Word | Explanation |
# | # |
7-Day Deal | A type of promotion for Amazon Sellers, where you set up a time-bound offer featured on the Deals section of the selected marketplace(s) |
3PL | 3rd Party Logistics. This is a service provider catering to a full range of e-commerce fulfilment services, such as warehouse storage, B2C, B2B and D2C order fulfilment, processing shipping and more. Expandly offer a 3PL solution so if you would like to discuss using us for this service, please contact us and we'll be happy to help! |
4PL | Fourth-party logistics, commonly known as 4PL, represents a higher level of supply chain management. Unlike third-party logistics (3PL) providers, which focus on specific logistics tasks like warehousing, shipping, and order fulfilment, 4PL providers manage and optimize the entire supply chain |
3P | 3rd party seller. This is where a business/seller adopting a retail model, selling other brands’ products directly to customers |
1P | 1st party seller. This is when Amazon buys your product wholesale and sells it as their own through the Vendor program. Amazon then control most aspects i.e. listing management pricing, fulfilment etc., and the vendor just keeps them in stock. |
A | A |
A+ Content | Also known as EBC (enhanced brand content), this is a valuable marketing tool for brand registered Amazon sellers that replaces the standard, plain-text product description with engaging, multi-media content based around images and graphics. You can read more about A+ Content, by clicking here |
ACoS | Advertising-cost-of-sale, a key metric used to measure the efficiency of PPC campaigns and defined by the percentage of attributed sales spent on ads
(Formula: total spend / ad sales = ACoS) |
Affiliate | A model you may come across in a marketing context, whereby associates (often influencers) will earn money by marketing/promoting their products in question to their audience or social following, thus driving traffic and sales to the Amazon listings |
AGS | |
AMS | Amazon Marketing Services (now known as Amazon Advertising) |
AMG | Amazon Media Group |
AMZ | The standard abbreviation for Amazon |
API | Application Programming Interface. A fundamental concept in software development that has perhaps no more significance/importance elsewhere than in the e-commerce sector. Defined as a set of rules and protocols that allow different software programs to talk to each other and share data or functionality and is what allows for instance, Amazon orders and stock levels to sync to a WMS/OMS and be fulfilled by a 3rd party warehouse |
ARA | Amazon Retail Analytics. This comprises the basic selection of reports on Vendor Central, available with all levels of Amazon Vendor accounts |
ARAP | Amazon Retail Analytics Premium, an add-on to the standard ARA reports allowing a more detailed and varied selection of reports that delves in to traffic and customer behaviour data |
ASIN | Amazon Standard Info Number. Every product added to Amazon’s catalogue will be assigned this unique alphanumeric product identifier that is specific to use within Amazon, but has become so widespread that its use will often permeate into other areas outside of Amazon. ASIN format is 10-digit alphanumeric beginning with ‘B0’, and can be further broken down into Parent and Child ASINs for those products with an overriding style (the parent) and the multiple variations that sit within that (the children) which can be one or a combination of colour, size, flavour, quantity and so forth. |
ASN | Advanced Shipping Notice/Notification. This is used by all warehouses - Amazon or otherwise, and is essential documentation from the consigner that notifies the consignee of the details of an incoming shipment, including but not limited to contents, ETD, tracking info, delivery type and any other key pieces of info
You can read more about ASINs by clicking here |
ASP | Average Selling Price. Formula: Net Sales / No. of Products Sold |
AVN | Amazon Vendor Notifications |
AVS | Amazon Vendor Services - is a program that Amazon offers to select vendors and manufacturers who sell their products on the Amazon marketplace. Amazon will buy products from you and list them on the site by adding the “ships from and sold by Amazon.com” tag. By utilizing Amazon Vendor Central, you can get your items sold on Amazon, without dealing with customers directly |
AWS | Amazon Web Services |
A-Z Guarantee / Claim | A-Z Guarantee is a policy that protects customers when buying from 3rd party sellers on Amazon by offering reimbursement/refunds in the event of significant order defects (e.g. a 2nd hand item sold as new; item never delivered; seller not adhering to heir own return policies) You can avoid subsequent A-Z claims as a seller by making sure the goods sold are exactly as described in the listing and items are dispatched on time with valid tracking |
B | B |
B2B | Business-to-business. A key type of e-commerce comprising the sale of goods between two businesses (see Amazon’s procurement solution - https://business.amazon.co.uk/) |
B2C | Business-to-customer. The most common type of e-commerce in our daily lives, where a customer will purchase goods from a registered business |
C | C |
Consumer | A person who purchases goods and services, for personal use |
D | D |
D2C | Direct-to-Consumer - sell directly to their end-customers, cutting out the need for wholesalers |
