E-commerce Glossary
Key terms every Amazon and Walmart seller should know - from FBA and Buy Box to ASIN, FNSKU, and beyond.
A
- Amazon Seller Central The web interface used by merchants to manage and sell their products directly to Amazon customers.
- Amazon Transparency Code A product serialization service that helps identify individual units and prevents counterfeits from reaching customers.
- ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) A unique 10-character alphanumeric identifier assigned by Amazon for product identification within its ecosystem.
- Avery Labels Standardized paper sheets with pre-cut stickers, commonly used for printing product and shipping labels with office printers.
- AWD (Amazon Warehousing and Distribution) A bulk storage and distribution solution by Amazon that automatically replenishes FBA inventory to prevent stockouts.
- Aztec Code A high-density 2D matrix barcode that requires less space and no quiet zone, commonly used in transportation and ticketing.
B
C
- Carton Content Label (2D) A 2D barcode that contains detailed information about the items inside a specific shipping box.
- Code 128 Barcode A high-density linear barcode symbology capable of encoding all 128 ASCII characters. It is the industry standard for shipping labels, warehouse management, and Amazon FBA carton IDs.
- Country of Origin (COO) A mandatory labeling requirement for international trade that identifies the country where a product was manufactured, produced, or grown.
- Cross-Docking A logistics practice where incoming goods are unloaded from a truck or container and directly loaded into outbound vehicles with little to no storage time in between.
D
- Dangerous Goods Declaration (DGD) A mandatory document for shipping items that contain hazardous materials, ensuring safe transport and compliance.
- Data Matrix Code A two-dimensional (2D) barcode consisting of black and white cells arranged in a square or rectangular pattern. It can store significantly more data than traditional linear barcodes in a much smaller area.
- Dead Weight vs. Dimensional Weight Dead weight is the actual weight of a package on a scale, while dimensional weight (Dim Weight) is a pricing technique used by carriers based on the volume of the box.
- Delivery Confirmation Label An auxiliary label or barcode used by carriers to provide proof that a package was successfully delivered to the recipient.
- Direct Thermal Printing A digital printing process that produces a printed image by selectively heating coated thermochromic paper. It requires no ink, toner, or ribbon.
- DPI (Dots Per Inch) A measure of spatial printing or video dot density, which determines the resolution and clarity of a printed barcode or text label.
E
- EAN (European Article Number) A standardized 13-digit barcode used globally (primarily outside North America) to identify retail products. It is a subset of the GTIN system.
- EPL (Eltron Programming Language) An older printer command language used by legacy Zebra and Eltron thermal printers.
- Expiration Date Labeling A mandatory requirement for products with a shelf life (food, supplements, topicals), where the expiration date must be clearly visible on the unit and the master carton.
F
- FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) A service provided by Amazon where the company handles storage, packaging, shipping, and customer service for third-party sellers.
- FBA Inventory Age A metric that tracks how long your products have been sitting in Amazon fulfillment centers, used to calculate long-term storage fees.
- FBM (Fulfillment by Merchant) A selling method on Amazon where the seller is responsible for storing inventory, packing orders, and shipping them directly to the customer.
- FDA Labeling Requirements Strict regulations for labeling food, cosmetics, and medical devices, ensuring that consumers receive accurate information about ingredients, safety, and manufacturer details.
- FFP (Frustration-Free Packaging) An Amazon certification for packaging that is easy to open and ready to ship without an extra shipping box.
- FNSKU (Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit) A unique identifier used by Amazon to track a specific product as belonging to a specific seller within their fulfillment centers.
- Fragile / Handle with Care Label A warning label applied to the outer packaging of a shipment to alert carriers and warehouse staff that the contents are easily broken and require extra care.
- Free Text / Custom Label Text A feature that allows e-commerce sellers to add custom alphanumeric text, such as brand names, production dates, or COO info, to standard product or shipping labels.
