set by delivery time, channel, customer and remaining shelf life.

See also: Reservation, Wave

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Quantity that can be promised after reserved and blocked stock is subtracted. ERP or OMS calculates it; if WMS status and reservations are stale, the promise breaks.

See also: Reservation, Stock status, OMS (Order Management System)

Picking several orders in one trip. It reduces travel but adds a sortation step.

See also: Picking, Sortation

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Picking several orders on one cart, each in its own tote. Unlike batch picking, sortation happens during the trip.

See also: Batch picking, Discrete picking

The operator completes only one order per trip. It is simple and low-error, but travel time is high.

See also: Picking, Cluster picking

The fixed, usually ground-level location where the operator picks an item. Keeping fast movers near the pick face shortens travel time.

See also: Replenishment, Slotting

The item, quantity and location breakdown of a picking task. It can be delivered on paper, RF device, voice or light.

See also: Pick path, Voice picking

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The order in which an operator visits locations. A good path shortens travel; when slotting changes, the path logic must be revisited.

See also: Pick list, Slotting

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Completing an order by passing a tote or carton from zone to zone. It is the conveyor-based form of zone picking.

See also: Zone picking, Conveyor

Taking ordered items from their locations. It consumes the largest share of warehouse labour, so method choice drives cost directly.

See also: Batch picking, Zone picking, Wave

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Locking stock allocated to an order so it cannot be given to another. Without reservation discipline the same stock gets sold twice.

See also: Allocation, Stock status

The expected quantity is not found at the location. The WMS then triggers replenishment, offers an alternate location or leaves the order partial; without a reason code the root cause is lost.

See also: Reason code, Replenishment, Partial delivery

Giving an equivalent SKU instead of the ordered one. Without a written rule, customer contract and lot/expiry limits, the wrong item ships.

See also: SKU (stock keeping unit), Allocation

Tasks given by headset and confirmed by voice. It frees the hands; noise, language and check-digit design decide whether it works.

See also: Pick list, Pick-to-light

Grouping orders and processing them together in a time window. Waves are planned around carrier cut-off times and shipping capacity.

See also: Waveless processing, Cut-off time

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Processing orders continuously as they arrive. Common in e-commerce with fast delivery promises; capacity balancing is critical.

See also: Wave

Each operator picks only in their zone and the order passes between zones. It reduces congestion in busy warehouses.

See also: Picking, Pick-and-pass

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Calculating which carton and how many cartons an order fits, from size and weight. A wrong carton raises freight and damage; the calculation depends on master-data dimensions.

See also: Packing, Dimensions and weight, Dimensional weight

The latest time an order can be accepted for same-day shipping. Most warehouse planning is built backwards from it.

See also: Wave, Dock scheduling

The weight a carrier derives from carton volume. It is compared with actual weight and the greater is charged, so empty space is direct cost.

See also: Packing, Carrier integration

Planning which vehicle arrives at which door and when. A dock bottleneck hides any speed gained inside the warehouse.

See also: Staging, Yard management

Turning several items into a single sales unit in the warehouse. It requires a stock conversion between components and the kit.

See also: Value-added services (VAS)

Transferring a shipment to the vehicle and closing it as shipped in the system. Load scanning is the last control that catches a missing or misrouted parcel.

See also: Staging, Dispatch note

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The system document for a shipment leaving to a customer or another warehouse. Allocation, picking and loading close against it.

See also: Allocation, Loading, Inbound delivery

A workstation combining scale, label printer, carton stock and screen. Its design sets the upper limit of shipping capacity.

See also: Packing

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Placing picked items in a suitable carton, closing, labelling and weighing it. Carton choice directly affects freight cost and damage rate.

See also: Pack station, Carrier integration, Dimensional weight

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Shipping what is on hand and leaving the rest open. If contract or channel rules forbid it, the WMS blocks a partial close.

See also: Short pick, Backorder, Split shipment

Receiving returned goods, inspecting them and separating resellable, repairable and scrap. In e-commerce it is a separate operation.