DDP | Digital Product Passport - DPPs are designed to support sustainable product production and circular business models1. The data within a DPP can include product lifecycle and value chain information, such as origin, materials, environmental impact, supply chain, and disposal guidelines |
E | E |
EAN | European Article Number - It's a 13-digit number mostly used in Europe and rest of the world and is the unique product identifier, issued by GS1 |
E-Commerce | Ecommerce, short for electronic commerce, is the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet |
EDI | EDI ( Electronic Data Interchange) allows data exchange between two servers |
EPR | Extended Producer Responsibility - producers are responsible for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products, including packaging & electronics. For more information on how Expandly can help with EPR, please contact us and we'll be happy to help |
F | F |
FBA | |
FBA | |
Fulfilment | The entire process of receiving, storing, picking, packing, and then shipping orders to the customers, including returns or exchanges, is called fulfilment. To fulfil an order, you can opt for In-house fulfilment, Third-party fulfilment, Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) or Multi Channel Fulfilment |
Fulfilment Centre | Amazon fulfilment centres are responsible for fulfilling customer orders. Amazon warehouses not only store products but also serve as distribution centres where they pick, pack, and ship orders quickly and efficiently |
G | G |
GTIN | Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) – the number you see under the barcode (also known as an EAN or UPC) that’s unique to that product |
GS1 | GS1 is the only authorised provider of GTINs |
H | H |
I | I |
ISBN | ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a numeric code that uniquely identifies books and other publications |
J | J |
K | K |
L | L |
M | M |
MCF | Multi-Channel Fulfilment - allows customers to fulfil orders across multiple different online marketplaces or websites. Amazon offer MCF however this is something you may prefer to manage yourself via a 3PL solution, such as Expandly |
MFN | Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN) refers to an operations model where sellers list products in Amazon stores but
manage all storage, packaging, shipping, and customer service independently. Another way of describing FBM fulfilment |
MPN | Manufacturer Part Number - It is a unique number that is issued by manufacturers to identify individual products. Normally, the MPN of a product is a series of numbers and letters |
N | N |
O | O |
OMS | Order Management System - includes all the activities involved in taking, processing or receiving and fulfilling a customer order received via any sales channel |
P | P |
PO | A purchase order is a commercial source document that is issued by a business’ purchasing department when placing an order with its vendors or suppliers |
POS | Point-of-Sale System - the physical or virtual location where customers pay for their
purchases. POS systems are a combination of hardware and software that
facilitates transactions. They include countertop, mobile and online options |
Q | Q |
R | R |
RP | Responsible Person. RP will be needed for each product to ensure compliance with UK/EU regulations, including safety, labelling and documentation. Expandly can help with this service, so please reach out if you would like to discuss |
S | S |
SaaS | SaaS
(Software as a Service) is a software distribution model in which a cloud
provider hosts applications and makes them available to end-users over the
internet. Expandly is an excellent example of a SaaS and can be utilized to
help you globally expand your business |
SKU | A Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is a unique, alphanumeric code, that a seller assigns to every type of item it sells. SKUs would be created internally by sellers to identify, receive and locate their product inventory/stock and it is typically best practise for business to assign unique SKUs to each one of their products. |
SEO | Search Engine Optimisation - a marketing strategy to improve your product and brand visibility in Amazon search results. You can read more here |
SERPs | Search Engine Page Results |
T | T |
U | U |
UPC | Universal Product Code - UPC codes are 12-digit barcodes used in North America |
V | V |
VAT | Value Added Tax - you'll need to register for VAT in each country where you have a taxable presence, such as warehouses or fixed establishments. You will also be responsible for submitting periodic tax returns. We can help you with your VAT needs so please feel free to reach out to discuss |
Vendor Central | Vendor Central is an
invite-only platform for businesses that want to sell their products to Amazon
itself, and connected to AVS. When you sell to Amazon in this capacity, you are
their supplier. The core process is very simple:
It’s then down to Amazon to sell your products to their customers. You are not involved in that |
VTR | Valid Tracking Rate - will measure how often your business is using Amazon verified carrier, service and tracking numbers, when shipping your orders |
W | W |
WMS | Warehouse Management System - used to manage the flow of goods in and out of a warehouse |
X | X |
Y | Y |
Z | Z |