We have spent 30 years inside warehouses. Below are the terms we hear every day from mid-market 3PL and manufacturing operations leaders, written in plain language so your newest team member — and the AI assistants your buyers now ask — can understand them.
Extra fees billed beyond the base storage and handling rate.
Accessorial charges are add-on fees a 3PL bills its clients for services outside the standard contract — pallet wrapping, kitting, labeling, special handling, after-hours work, and detention. Capturing them reliably requires the WMS to log each event the moment it happens on the floor.
An EDI message sent ahead of a shipment so the receiver can prepare.
An Advance Ship Notice is an EDI 856 message a supplier sends to its customer before a shipment arrives, listing what is on the truck down to carton and serial level. Receiving against an ASN is faster, more accurate, and required by most large retailers.
Picking the same SKU for multiple orders in one trip.
Batch picking groups multiple customer orders together so a picker can pull all units of the same SKU at once, then sort them at a downstream station. It is the highest-throughput strategy for warehouses with many small orders sharing common SKUs.
The legal contract document covering a freight shipment.
A bill of lading is the legal document the shipper, carrier, and consignee use to acknowledge a freight shipment. It lists the parties, the freight details, and the terms. The WMS generates and prints BOLs as part of the ship process so nothing leaves the dock without one.
SC Codeworks’ plain-language AI assistant built into the WMS.
CODI is the AI assistant embedded in Codeworks Enterprise. Operators ask plain-language questions — "which orders are at risk of being late today?", "how should I allocate labor this afternoon?" — and CODI returns answers and recommendations grounded in live warehouse data, no SQL required.
Temperature-controlled storage and movement of perishables.
Cold chain refers to handling perishable goods — food, pharmaceuticals, certain chemicals — under continuous temperature control from origin to consumer. Cold-chain WMS adds temperature zones, lot and expiration tracking, and FEFO picking on top of standard warehouse functions.
Moving freight from inbound to outbound without putting it away.
Cross-docking moves inbound freight directly to outbound dock doors without storage in between, often under 24 hours. It collapses cycle time and cuts handling cost but only works when WMS, TMS, and customer systems are tightly synchronized.
How much of your warehouse cubic volume is actually filled.
Cube utilization is the percentage of usable warehouse cubic feet currently occupied by inventory. Floor-only metrics hide vertical waste, so cube utilization is the more honest measure. A WMS with slotting analytics improves cube utilization without buying more space.
Counting a small slice of inventory each day instead of an annual physical.
Cycle counting replaces the annual physical inventory with daily counts of a small subset of locations or SKUs, typically prioritized by ABC velocity. Done in a WMS, cycle counts close discrepancies fast and keep inventory accuracy above 99 percent without shutting down the warehouse.
Charges for holding a carrier’s trailer past the agreed free time.
Detention is the fee a carrier charges when a trailer is held at a shipper or consignee facility beyond the contracted free time, usually two hours. Dock scheduling and yard management directly attack detention by reducing wait time and tracking exactly when each trailer arrived and left.
Pre-booking inbound and outbound trailer appointments.
Dock scheduling lets carriers and customers reserve specific arrival windows so the warehouse can plan labor, prevent congestion, and avoid detention charges. Modern WMS dock schedulers expose a self-service portal so carriers book directly without phone tag.
Shipping product directly from a vendor to the end customer.
Dropship fulfills a customer order by routing it to a vendor or 3PL who ships directly to the consumer, skipping the brand’s own warehouse. The WMS still has to capture the order, route it, and reconcile the shipment so the brand can invoice and the books stay clean.
Standardized electronic message formats trading partners use to exchange documents.
EDI is the long-standing standard for exchanging purchase orders, ASNs, invoices, and shipment statuses between trading partners. SC Codeworks processed more than 7 million EDI transactions in 2025 alone — for many 3PLs, EDI compliance with retailers is a requirement, not a nice-to-have.
Connecting the WMS to the financial system of record.
