Glossary
The language of e-commerce logistics.
Terms we use daily at Ecommex, defined for your team or anyone new to the industry. If something's missing, let us know.
Index
- 3PLThird-Party Logistics
- A company that operates another brand's logistics chain — warehousing, fulfillment, shipping. Your brand sells, the 3PL runs the operation.
- ASNAdvanced Shipping Notice
- The supplier sends the 3PL a detailed list of what's coming in a delivery before it arrives: SKUs, quantities, lots, pallets. Lets the 3PL prepare the receiving and catch discrepancies fast.
- B2BBusiness to Business
- Brand-to-brand operation: selling to wholesale channels, retailers, or distributors. Large volumes, scheduled DC appointments, clean manifests, and digital POD.
- B2C / D2CBusiness / Direct to Consumer
- Operation selling directly to the end customer. Order-by-order, fast fulfillment, careful packaging, and visible tracking for the customer.
- COFEPRISFederal Commission for Sanitary Risk Protection (Mexico)
- Mexico's regulator for medicines, medical devices, supplements, cosmetics, and food. Without COFEPRIS clearance, you can't legally operate these categories in Mexico.
- Crossdocking
- Operation where goods enter the DC, are reassigned by destination, and leave the same day without being stored. Useful for high-rotation items, regional distribution, or B2B channels with tight windows.
- ETAEstimated Time of Arrival
- Estimated arrival time of a shipment at destination, calculated by the carrier based on route, traffic, and operations. Different from the customer promise, which is usually more conservative.
- FBAFulfillment by Amazon
- Amazon program where your inventory lives in their warehouses and they handle fulfillment to the end customer. Requires prep before shipping in: FNSKU, polybag, masterbox, label compliance.
- FEFOFirst Expired, First Out
- Rotation policy that ships products with the closest expiry date first. Standard for food, supplements, cosmetics, and anything dated.
- FIFOFirst In, First Out
- Rotation policy that ships the oldest inventory first. Applies when expiry isn't a factor (apparel, electronics, parts).
- Kitting
- Assembly of combos, gift sets, bundles, or multi-piece packs. Each kit is built as a new SKU with a defined BOM (Bill of Materials).
- KPIKey Performance Indicator
- Metric that measures how an operation is going. Typical 3PL KPIs: inventory accuracy, on-time shipping, perfect order rate, shrinkage.
- Last Mile
- Final leg of a shipment — from the local distribution center to the customer's door. The most expensive and customer-sensitive part.
- MELI FullMercado Libre Full
- Mercado Libre's equivalent of FBA. Product physically lives in MELI's DCs and they ship to the end customer with their SLA. Requires specific prep for the MELI DC delivery.
- NOMNorma Oficial Mexicana / Mexican Official Standard
- Mandatory technical regulation in Mexico. Examples: NOM-051 (food labeling), NOM-024 (electronics), NOM-003 (chemicals).
- OMSOrder Management System
- System that receives and orchestrates orders from multiple channels (Shopify, Mercado Libre, Amazon) and sends them to fulfillment with defined priorities and SLAs.
- OS&DOver, Short & Damaged
- Discrepancy report on a receipt: what arrived in excess, what was missing, what came damaged vs what was declared on the ASN. Documents the difference for accounting adjustment or carrier claim.
- Pick & Pack
- Operational process of picking products for an order from the rack and packing them ready for shipping. The most visible fulfillment metric.
- POPurchase Order
- Document issued by the buyer to the supplier. Specifies SKUs, quantities, prices, and commercial terms. The contractual base of a purchase.
- PODProof of Delivery
- Document or digital record confirming a delivery was completed to the right recipient. Photo, signature, stamp, or GPS depending on the carrier.
- RMAReturn Merchandise Authorization
- Before accepting a return, the 3PL issues an RMA with tracking number, reason, and SKU. No RMA, no return process.
- SKUStock Keeping Unit
- Unique identifier for a sellable unit. Each variant (size, color, format) is a separate SKU. The minimum control unit in any WMS.
- SLAService Level Agreement
- Measurable service commitment. Example: orders picked in under 2 hours, 99.9% inventory accuracy, on-time shipping >97%.
- WMSWarehouse Management System
- Software that manages everything in a warehouse: inventory, locations, receiving, picking, shipping, and traceability by SKU or lot.
At Ecommex: Ecommex is a 3PL specialized in e-commerce with a DC in Guadalajara.
At Ecommex: We accept ASNs by email or via API and load them into the WMS before the receiving appointment.
At Ecommex: We run B2B for brands selling to Liverpool, Walmart, Soriana, and regional wholesalers.
At Ecommex: B2C/D2C is most of our operation — Shopify, Mercado Libre, Amazon, TikTok Shop, all from the same inventory pool.
At Ecommex: We operate supplements, cosmetics, and Class I medical devices with the corresponding COFEPRIS permits.
At Ecommex: We have dedicated crossdocking for brands moving volume that don't want to pay warehouse floor time.
At Ecommex: Our WMS shows ETA in real time for every active shipment.
At Ecommex: We do FBA prep: FNSKU labeling, polybagging, and masterbox assembly per Amazon spec.
At Ecommex: Our WMS applies automatic FEFO and sends alerts before a lot gets close to its date.
At Ecommex: FIFO is the default policy for non-dated categories — apparel, appliances, solar panels.
At Ecommex: We run kitting for seasonal promotions, gift sets, and brand bundles.
At Ecommex: We report operational KPIs monthly with brand-specific dashboards.
At Ecommex: We work with last-mile-specialized carriers for urban deliveries in CDMX, Monterrey, and Guadalajara.
At Ecommex: We do MELI Full prep: labeling, masterbox, ASN per MELI manual.
At Ecommex: We apply NOM-compliant labeling before releasing imported inventory.
At Ecommex: Our OMS syncs inventory in real time across channels to prevent overselling.
At Ecommex: We file OS&D within 24h of receiving with photo and video as supporting evidence.
At Ecommex: Pick&pack with double scanner verification and visual review per order before sealing.
At Ecommex: Your B2B customers' POs land in the OMS and trigger automatic picking by channel priority.
At Ecommex: We deliver digital POD with photo and geolocation for every B2B delivery.
At Ecommex: Every RMA is tracked in the WMS with intake photo and final disposition (restock, B-stock, or scrap).
At Ecommex: We operate catalogs from 50 to 50,000+ SKUs with individual control.
At Ecommex: Every account has a documented SLA with clear consequences if missed — no fine print.
At Ecommex: Our WMS exposes real-time visibility to the customer via portal and API.