- Freight Forwarder A person or company that organizes shipments for individuals or corporations to get goods from the manufacturer or producer to a market, customer, or final point of distribution.
- FTL (Full Truckload) A shipping method where a single customer’s goods occupy the entire space of a truck’s trailer, or when a shipment is large enough to fill a truck alone.
- Fulfillment Center A large-scale warehouse where incoming inventory is stored, picked, packed, and shipped to the final customer.
- Fulfillment Partner (3PL) A Third-Party Logistics (3PL) provider is an external service that handles warehouse management, storage, and order fulfillment for e-commerce businesses, offering a flexible alternative to Amazon FBA.
- Full Title Labeling A labeling feature that ensures the complete, un-truncated product name is printed on an FNSKU or product label, improving identification and reducing errors.
G
- GS1 Databar A compact barcode family often used for small items or products that require extra data like weight and expiration dates.
- GS1-128 A high-density logistics barcode used to track shipping data, including batch numbers and expiration dates.
- GS1-128 Compliance Label A sophisticated shipping label that meets the strict requirements of major retailers like Walmart and Amazon.
- GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) A unique and internationally recognized identifier for a product, acting as the umbrella term for UPC, EAN, and ISBN barcodes.
H
- Hazmat (Dangerous Goods) Products containing substances that pose a risk to health, safety, property, or the environment during storage and transport, such as flammable or corrosive materials.
- High Return Rate A metric indicating the frequency at which customers return a specific product, often leading to extra fees, suppressed listings, and damaged account health.
- HS Code (Harmonized System) An internationally standardized system of names and numbers to classify traded products for customs purposes.
I
- Inner Pack A smaller grouping of products inside a master carton, often used to organize inventory for faster picking and to protect items from damage.
- Inventory The raw materials, work-in-process goods, and finished products that a business keeps on hand to meet customer demand.
- Inventory Reconciliation The process of comparing physical inventory counts with the records kept in an inventory management system to identify and correct discrepancies.
- IPI (Inventory Performance Index) An Amazon metric used to measure a seller’s inventory management efficiency. A low IPI score can lead to storage limits and higher fees.
- ISBN (International Standard Book Number) A unique commercial book identifier used by publishers, libraries, and retailers like Amazon for inventory control.
- ITF-14 (Case Code) A barcode used on master cartons to identify the products inside and the quantity in the case.
K
L
- Label Bleed Area The extra space around the edge of a label design that ensures the print looks perfect even if the paper shifts slightly.
- Label Gap / Black Mark Sensory markers on label rolls that tell a thermal printer where one label ends and the next begins.
- Label Truncation The undesired cutting off of product titles or information on a label due to fixed font sizes or layout limitations in default software.
- Lead Time The total time that elapses from the moment an order is placed until the goods are received by the customer or the warehouse.
- Listing Hijacking An unauthorized attempt by a third-party seller to sell a counterfeit or similar version of a product on another brand’s original listing.
- Lithium Battery Labeling A mandatory safety labeling requirement for shipments containing lithium-ion or lithium-metal batteries, designed to ensure safe handling during transit.
- LTL (Less Than Truckload) A shipping method used for transporting palletized goods that do not require the full space of a truck trailer. Multiple sellers share the same truck to reduce costs.
M
- Master Carton The large, outer shipping box used to pack and protect multiple individual units or inner packs during transport and storage.
- MCF (Multi-Channel Fulfillment) A service where Amazon fulfills orders from other sales channels (like Shopify or eBay) using the inventory already stored in their FBA warehouses.
- MSKU (Merchant Stock Keeping Unit) A unique alphanumeric identifier assigned by the seller to a specific product variation to track inventory internally within Seller Central.
P
- Packing Slip A document included inside a shipment that lists the items, quantities, and descriptions of the goods contained in the package.
- Pallet Labeling The process of applying large, readable identification labels to all four sides of a shipping pallet to ensure it is correctly routed through the logistics network.