See also: Omnichannel fulfilment, Stock status

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Flow from customer back to supplier: returns, warranty, packaging and recycling. Its cost is underestimated in most deployments.

See also: Returns management

Separating batch-picked items by order, channel or carrier. Done manually, with put-to-light or with sorter equipment.

See also: Batch picking, Sorter

One order leaving in more than one wave, door or carrier. Customer communication and dispatch-note lines must be split to match.

See also: Partial delivery, Outbound delivery

Gathering shipment-ready goods in front of the door by shipment or carrier. Area and label discipline prevent mix-ups.

See also: Loading, Dock scheduling

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Extra warehouse work such as labelling, kitting, gift wrapping, pressing or counting. In 3PL it is billed separately and planned as labour.

See also: Kitting, Service billing

Tracking vehicles and trailers on site. In large distribution centres it works together with dock scheduling.

See also: Dock scheduling

The parent–child record of which serial or pack sits in which case, and which case on which pallet. A broken hierarchy in pharma or medical devices produces notification errors.

See also: Serial number, Handling unit, İTS (Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System)

Items whose unit weight varies (meat, cheese, roll goods). Stock is held in both pieces and kg; the scale record at shipping sets the invoiced quantity.

See also: Unit of measure conversion, Dimensions and weight

A trailing digit on a barcode or location code that catches a mis-scan. Also used in voice picking to confirm the location.

See also: GTIN / EAN barcode, Voice picking

A two-dimensional code that fits much data in a small area. On pharmaceutical packs it carries product, lot, expiry and serial number.

See also: İTS (Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System), Serial number

Item length, width, height and weight. Carton selection, pallet planning and freight calculation rely on it; without it, teams guess.

See also: Dimensional weight, Master data

A GS1 identity for a logistics place such as a site, warehouse or door. It is the standard “from–to” field on ASNs and e-documents.

See also: GTIN / EAN barcode, ASN (Advance shipping notice)

Encoding fields such as lot, expiry and quantity inside a barcode with standard codes. One scan can then fill several fields.

See also: GTIN / EAN barcode, SSCC (serial shipping container code), Lot / batch

A number that identifies a product globally. Readable, unique supplier barcodes are what make scan-based receiving possible.

See also: SKU (stock keeping unit), GS1-128 and application identifiers

A stock package that physically moves as one: pallet, cage, case. The system holds its contents, weight and identifier.

See also: LPN / pallet ID, SSCC (serial shipping container code)

A unique identifier given to a pallet, case or handling unit. It allows the whole unit to be moved and tracked with a single scan.

See also: SSCC (serial shipping container code), Handling unit

Detailed guide →

Item, location, supplier and customer definitions. Missing master data is a leading cause of WMS project delay.

See also: SKU (stock keeping unit), Location

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Reading by radio frequency without line of sight. Used in apparel and asset tracking; tag cost and read reliability decide whether it fits.

See also: Handheld terminal and scanner

Detailed guide →

The code of each distinct sellable variant. A different colour, size or pack is a different SKU; SKU count is an input to warehouse design.

See also: GTIN / EAN barcode, Unit of measure conversion

A number uniquely identifying a logistics unit such as a pallet or case. With an ASN it reduces receiving to a single scan.

See also: ASN (Advance shipping notice), LPN / pallet ID

The factors between each, case and pallet. A wrong factor is the quietest source of stock discrepancies.

See also: SKU (stock keeping unit), Inventory accuracy

The interface through which systems query and write each other's data. The basis of real-time integration; rate limits, authentication and error handling belong in the contract.

See also: Webhook, ERP–WMS integration

Getting label, tracking number and rate from the carrier's system. Label format and returns flow differ by carrier.

See also: TMS (Transportation Management System), Packing

Exchanging documents such as orders, dispatch notes and invoices between companies in a standard format. Common in retail chains and automotive.

