National Commerce Docs

Glossary

Definitions for the core domain entities used across the National Commerce platform.

This glossary defines the core domain entities used throughout the National Commerce system. It is seeded from the internal Client Dictionary.

Brand hierarchy

Parent Brand

Parent of the Brand. A Parent Brand can have many brands beneath it.

Brand

A single brand in the system.

Deprecated

Brand no longer exists in the NC system. Accounts replaced it.

Account

A single connection to ShipHero.

SKUs

The system distinguishes between several kinds of SKU. Different people track inventory against different SKU types, so it is important to keep them straight.

Product SKU

The SKU you can actually buy on Amazon.

Base SKU

The SKU some people track inventory against. (Other people use the Product SKU instead.)

Inventory SKU

It is a Base SKU.

Case SKU

A bundle of either a Product SKU or Base SKU that can be purchased. Case SKUs are purchased for inventory replenishment.

Why case SKUs exist

It's cheaper to order packs of 12 chocolate bars than 12 single packs — someone has to scan each package.

Inventory

Inventory (entity)

The amount of each Base SKU at a given warehouse.

Warehouse

A place that stores inventory.

Orders & shipments

Order

A request from a customer to buy thing(s).

Shipment

An individual box that gets shipped to the customer, with its own label and label cost. A shipment links to an Order.

Line Item

A quantity of an individual product inside of the shipment box. A line item links to a Shipment.

Label

Paper that is stuck to the shipment box, defining the cost of shipping.

Label Cost

The cost of the label.

Voided Label

A label that was going to be used, but the decision was made to end it. This is usually caused when shipping is too expensive.

Postage Threshold

Something Sean created so he can track if shipments for a specific SKU are too expensive.

Purchase orders

PO (Purchase Order)

A purchase order used to replenish inventory. Usually made up of Case SKUs.

PO Line Item

Similar to line items in an order, but for POs.

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