- Pallet Stretch Wrap Labeling Rules and best practices for applying logistics labels to pallets after they have been wrapped in plastic film.
- Pallet Wrap / Stretch Wrap The plastic film used to secure boxes on a pallet for safe transport through the LTL shipping network.
- PDF417 A stacked, two-dimensional barcode capable of holding large amounts of data, often used on shipping labels and ID cards.
- Poly Bagging The process of sealing products in clear plastic bags for protection and organization during fulfillment.
- Prep Service A third-party service that specializes in preparing inventory for Amazon FBA, including inspection, poly-bagging, and labeling according to Amazon’s strict standards.
- Prop 65 Warning (California) A mandatory warning label for products sold in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
Q
S
- Scannability The ease with which a barcode can be accurately read by a scanning device on the first attempt, determined by print quality, contrast, and layout.
- Separator Label A distinct, non-product label inserted between different groups of labels in a batch to help warehouse staff quickly identify where one SKU ends and another begins.
- Shipping Mark The mandatory information printed on the outside of a master carton or crate to identify the contents, destination, and handling requirements for customs and carriers.
- SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) A unique code, usually alphanumeric, that a business uses to identify and track its inventory internally.
- Sold as Set - Do Not Separate Label A mandatory warning label for Amazon FBA and Walmart WFS that informs warehouse staff that multiple items are a single unit and should not be opened or sold individually.
- SPD (Small Parcel Delivery) A shipping method for individual boxes sent via carriers like UPS, FedEx, or DHL, as opposed to palletized freight shipments.
- SPD vs. LTL Shipment Type Understanding the differences between Small Parcel Delivery and Less Than Truckload shipping for Amazon FBA.
- Spreadsheet Label Generation A bulk labeling method where sellers upload a CSV or Excel file containing product data to generate hundreds of unique labels instantly.
- Suffocation Warning Label A mandatory safety warning required for all poly bags with an opening of 5 inches or more to prevent accidental suffocation in children.
T
- Team Lift Label A safety warning label required for boxes weighing more than 50 lbs (22.5 kg) to alert warehouse staff that the package requires two people to lift.
- Thermal Ribbon An ink-coated strip used in thermal transfer printers to produce durable and long-lasting labels.
- Thermal Transfer Printing A printing method that uses a heated ribbon to produce long-lasting, smudge-proof images on various label materials.
- Tracking Number A unique alphanumeric ID assigned to a package by a carrier (UPS, FedEx, USPS) to allow both the shipper and the customer to monitor its progress in real-time.
- Two-Dimensional (2D) Barcode A complex, two-dimensional barcode (such as QR or Data Matrix) that stores data both horizontally and vertically, allowing for much higher data capacity in a smaller footprint compared to linear barcodes.
U
- Unit Labeling The process of applying an FNSKU or product-specific barcode to every individual item in a shipment before it is sent to a fulfillment center.
- UPC (Universal Product Code) A 12-digit barcode used extensively in North America for tracking trade items in retail stores.
- UPC-A vs. UPC-E The two main versions of the Universal Product Code. UPC-A is the standard 12-digit format, while UPC-E is a compressed version used for very small packages.
V
W
- Walmart DSV (Drop Ship Vendor) Label Specialized shipping labels and packing slips required for Walmart Drop Ship Vendors to fulfill orders directly to customers.
- Walmart Item Number (WIN) Walmart's internal identification number used to track and manage products across its retail and online platforms.
- Warning Label Maker A specialized tool used to design and print safety, compliance, and handling labels such as Suffocation Warnings, Prop 65, and Team Lift alerts.
- WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services) Walmart’s e-commerce fulfillment solution where the company stores, picks, packs, and ships orders for third-party sellers on Walmart.com.
- White Label vs. Private Label White labeling involves reselling a generic product made by a manufacturer, while private label involves creating a unique brand and product specifications.