See also: ASN (Advance shipping notice), IDoc

Passing order, material, stock and movement data between the two systems. The critical point is that movement types and stock statuses mean the same thing on both sides.

See also: Movement type, IDoc, API

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The document structure SAP systems use to exchange data. In WMS integrations it can carry material, order and movement messages.

See also: ERP–WMS integration, Movement type

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A layer that transforms, queues and retries messages between systems. It eases troubleshooting but adds one more dependency.

See also: API, EDI

The code that determines a stock movement's accounting and inventory effect in the ERP. Mapping every WMS action to the right type is the crux of integration.

See also: ERP–WMS integration, IDoc

Detailed guide →

Keeping operations running, even if limited, during a connection loss and syncing records afterwards. A question to ask in every cloud deployment.

See also: Cloud (SaaS) deployment, RF operation

Takes orders from sales channels and decides which warehouse, which stock and which sequence fulfils them. In multichannel retail it sits in front of the WMS.

See also: Omnichannel fulfilment, Allocation

Regularly comparing stock and movements in two systems. It is the control that must not be dropped after integration goes live.

See also: ERP–WMS integration, Inventory accuracy

The system that manages shipping outside the warehouse: carrier selection, routing, freight cost and delivery tracking. WMS knows the parcel, TMS knows how it travels.

See also: WMS (Warehouse Management System), Carrier integration

An automatic notification sent to another system when an event occurs. More efficient than polling for order and shipment status updates.

See also: API

An automated vehicle that follows a fixed route or guide. Changing the route is an infrastructure job.

See also: AMR (autonomous mobile robot), AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval)

A transport robot that senses its environment and plans its own path. More suited to incremental investment and layout change than an AGV.

See also: AGV, Goods-to-person

Detailed guide →

A system where machines store and retrieve goods automatically. It delivers density with a long-term investment and maintenance commitment.

See also: WCS (Warehouse Control System), Goods-to-person

Detailed guide →

Moving cartons and pallets along a fixed line. It speeds flow but permanently fixes the layout and resists change.

See also: Sorter, WCS (Warehouse Control System)

A screen and scanner mounted on the vehicle, allowing pallet moves to be recorded without dismounting.

See also: Handheld terminal and scanner, RF operation

Bringing goods to the operator instead of the operator walking. It removes travel time and makes station capacity the new bottleneck.

See also: AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval), AMR (autonomous mobile robot)

Detailed guide →

The device on which operators receive tasks and scan. Device choice, screen flow and charging plan directly affect productivity.

See also: RF operation, Voice picking

Lights and displays at the location showing the quantity to take. Fast in dense, compact picking areas but needs fixed investment.

See also: Voice picking, Put-to-light

A sortation method where lights show which order a picked item belongs to. Used in the sortation step after batch picking.

See also: Batch picking, Sortation

Tasks delivered to handheld devices in real time over wireless. A coverage gap drops picking back to paper.

See also: Handheld terminal and scanner

Equipment that automatically separates items by destination. It replaces manual sortation at volume; handling misreads is the critical detail.

See also: Sortation, WCS (Warehouse Control System)

A layout whose aisle fits only a specialist truck. Capacity rises; without WMS task sequence and collision rules the aisle locks.

See also: Warehouse layout, Forklift terminal

The layer that drives equipment such as conveyors, sorters and AS/RS in real time. WMS answers “what to do”, WCS answers “how the machine does it”.

See also: WES (Warehouse Execution System), AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval), Sorter

A layer that balances work between WMS and WCS: it sequences work, waves and equipment load in real time. It is a separate module in some products and part of the WMS in others.

See also: WCS (Warehouse Control System), Wave

Deriving people, equipment and space needs from expected volume. Campaign and seasonal peaks are calculated separately.

See also: Wave, Warehouse KPIs

How much of a rack’s or vehicle’s fillable volume is actually filled. Low use wastes rent; overfill causes damage and lost access.

See also: Location capacity, Dimensional weight

Time from goods hitting the dock to becoming sellable stock. The clearest measure of receiving bottlenecks.

