Glossary of Amazon Abbreviations, Acronyms, Terms, and More for Sellers and Vendors

By November 29, 2021March 16th, 2023Amazon
Complete Glossary of Amazon Terms

Amazon has become synonymous with e-commerce and is undoubtedly the king at the moment.

Unfortunately, with thousands of selling partners, an ever-growing catalog of products, and an expansive reach around the globe, selling on Amazon can be a challenge.

If you’ve ever tried searching Google, scouring through Amazon forums, or watched hours of videos on YouTube you’ve probably figured out by now that Amazon has its own language filled with terms, acronyms, and abbreviations.

What is an ASIN? What’s Brand Registry? What’s the SPN? What’s the difference between a Seller Central and Vendor Central? Are FBM and MFN the same? There’s even an acronym called CRAP!

Guess what? All of those answers and more are available below. We’ve reviewed other websites, blogs, and Amazon forums to compile the most comprehensive list of acronyms, terms, abbreviations, and more.

Whether you’re a seasoned seller or new to selling on Amazon, we hope this list will help navigate Amazon a little easier.

We know there are more acronyms, abbreviations, and terms we missed. We will try to keep this list up to date, so if you have any terms that we missed, please let us know in the comments.

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  • 1P — See First-Party Seller.
  • 3P — See Third-Party Seller.
  • 3PL — See Third-Party Logistics.
  • 7-Day Deal — A promotion type for sellers on Amazon. The time-bound offer is featured on Amazon’s Best Deals page.

