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Inventory Terms Used in eCommerce
Your Online Store or eCommerce store uses an Automated Inventory Feed to receive your suppliers' quantity and product updates and update your sales channels. Learn more about the inventory terms used in eCommerce, which are listed below to help you with product management.
eCommerce Stock Management Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Product | An item for sale on your eCommerce website and/or marketplace |
| Auto Sync | Technology that updates product quantities on your sales channels (website and/or marketplaces) automatically 24/7 |
| Inventory | All products that exist in your eCommerce store |
| SKU Number | The value used to identify products in your eCommerce store |
| Quantity on Hand | The sum of all warehouse quantities |
| Reorder Level | The level you've set for when you need to order additional products |
| Parent Product | A product used to group and manage varying products in your inventory (e.g., t-shirts that come in different sizes). |
| Variant/Child Product | The product variations that are grouped under the parent product (e.g., blue t-shirt, red t-shirt, etc.) |
| Variation Option Set | (Variation Attribute) The type of variation you have (for example, color, size, and material). |
| Variation Option | The value of the variation option (for example, small, blue, or copper). |
| Supplier SKU | The SKU your supplier provides, which can be used for product uploads or inventory feeds. |
| Warehouse Quantity | The quantity that is held in a specific warehouse. |
| Warehouse SKU | The SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) used to identify products in a specific warehouse - can be used for product uploads or inventory feeds. |
| Unit Cost | The price you pay for an item from your supplier |
| Landed Cost | The price per unit of an item, including shipping and sales tax costs associated with one unit (calculated from purchase orders created in your eCommerce platform) |
| Average Cost | The total cost / the number of goods (calculated from purchase orders created on the eCommerce platform) |
| Reference ID | The value is used to communicate with specific sales channels to update quantities for products that have different product identifiers. |
| Syncable Balance | The quantity that is sent to your sales channels. You can set rules for each product and sales channel. |
| UPC | (Universal Product Code) This 12-digit code (technically "UPC-A") is the identifier of choice for the U.S.A. and Canada, but also prevalent in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. The Company Prefix, the first set of numbers, can be between 6 and 8 digits, but the final code always has 12 digits. |
| GTIN | Global Trade Item Numbers are the family of product codes developed by the GS1. However, they have their own categorization (by data structure). |
| ISBN | (International Standard Book Number) A product identifier used only for books, at least those published after 1970. While the original version contained 10 digits ("ISBN-10"), that form was deprecated in 2007. The 13-digit format ("ISBN-13"), which typically starts with 978 or 979, is preferred today. |
| EAN | (European Article Number) Also known as "International Article Number," this 13-digit code is used primarily outside of the U.S.A. and Canada. |
| MPN | (Manufacturer Part Number) These identifiers are used internally by manufacturers to keep track of individual parts. Because they're exclusive to the manufacturer, different companies will use different MPNs even if they make the same part. Moreover, retailers can ignore the MPN and have an original identification number that coincides with their record-keeping system. |
| ASIN | (Amazon Standard Identification Number) A 10-character alphanumeric code used exclusively by Amazon, although it is often based on the product's GTIN. |
| MAP Price | MAPs (Minimum Advertised Price) come in the form of policies, which is created by the manufacturer/brand of a product. These policies stipulate the lowest price point a retailer may use when advertising a product. |
| Prop 65 Compliance | Proposition 65 requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about great exposure to chemicals causing birth defects, cancer, or other reproductive issues. These chemicals can be found in products that Californians purchase in their homes/workplaces or that are released into the environment. |
Review
Understand the different inventory terms used in eCommerce to help you with product management. Discover the meaning of Inventory, SKU, Reorder Level, Unit Cost, and more. Learn more about each of these terms and their use to manage your eCommerce site.