See also: Goods receipt, Warehouse KPIs

How long goods or a vehicle sit at a point (door, staging, quarantine). Rising dwell is a flow problem, not a capacity one.

See also: Dock-to-stock time, Staging, Dock scheduling

How closely system quantity matches physical quantity. Measured per location; measuring it per SKU tends to overstate the real picture.

See also: Cycle count, Warehouse KPIs

Comparing task times with standards to measure performance. Applied without fair standards, it erodes trust.

See also: Lines per hour, Warehouse KPIs

Pick lines an operator completes per hour. The effect of method and layout changes shows here first.

See also: Warehouse KPIs, Picking

Machine yield as availability × performance × quality. It is meaningful for a sorter or AS/RS; it does not map cleanly onto human picking.

See also: Warehouse KPIs, AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval), Sorter

The share of orders shipped without error. It maps directly to customer complaints and return cost.

See also: Warehouse KPIs, Returns management

The share of orders delivered both on the promised date and complete. Missing either condition disqualifies the order.

See also: Warehouse KPIs

The right item, quantity, documents, time and an undamaged delivery. A composite measure that folds document and damage into OTIF.

See also: OTIF (on time in full), Order accuracy, Fill rate

Combining outbound and return tasks in one trip to cut empty travel, e.g. a nearby pick after putaway. Distance and equipment limits must be written into the rule.

See also: Directed work, Putaway

Indicators that measure operations: lines per hour, order accuracy, on-time shipping, inventory accuracy, dock turnaround. An unmeasured improvement claim cannot be verified.

See also: Lines per hour, Order accuracy, OTIF (on time in full)

Running the software on the vendor's infrastructure under a subscription. Updates sit with the vendor; data location and outage plans must be agreed with the customer.

See also: On-premise deployment, Data residency

Detailed guide →

Adapting the product to processes through settings, without code changes. Preferred over customisation because it survives upgrades.

See also: Customisation

Changing the standard product at code level. It fits the process exactly but raises upgrade cost and lock-in.

See also: Configuration, Scope creep

A demonstration where the vendor runs your process step by step with your data. Asking for a script instead of a canned demo exposes real capability gaps.

See also: RFP (request for proposal), UAT (user acceptance testing)

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Starting to use the system in real operations. Stock cutover, parallel running and a rollback plan must be written beforehand.

See also: UAT (user acceptance testing), Stock cutover

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What the fee is based on: user, concurrent user, device, site, order volume or transaction. The model decides how cost grows as you grow.

See also: TCO (total cost of ownership)

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Running the software on the organisation's own servers. Control increases, and so does responsibility for updates, backup and continuity.

See also: Cloud (SaaS) deployment

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A call with the vendor's existing customer, ideally on a deployment similar to yours. Without written questions it turns into a sales pitch.

See also: RFP (request for proposal)

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A document stating requirements and evaluation criteria, asking vendors for structured proposals. A precondition for comparable quotes.

See also: Demo script, Reference call

Detailed guide →

How long the savings take to cover the investment. Inputs must be measurable; a savings claim based on assumption cannot be verified.

See also: TCO (total cost of ownership), Warehouse KPIs

Detailed guide →

Requirements expanding beyond the written scope during a project. The most frequent cause of schedule and cost overrun.

See also: RFP (request for proposal), UAT (user acceptance testing)

Detailed guide →

Committed support response, resolution time and availability. Without a stated measurement method and exceptions it cannot be enforced.

See also: Source code escrow, Support and maintenance

An agreement that releases source code to the customer through a third party if the vendor ceases operations. Raised in critical on-premise deployments.

See also: SLA (service level agreement), On-premise deployment

Counting stock in the old system and loading it into the new one by location. In most projects it is the riskiest weekend.

See also: Go-live, Full (physical) count

Defining bug fixing, version upgrades and consulting scope in the contract. Annual maintenance is a permanent line in TCO.