A
  • A+ Content / A+ Page — A detail page where the product description has enhanced content and branding. This includes graphics and images embedded into the page.  A+ Content is used to boost customer confidence by providing additional information about the product. Learn more about using A+ Content to increase sales.
  • A-to-z Guarantee — The A-to-z Guarantee protects buyers when they buy items sold and fulfilled by a third-party seller. It covers both the timely delivery and condition of your items. If you’re not happy with either and can’t resolve the issue directly with the seller, you can make a claim directly to Amazon, and our Amazon will decide if you’re eligible for a refund.
  • A-to-z Guarantee Claims — One of the biggest fears of many Amazon sellers. This is one of the most serious topics, widely discussed in the forums and open to way too many interpretations. This is Amazon’s guide on How to Respond to an A-to-z Guarantee Claims and How to Prevent an A-to-z Guarantee Claims.
  • AA — Amazon Associate — Typically referring to a Fulfillment Center position.
  • AAP — Amazon Advertising Platform (now known as Amazon DSP)The program advertisers use to buy and create display and video ads.
  • Account Health — Overview of your seller account’s adherence to the performance targets and policies required to sell on Amazon. Learn more here with the Account Health FAQ.
  • Account Level Reserve — Money held from recent purchases to protect sellers and customers. Income from purchases is held in Account Level Reserve for a period after the delivery date in case a customer wishes to process a return. Under normal conditions, money is released from the Account Level Reserve after seven days.
  • ACoS — Advertising Cost of Sale — The percentage of attributed sales spent on advertising. The formula for this is total spend/ad sales = ACoS.
  • ACS — Amazon Creative Services — Amazon Creative Services, available in the advertising console for sellers and vendors, allows you to discover, compare, and book services directly with trusted service providers for policy-compliant and impactful creative assets.
  • Ad Group The individual advertisements and advertising strategies included in a single advertising campaign.
  • Affiliates — A program by which referrals earn associates money for driving traffic and sales to Amazon through their marketing. Affiliates operate on many different sites, including individual blogs, forums, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. See Amazon Affiliate Program
  • AGS — Amazon Global Selling — Sell worldwide with Amazon Global Selling. Learn how to expand globally, grow and diversify your sales using the power of Amazon’s global brand
  • AHR — Account Health Rating The Account Health Rating indicates your selling account’s risk of deactivation due to non-compliance with certain Amazon selling policies.
  • AL — Allocated (Vendor Central Replenishment Code)When products are only recorded manually, the code is located in Amazon’s Brand Analytics and table of costs.
  • AM — Area Manager — Typically referring to a position within an Amazon Fulfillment Center, where the individual is responsible for managing a specific area within the center, including achieving budgetary goals, developing people, and ensuring operational objectives are met.
  • Amazon Ads Verified A partner who advertisers (and the partner’s employees have linked to) and has an Amazon-approved partner directory listing. Registered partners on the Partner Network have the opportunity to demonstrate expertise with Amazon Ads products, earning validation checkmarks.
  • Amazon Ads Advanced A partner is a qualified partner who has met specific metrics in one of two areas. The first is by meeting certain metrics for Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform), which allows you to programmatically buy ads.
  • Amazon Affiliate Program The Amazon Affiliate program is a free program for website owners and bloggers to earn referral fees by advertising products from Amazon.com on their sites through the use of links. When customers click the link and make a purchase, the referral fee is earned.
  • Amazon Marketing Stream A new API product that delivers Amazon Ads campaign metrics and information to advertisers’ or integrators’ AWS accounts via a push-based model. Amazon Marketing Stream will deliver hourly performance metrics, with details such as targeting expression performance by placement and budget consumption messages in near real-time.
  • Amazon Seller Central See Seller Central
  • Amazon Vine — An Amazon program in which vendors or sellers can enroll their products to obtain verified, legitimate reviews. Amazon Vine invites Amazon’s most trusted reviewers to post product reviews about new and pre-release items to help other customers make informed purchase decisions.
  • AMS — Amazon Marketing Services — This is now known as Amazon Ads.
  • AMG — Amazon Media Group — Offers advanced Amazon advertising both on and off Amazon’s site. Allows you to run ads on other Amazon properties and Amazon devices, like Kindle, to drive traffic to the site.
  • AMZ — Amazon — More specifically, Amazon’s stock abbreviation.
  • AMZL — Amazon Logistics — Also known as Amazon Shipping or Amazon Delivery. It refers to any product deliveries made through Amazon’s own logistical arrangements and delivery service.
  • Andon or Andon Cord — An Amazon support agent can immediately pull a product from buyable status if they notice a significant issue, especially related to safety and quality. The term refers to a process implemented at Toyota factories in Japan. A physical cord was pulled allowing an immediate stop to production and a warning to management when a problem was noticed.
  • API — Application Program Interface —  It is a set of protocols, routines, and tools used by software applications to interact and exchange data with each other. APIs enable different software systems to communicate and share information, allowing developers to integrate third-party functionality into their applications.
  • APvU — Add Products via Upload — A feature in Amazon’s seller tools that allows sellers to add multiple products to their inventory at once by uploading a file in a specific format.
  • AR — Amazon Robotics — Sophisticated machinery and software that are designed to optimize efficiency in an Amazon Fulfillment Center.
  • ARA — Amazon Retail Analytics — A selection of reports for vendors sometimes referred to as ARA Basic. These are available to all vendors and look at topics like sales and inventory.
  • ARAP — Amazon Retail Analytics Premium — An add-on option with more detailed and varied reports that look at a vendor’s traffic and customer behavior for vendors. Learn about the Benefits of Amazon Retail Analytics Premium.
  • Arbitrage — The act of buying a product from one store (online or physical) to sell in another market (Amazon) at a higher price.
  • ARS — Amazon Robotics Sortable — A type of Fulfillment Center where Amazon employees often work alongside robots in picking, packing, and shipping small- to medium-sized customer orders.
  • ARSAW — Amazon Robotics Semi-Automatic Workstation — The technology used in Amazon fulfillment centers helps automate the process of sorting customer orders with the assistance of robots and complex conveyor belt systems.
  • ASBSA — Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement
  • ASC — Associate Safety Committee — For Fulfillment Center employees, Associate Safety Committee members work like safety specialists monitoring activity in their fulfillment centers.
  • ASIN — Amazon Standard Info Number — Each Amazon product will have a unique 10-character alphanumeric unique identifier that is used specifically for and within Amazon. ASINs can be further broken down into parent and child ASINs for products that have one overall item or style (the parent) with multiple choices when it comes to color, size, pack size, etc. (the child ASINs).
  • ASN — Advanced Shipping Notification (Vendor Central Replenishment Code)This is an electronic packing list that vendors send to Amazon ahead of any deliveries. An ASN can be created in the Vendor Central Portal or by EDI (Electronic Data Interchange).
  • ASP — Average Selling Price — Calculated by taking the total sales and dividing it by the number of products sold.
  • Associates Program — This term refers to the Amazon referral program and is now called Amazon Affiliates.
  • ASU — Amazon Seller University — Established for new sellers, Amazon Seller University educates the fundamentals of selling on Amazon with a library of articles and videos.
  • ATOP — At Time Of Posting — More commonly seen on social media postings, this refers to the retail price of an item at the time the post was created. This is commonly seen on Amazon-related groups and forums on places like Facebook.
  • AWD — Amazon Warehousing & DistributionAmazon Warehousing & Distribution addresses critical supply chain challenges and helps sellers grow and manage their business while significantly cutting costs.  It is a third-party logistics (3PL) solution that provides low-cost, long-term upstream bulk inventory storage in Amazon’s Distribution Centers and seamless replenishment to Amazon’s Fulfillment Centers and other sales and distribution channels.
  • AWS — Amazon Web Services — AWS is a cloud platform offered by Amazon. Millions of customers from the largest enterprises to leading government agencies use Amazon Web Services to power cloud computing.
  • AZ — Amazon — An abbreviation occasionally used to refer to Amazon.

