Reference
Key terms and definitions for inventory management, warehouse operations, and stock control. Learn the language of efficient inventory.
A ratio measuring how many times inventory is sold and replaced over a period.
The optimal order quantity that minimizes total inventory costs.
The direct costs of producing goods sold by a business, including materials and labor.
Markup is added to cost; margin is the percentage of revenue that is profit.
Wholesalers buy and resell in bulk; distributors represent manufacturers directly.
Goods held by a retailer but owned by the supplier until sold.
The four main types: raw materials, work-in-progress, finished goods, and MRO.
Lot numbers identify batches; serial numbers identify individual items.
Often used interchangeably; inventory is broader and includes assets and supplies.
Barcodes hold limited data; QR codes hold more and scan from any angle.
The Pareto principle: 20% of products typically generate 80% of revenue.
FIFO sells oldest inventory first; LIFO sells newest first for accounting purposes.
Extra inventory held to protect against variability in demand or supply.
The inventory level at which a new order should be placed to avoid stockouts.
A method of auditing inventory by counting a subset of items on a rotating schedule.
A unique identifier for each distinct product and its variants.
The time between placing an order and receiving the goods.
A system that updates inventory counts in real-time as transactions occur.
A system that updates inventory counts at fixed intervals through physical counts.
A method of categorizing inventory by value and importance (A=high, B=medium, C=low).
Inventory that has not sold or been used for an extended period.
The smallest number of units a supplier will accept on a single purchase order.
The document a warehouse picker uses to gather items for a customer order.
Consumable supplies and parts needed to keep a business running.
The internal request to buy goods or services before a purchase order is issued.
Combining individual SKUs into a single ready-to-ship bundle.
Unloading inbound shipments straight to outbound docks with minimal storage time.
How an item is counted, sold, or stocked — eaches, cases, pallets, weight, or volume.
A list of every component needed to build a finished product.
A label or chip attached to an asset for unique identification — barcode, QR, RFID, or NFC.
StockZip inventory management software helps you apply these concepts with barcode scanning, low-stock alerts, and real-time tracking.