See also: SLA (service level agreement), TCO (total cost of ownership)

The sum of licence or subscription, implementation, integration, hardware, training, support and internal effort over a period. Comparing quotes on licence price alone is misleading.

See also: Licence model, ROI and payback period

Detailed guide →

Testing processes with real users and real data before go-live. Without written acceptance criteria, testing never ends.

See also: Demo script, Go-live

A place where goods under customs supervision are stored without duties paid. Stock movements must stay consistent with customs declarations.

See also: Free zone, Customs declaration

Detailed guide →

Keeping goods within a defined temperature range and evidencing it with records. In food and pharma, temperature logs are a condition of acceptance.

See also: Expiry date, Traceability

Detailed guide →

The document declaring goods for customs procedures. In a bonded warehouse, stock records and declaration lines must be traceably linked.

See also: Bonded warehouse

The country where data is physically stored. Transfer abroad is subject to Article 9 of Law No. 6698 and must be stated explicitly in the contract.

See also: KVKK (Turkish data protection law), Cloud (SaaS) deployment

Detailed guide →

The document issued when goods are shipped, showing what was sent. Its content must match the loading record in the warehouse.

See also: e-Dispatch note, Loading

Issuing and transmitting the dispatch note electronically. Shipment closing must work in step with the e-document flow.

See also: Dispatch note, Loading

An area inside the country subject to different customs rules. Warehouse software must track movements inside and outside the zone separately.

See also: Bonded warehouse

Detailed guide →

Turkey's system for tracking medicinal products via 2D codes and notifications. Receiving, dispatch and returns in the warehouse must match those notifications.

See also: ÜTS (Product Tracking System), DataMatrix / 2D code, Traceability

Detailed guide →

Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data. In warehouse software, employee records, customer address data and camera footage fall under it.

See also: Data residency

Withdrawing a problematic lot from the market. The warehouse must be able to show, within minutes, who received which goods from that lot.

See also: Traceability, Lot / batch

A code carrying a medical device’s product and production identity. Receiving and shipping must run together with ÜTS notification and lot/serial records.

See also: ÜTS (Product Tracking System), Serial number, Aggregation

Turkey's registration and tracking system for medical devices and cosmetics. For those product groups, warehouse movements are tied to notifications.

See also: İTS (Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System)

Detailed guide →

A table stating how many units to sample from a lot and how many defects reject it. Warehouse QC sits on this table between “open everything” and “look at nothing”.

See also: Sampling, Quality control, hold and release

The supplier’s document of measured lot attributes. If the document and the label (lot, expiry) do not match at receiving, stock stays in quarantine.

See also: Quality control, hold and release, Lot / batch, Quarantine area

Work that closes the cause of a repeating non-conformance and stops it recurring. Without reason codes and repeat counts in the WMS, CAPA becomes guesswork.

See also: Non-conformance record (NCR), Reason code

The gap between system and floor quantity. Inside tolerance it can close; outside it needs a freeze and investigation, with the root cause on a reason code.

See also: Cycle count, Stock adjustment, Location freeze

A classified cause such as crushed, wet, open carton or broken. A free-text “damaged” leaves insurance and supplier claims without evidence.

See also: OSD (overage / shortage / damage), Reason code, Non-conformance record (NCR)

Closing blocked goods as accept, conditional accept, return, rework or scrap. Status does not change until the decision is written; the floor pile stays “pending decision”.

See also: Quality control, hold and release, Scrap, Rework

Rules on temperature, hygiene, authority and traceability when storing and distributing medicines. Hold, FEFO and record retention in the WMS are their operational counterparts.

See also: Good manufacturing practice (GMP), Cold chain, İTS (Pharmaceutical Track and Trace System)

Rules that protect quality in a production setting. The warehouse is bound to them through raw/finished separation, cleanliness and lot isolation.

See also: Good distribution practice (GDP), Lot / batch

A method that catches food hazards at critical control points. In the warehouse, temperature, pest, cross-contamination and lot separation are those points.