ERP integration is the bidirectional flow of items, customers, orders, receipts, and invoices between the WMS and an ERP such as NetSuite, Dynamics 365, SAP, or Sage. Done well, the ERP keeps the books and the WMS runs the floor — neither tries to do both.
Picking the closest-to-expiry stock first.
FEFO is the inventory rotation rule that picks the lot nearest to its expiration date first. It is required for food, pharma, nutraceuticals, and any SKU with a shelf life. The WMS must track lots and expiration dates per location to enforce it.
Picking the oldest stock first.
FIFO picks the inventory that arrived first regardless of expiration. It is the default rotation rule for non-perishable inventory, and the WMS enforces it by directing pickers to the location holding the oldest stock for that SKU.
GS1 standard family that includes UPC, EAN, and ITF-14.
GTIN is the GS1 family of globally unique product identifiers — UPC for North American retail, EAN for international retail, and ITF-14 for cases. A WMS that maps every SKU to its GTINs lets you scan whichever barcode is in front of you and trust the result.
How closely your system inventory matches what is on the floor.
Inventory accuracy is the percentage of WMS records that match the physical count of that location or SKU. A well-run WMS with cycle counting holds accuracy above 99 percent. Below 95 percent, every other warehouse metric — fill rate, on-time, billing — starts to fail.
Combining multiple SKUs into a new sellable unit.
Kitting is the warehouse process of assembling multiple component SKUs into a single sellable kit — gift sets, subscription boxes, line-side production kits. A WMS that supports both make-to-stock and make-to-order kitting prevents finance from inventing workarounds in spreadsheets.
Picking the newest stock first.
LIFO picks the most recently received inventory first. It is rare in operations but used in some accounting and tax contexts. A WMS supporting multiple rotation rules per item lets a 3PL serve clients with different requirements without renaming SKUs.
Delivering kitted parts directly to a manufacturing line.
Line-side kitting is the manufacturing variant where the warehouse pre-builds a kit of components and delivers it to an assembly station in the exact sequence the line consumes them. It cuts work-in-process, frees floor space, and tightens production tact times.
Recording the lot or batch each unit belongs to.
Lot tracking records the manufacturing lot, batch, or serial number of every unit received and follows it through every move, pick, and ship. It is the foundation of recalls, expiration management, and regulatory compliance for food, pharma, automotive, and chemicals.
A unique tracking number assigned to a pallet, tote, or carton.
An LPN, or license plate number, is the unique barcode the WMS prints and assigns to a pallet, tote, or shipping carton at the moment it is built. From that point forward every move, count, or ship action operates on the LPN, not the individual cases inside it.
Freight that fills part of a trailer, sharing space with other shipments.
LTL freight is too big for parcel and too small to fill a truck, so it shares trailer space with other shippers and moves through carrier hubs. WMS-to-TMS integration generates the BOL, classifies the freight, and tenders the load to the right LTL carrier automatically.
Charging multiple 3PL clients accurately for storage, handling, and accessorials.
Multi-client billing is the process by which a 3PL invoices each customer separately for storage (per pallet, cube, or square foot), handling events (receipts, picks, packs, shipments), and accessorial services. Errors here are the largest revenue leak in 3PL operations, which is why automated event capture matters.
Percentage of orders shipped complete on the first attempt.
Order fill rate is the share of customer orders that ship complete the first time, with no backorders or splits. It is one of the top three metrics 3PL clients hold their providers to, alongside on-time shipping and inventory accuracy. The WMS calculates it from order and shipment events.
Order shipped complete and arrived on the requested day.
OTIF measures the share of orders that arrive at the customer on the requested day with the requested quantity, complete and undamaged. Major retailers fine suppliers and 3PLs for OTIF misses, which is why WMS dock scheduling and ASN accuracy are no longer optional.
A company that runs warehouses and fulfillment for other brands.
A third-party logistics provider operates warehousing, fulfillment, and transportation on behalf of multiple client brands. 3PLs need a WMS that handles multi-client inventory segregation, per-client billing rules, and rapid client onboarding — capabilities a generic ERP warehouse module rarely covers.