See also: Cold chain, Good distribution practice (GDP)

A written record that quality or process rules were missed. In the warehouse, damage, wrong labels, temperature excursions or undocumented goods attach to it.

See also: Corrective / preventive action (CAPA), Damage code, Quality control, hold and release

Making the wrong action physically or systematically impossible: rejecting a wrong barcode, not opening a door on a weight miss. A warning is not a lock.

See also: Check digit, 5S

Making damaged or faulty goods sellable again through relabel, pack or minor repair. Components and labour are tracked in the WMS as VAS or a production-like order.

See also: Disposition, Value-added services (VAS)

Inspecting selected units by rule rather than the whole lot. If the sample is not random or risk-based, the check is biased.

See also: AQL (acceptable quality limit), Quality control, hold and release

Writing unusable stock off the books. Scrap without authority, a reason and, where required, a regulated certificate is both an inventory and an audit gap.

See also: Disposition, Stock adjustment

Goods leaving the allowed temperature range. Duration and peak value are recorded; stock is not released until quality decides.

See also: Cold chain, Non-conformance record (NCR), Disposition

An immutable history of who changed which record and when. “We fixed it” is not enough; without a trail the action does not exist in an audit.

See also: Role-based access (RBAC), KVKK (Turkish data protection law)

Taking regular copies of WMS data and actually testing a restore. A backup that is never opened does not exist in a disaster.

See also: Disaster recovery, RPO and RTO

A signed, time-stamped record at every hand-off of high-value or evidential goods. A broken chain produces loss and a dispute over responsibility.

See also: Traceability, Physical access, Seal

Where and how fast work restarts when the system or site is unusable. If the plan stays on paper, everyone falls back to memory in an outage.

See also: Backup, RPO and RTO, Offline mode

A critical action that cannot pass without a second user’s approval. Used for high-value goods, scrap, negative stock and bulk adjustments.

See also: Segregation of duties (SoD), Scrap

Keeping data unreadable in transit and at rest. If RF devices, APIs and backup files are unencrypted, physical theft is also a data leak.

See also: Backup, KVKK (Turkish data protection law)

Giving a user only the screens and actions needed to finish the job. Rights opened “in case we need them later” grow the error and abuse surface.

See also: Role-based access (RBAC), Segregation of duties (SoD)

A second proof besides the password (app, SMS, key). A password-only admin or remote login leaves warehouse data exposed.

See also: Single sign-on (SSO), Role-based access (RBAC)

A record of who entered the warehouse, cage, pharma or high-value area and when. If system rights and door rights do not match, control is only half done.

See also: Role-based access (RBAC), Chain of custody

Granting rights through a role (receiver, picker, supervisor, quality) rather than one by one. Role bloat is everyone getting every screen.

See also: Segregation of duties (SoD), Least privilege

A single-use mark showing a vehicle, container or cage was not opened. If the number is not written in the WMS or shipment record, the seal is useless.

See also: Loading, Chain of custody

Stopping the same person from both doing and approving a move. If pairs such as adjust+approve or count+close are not split, internal control disappears.

See also: Dual control, Role-based access (RBAC), Stock adjustment

Entering the WMS once through the company identity. If a leaver is not cut at the centre, the warehouse account stays open.

See also: Multi-factor authentication (MFA), Role-based access (RBAC)

A record, approval and rollback plan for settings, interfaces and versions going live. An uncontrolled Friday-night patch stops Monday receiving.

See also: Sandbox / test environment, UAT (user acceptance testing), Incident record

Managing RF devices and tablets remotely with lock, app control and wipe. A lost device without MDM takes a warehouse session outside.

See also: RF operation, Encryption

A second copy of the same request not creating a new movement. Without this rule, network retries and timeouts produce double receipts or double shipments.

See also: API, Message queue

A log of an outage, data error or security event: time, impact and fix. An unwritten incident makes the same outage feel like the first time, every time.

See also: Change control, SLA (service level agreement)

A screen of stuck, failed or duplicate records in ERP, carrier and notification queues. Without it, integration looks “up” while orders drop silently.

See also: API, Message queue, Exception queue

The definition of barcode, text and logo fields per carrier or customer format. If the template is not separated from the data source, every new carrier needs code.

See also: Printer routing, Carrier integration

The time between a scan and the system reply. High latency makes the operator press again and creates a double posting.

See also: RF operation, Offline mode

Who owns SKU, barcode, unit and customer records, where they are born and who may change them. Dirty master data makes a correct WMS run incorrectly.

See also: Master data, SKU (stock keeping unit)

A buffer that sequences events between systems and allows retries. Without a queue, a short outage becomes lost orders and movements.

See also: Webhook, Idempotent action, Interface monitor

Systems talking with a scoped, time-limited token instead of a shared password. A shared “admin” password makes it impossible to know who did what.

See also: API, Audit trail

Which station printer receives a label or document. The wrong printer puts a label at the wrong door and mixes shipments.

See also: Label template, Pack station

RPO: the most data that may be lost in an outage. RTO: how fast the system must be back. Without both written down, “we have a backup” is unmeasured.

See also: Backup, Disaster recovery

A copy used to try integrations and processes without touching live stock. A “let me just try it” on production dirties orders and inventory.

See also: UAT (user acceptance testing), Change control

A layer that designs and manages several 3PLs, carriers and warehouses on your behalf. Software and contract orchestration are separate from the 3PL’s execution.

See also: 3PL (Third-party logistics), TMS (Transportation Management System)

Sort, set in order, shine, standardise, sustain. In the warehouse it is the lean counterpart of location labels, empty-pallet and aisle discipline; software does not do 5S by itself.

See also: Location, Poka-yoke (error-proofing)

An order line left open because stock was short. The WMS can release it when goods arrive; without a written customer promise it piles up silently.

See also: Partial delivery, Stockout, ATP (available to promise)

The carrier’s receipt for goods, and in most sea freight a document of title. In bonded and port warehouses the B/L line is tied to stock.

See also: Incoterms, Bonded warehouse, Packing list

Goods sitting in your warehouse while title stays with the supplier. They are invoiced when used; if the WMS mixes status and owner, financial stock drifts.

See also: VMI (vendor-managed inventory), Stock status

Combining several small shipments into one load. In the warehouse it is gathering orders for the same vehicle in staging; the risk is mixed labels and doors.

See also: Deconsolidation, Staging, Milk-run

A store format closed to walk-in customers, used only for pick and delivery. The WMS or store system must not mix display stock with pick stock.

See also: Micro-fulfilment, Ship-from-store

Stock that has not moved for a long time, cannot be sold or has expired. It occupies space; if slotting and count frequency do not expose it, the cost stays hidden.

See also: Inventory turnover, Expiry date, ABC analysis

Breaking one inbound load into consignee, order or channel piles. It is the first step in a cross-dock or transshipment warehouse; a wrong split seeds every later error.

See also: Consolidation, Cross-docking

A regional warehouse that holds stock and fulfils orders. A fulfilment centre leans e-commerce piece-pick; a classic DC leans pallet and store replenishment.

See also: Fulfilment centre, Hub-and-spoke

The order going from supplier to customer without entering your warehouse. Even if the WMS is out of that flow, returns and complaints land on your record; the channel rule must be written.

See also: Omnichannel fulfilment, Returns management

The classic order size that balances ordering cost against holding cost. Warehouse capacity and expiry sit on top of the formula as real constraints.

See also: Inventory carrying cost, Reorder point

The share of orders or lines fulfilled from on-hand stock at the first attempt. A low rate is a safety-stock or allocation issue; warehouse accuracy is measured separately.

See also: OTIF (on time in full), Stockout, Perfect order

A warehouse that picks piece and carton orders and hands them to a carrier. Dense SKUs, short cut-offs and a returns area set it apart from a classic DC.