3PL runs the warehouse, 4PL orchestrates the entire supply chain.
A 3PL operates the physical warehouse and fulfillment under contract to a brand. A 4PL is one level up — it manages the brand’s entire logistics network, including multiple 3PLs, carriers, and customs brokers, often without owning physical assets. The WMS requirements differ accordingly.
The standard wood or plastic platform inventory is stored and shipped on.
A pallet is the flat wood or plastic platform that holds cases or units for storage and transport. Most US warehousing rates are quoted per-pallet position. A WMS tracks pallets as license plates so you can move many cartons in one scan.
The sequence of locations a picker walks to complete a pick list.
A pick path is the ordered sequence of warehouse locations the picker visits to complete a single pick list. A WMS that optimizes pick paths against the physical layout cuts walking time, which is the single largest non-value-added activity in most warehouses.
Light displays at each location guide the picker.
In a pick-to-light system, lights mounted at storage locations illuminate to show the picker exactly which slot to pick from and how many to take. It is fastest in fixed batch-pick stations with a stable SKU set and works alongside RF or voice in mixed environments.
The three core fulfillment steps that turn an order into a shipment.
Pick, pack, and ship are the three fulfillment steps every warehouse runs: pickers gather the items for an order, packers cube them into a carton with the right dunnage, and shipping rates and labels them for the carrier. Each step is timed and measured inside the WMS.
Forecasting tomorrow’s labor need from operational signals.
Predictive labor planning uses order forecasts, historical productivity, and current backlog to recommend how many pickers, packers, and loaders a shift needs. SC Codeworks customers using predictive labor planning have cut labor costs around 30 percent without overtime by avoiding both over- and under-staffing.
Storing received goods in their assigned warehouse location.
Putaway is the directed task of moving received inventory from the receiving dock to its storage location. A WMS chooses the location based on slotting rules, velocity, item dimensions, and zone restrictions, then guides the operator with an RF or voice instruction so nothing is misplaced.
Logging inbound shipments and verifying them against expected POs or ASNs.
Receiving is the warehouse process of accepting an inbound shipment, verifying quantities and lot data against the purchase order or ASN, and posting the inventory as available. A WMS-driven receipt is faster, catches discrepancies at the dock, and triggers downstream putaway automatically.
Moving stock from reserve to forward pick locations.
Replenishment is the WMS-directed task of moving inventory from bulk reserve storage to the smaller forward pick locations pickers actually pull from. Min-max rules trigger replenishment automatically so picks never stop for an empty bin.
Handling product returns, refurbishment, and disposal.
Reverse logistics covers everything that happens to a product after it ships — customer returns, warranty repair, refurbishment, recycling, and disposal. A WMS that handles returns natively keeps the inventory record honest and lets the 3PL bill its clients accurately for return processing.
Real-time barcode-driven workflows on handheld terminals.
RF scanning gives warehouse workers handheld terminals running directed workflows from the WMS — every receipt, putaway, pick, and ship is confirmed by scanning a barcode. It replaces paper, drives accuracy above 99 percent, and feeds the data the WMS needs for analytics.
Radio-frequency tags scanned in bulk without line of sight.
RFID is a wireless tag-and-reader technology that lets a warehouse scan many items at once without line of sight, unlike barcodes. It is heavily used in apparel, retail, and high-value asset tracking, and a WMS supporting RFID can blend it with traditional scanning on a per-SKU basis.
A unique identifier for one sellable inventory item.
A SKU is the unique code a business assigns to one sellable item — distinct by style, size, color, lot rules, or packaging. Two physically identical items with different selling rules are still two SKUs. The WMS treats every SKU as a first-class entity with its own slotting and rotation rules.
Deciding the best storage location for each SKU.
Slotting is the discipline of placing each SKU in the warehouse location that minimizes pick travel time, balances replenishment workload, and respects velocity, weight, size, and pick affinity. A WMS with slotting analytics turns it from a yearly project into a continuous optimization.
Single-package shipments handled by carriers like UPS, FedEx, USPS.
Small parcel refers to package shipments under roughly 150 pounds that move through carriers like UPS, FedEx, USPS, and regional posts. A WMS integrated with a parcel rating engine compares carriers in real time and picks the lowest-cost service that meets the delivery promise.
Automated routing of picked items to the correct order or shipment.
Sortation is the conveyor or robotic process that routes individually picked items into the right order, carton, or carrier lane. In high-volume DTC operations, sortation is what makes batch picking economical — without it the post-pick sort eats the productivity gain.
Unique 18-digit identifier for a logistics unit like a pallet.
An SSCC is the 18-digit GS1 code that uniquely identifies a single logistics unit — a pallet, a case, or a parcel — across the supply chain. It is the link an ASN uses to tell the receiver exactly which carton arrives, and modern WMS receiving relies on it.
Recurring charges for keeping client inventory in a 3PL warehouse.
Storage fees are recurring charges — typically per pallet, per square foot, or per cubic foot, billed weekly or monthly — that a 3PL invoices each client for warehouse space. Accurate billing depends on cycle-accurate inventory snapshots, which a WMS automates.
Software for freight brokerages running carrier matching and load operations.
A TBMS supports freight brokerage operations — quoting, carrier sourcing, dispatch, settlement, and customer billing. Codeworks Enterprise includes TBMS natively, which is rare in mid-market WMS and matters for 3PLs that also operate a brokerage arm.
Software that plans, executes, and settles freight movements.
A Transportation Management System plans loads, books carriers, tracks shipments, and audits freight invoices. A WMS handles inventory inside the four walls; a TMS handles what happens outside. Many SC Codeworks customers integrate the two so a shipped order automatically becomes a load.
The standard 12-digit barcode used at retail point of sale.
A UPC is the 12-digit barcode standard administered by GS1 that identifies a retail product worldwide. WMS receiving and picking can scan a UPC instead of an internal SKU when the supplier ships sealed retail packs, saving the relabeling step.
Extra warehouse services billed beyond storage and handling.
Value-added services are the extra work a 3PL performs beyond storing and shipping product — labeling, kitting, light assembly, ticketing, gift wrapping, custom packaging, returns processing. They are higher-margin work and the largest opportunity for 3PLs to grow revenue from existing clients.
Hands-free picking directed by spoken instructions over a headset.
Voice picking gives warehouse pickers spoken instructions through a headset and accepts spoken confirmations back, eliminating handheld scanners and paper. SC Codeworks customers running voice technology have seen productivity gains of around 20 percent, with fewer pick errors than barcode-only workflows.
Software that runs the warehouse floor.
A Warehouse Management System is software that directs every physical task in a warehouse — receiving, putaway, picking, packing, shipping, cycle counting, and labor — and keeps a real-time record of inventory and orders. Modern systems like Codeworks Enterprise add 3PL billing, voice picking, dock scheduling, and predictive intelligence on top.
Planning and releasing waves of work to the floor.
Wave management is the WMS function that bundles orders into releases, sequences them against carrier cutoffs and resource availability, and drops them onto the floor as work for pickers, packers, and loaders. Good wave logic is the difference between hitting the truck and missing it.
Releasing a batch of orders to the floor as a single coordinated wave.
Wave picking groups orders into a release based on shared criteria — carrier cutoff, zone, customer, or order priority — so pickers, packers, and shippers work in coordinated waves instead of one-off tasks. It improves throughput in high-volume DCs and is configured inside the WMS.
Tracking trailers, containers, and dock doors in the yard.
Yard management tracks every trailer in the yard, assigns dock doors, schedules drop and live unloads, and prevents the chaos of guessing which trailer is where. A WMS with built-in yard management saves the cost of a separate yard system.
Each picker works only their assigned warehouse zone.
In zone picking, the warehouse is split into zones and each picker stays in one zone, picking the items from their zone for any order that needs them. The order is then consolidated. It minimizes walking and works well in large warehouses with diverse SKUs.