See also: Distribution centre (DC), Omnichannel fulfilment, Micro-fulfilment

Delivering the same service with less packaging, empty kilometres and energy. Cartonization and full-vehicle rules in the WMS attach to it; claims are not written without a measure.

See also: Cartonization, Cube utilisation

The worldwide classification number for goods. A wrong code ties bonded stock and duty to the wrong item.

See also: Customs declaration, Bonded warehouse

A network where a central warehouse (hub) feeds satellite sites (spoke). If transfer stock and STO discipline break, satellites either swell or stock out.

See also: Stock transfer order (STO), Distribution centre (DC)

The international definition of where delivery, freight and damage risk sit (FOB, CIF, DAP, DDP and others). The warehouse reads from it when goods become “your stock”.

See also: Landed cost, Bill of lading (B/L)

The annual cost stock attracts: capital, space, insurance, shrink and obsolescence. Assuming “the warehouse is free” hides excess stock.

See also: EOQ (economic order quantity), Dead stock, TCO (total cost of ownership)

How many times stock is sold and replaced in a period. A slow warehouse that slots fast movers badly adds walking; low turnover flags dead stock.

See also: Dead stock, ABC analysis, Slotting

Unit cost to the warehouse door: goods, freight, insurance, duty and handling. If putaway and pricing look only at purchase price, true margin is hidden.

See also: Incoterms, TCO (total cost of ownership)

The leg from the distribution centre to the door. Warehouse cut-off and label accuracy are common causes of delay on this leg.

See also: Cut-off time, Carrier integration

The time from placing an order to stock arriving or leaving to the customer. In-warehouse dock-to-stock is the visible part of that span.

See also: Dock-to-stock time, Safety stock

A small automated or semi-automated stock area in the city for short delivery. Capacity is limited; stock sharing with the main DC must be a written rule.

See also: Fulfilment centre, Dark store

One vehicle calling at several suppliers or customers in sequence. If receiving and dispatch appointments are not tied to that loop, a dock queue forms.

See also: Dock scheduling, Consolidation

The case, pallet and line breakdown of a shipment. Without an ASN, receiving is counted against this list.

See also: ASN (Advance shipping notice), Bill of lading (B/L)

Goods ordered but not yet in the warehouse, or sitting between sites. It is not ATP; until the STO or ASN closes it is often mistaken for on-hand.

See also: Stock transfer order (STO), ASN (Advance shipping notice), ATP (available to promise)

Holding final form, label or pack until demand is known. In the warehouse it appears as kitting and VAS; master stock stays generic.

See also: Kitting, Value-added services (VAS)

The threshold that triggers replenishment when stock falls below it. It is set from safety stock and lead time; the warehouse only sees the drop.

See also: Safety stock, Lead time, EOQ (economic order quantity)

A buffer held against demand or supply variance. It occupies warehouse space; planning calculates it, the WMS shows what is actually on hand.

See also: Reorder point, Stockout, Lead time

The order leaving from store stock instead of the warehouse. Store counts and reservations are often weaker than the WMS; promises should be more cautious.

See also: Omnichannel fulfilment, Dark store

Sellable stock running out while demand remains. The cause may be planning, supply or a warehouse record; the WMS only shows “not in the location”.

See also: Fill rate, Safety stock, Negative stock

The network of supply, production, warehouse and distribution from raw material to customer. The WMS is the warehouse node; the chain takes its stock truth from there.

See also: WMS (Warehouse Management System), 4PL (fourth-party logistics)

The supplier watching stock in your warehouse and replenishing it themselves. In the WMS, owner and physical place are split; when it invoices is a separate rule.

See also: Consignment stock, Multi-client warehouse

Placing receiving, reserve, pick, pack and shipping areas with circulation in mind. Software does not fix a bad layout; walking and crossing flows are born in the plan.

See also: Slotting, Very narrow aisle (VNA)

Classifying items by demand predictability: X regular, Z irregular. Together with ABC it drives slotting and safety stock.

See also: ABC analysis, Safety stock