B
  • B2B — Business to Business — E-commerce between two businesses, rather than a business and consumer.
  • B2C — Business to Customer — E-commerce between a business and a customer.
  • BA — Brand Analytics — Amazon’s Brand Analytics is a feature that contains valuable insights to empower Brand Owners to make informed, strategic decisions about their product portfolio and marketing/advertising activities. Brands must be enrolled in the Amazon Brand Registry to get access.
  • Back-To-School A term commonly used by merchants to refer to a specific period of time, usually around the beginning of the academic year, during which they promote and increase sales of products and services related to schooling such as school supplies and equipment for extracurricular activities.
  • Barcode — A method of representing data visually by varying the widths and spacing of parallel lines. Barcodes link manufacturers with products. The barcode of a product is expected to always be in the same location. If two items have the same barcodes, they must be the same product. A single barcode can be used an unlimited number of times for the same product, but it can only be used for that product. Amazon verifies the validity of Universal Product Codes (UPC) through the Global Standards 1 (GS1) database. It is Amazon’s express recommendation that UPCs are obtained directly from GS1.
  • Bar Raiser — At Amazon, a Bar Raiser is an impartial third-party interviewer who participates in the hiring process. Their involvement ensures the best long-term hiring decisions are made, and that the company is continually serving, surprising, and innovating for its customers.
  • BB — Buy Box — An abbreviation of the Amazon Buy Box is the button customers use to purchase a product on an Amazon detail page. The phrase “winning the Buy Box” refers to the merchant (whether Amazon or third-party) that a customer buys from when added to the cart. Buy Boxes are won through complex algorithms related to stock, ratings, customer service rankings, etc. Learn what winning the Buy Box means for sellers.
  • Best Deal — A time-bound promotional offer type for vendors on Amazon.
  • Bid — The maximum amount a seller is willing to pay to earn one click on an advertisement when setting up an advertising campaign.
  • BIL — Build International Listing — A tool that allows you to create listings to sell in multiple countries.
  • BISS — Business Industrial & Scientific Supplies — A specific selling category on Amazon, which is restricted to most sellers.
  • Blue Badge — An Amazon full-time employee (as opposed to a temporary or contract worker.)
  • BM — Brick & Mortar — This refers to the traditional way of shopping at a store that has a physical location. The exact opposite of an online retail store.
  • BMVD — Books, Media, Video, DVD’s
  • BOD — Boxes on Demand — A technology used in the packaging and shipping industry that creates custom-sized boxes based on the dimensions of the products being shipped. This system allows companies to reduce the amount of excess packaging material and reduce shipping costs by using just the right amount of material required to protect the product.
  • BOGO — Buy One Get One — It is a marketing strategy used by companies to promote their products or services by offering customers the opportunity to purchase one item and receive a second item for free or at a reduced price.
  • BOLO — Buy On the Lookout. A term that can be interpreted in various ways, but in the context of e-commerce and retail, it commonly refers to individuals searching for particular discounts and promotions.
  • BR — Basic Replenishment (Vendor Central Replenishment Code)This means the product will only be reordered manually, as found in Amazon’s Brand Analytics and table of costs.
  • Brand HQ — The system that sellers on the Amazon Brand Incubator and Amazon Exclusives program can access. Within Brand HQ, sellers can connect with other brands via a forum, expand their knowledge with Amazon’s eLearning courses and have the option to participate in “office hours” and ask an Amazon Associate those pressing questions. Brands can also submit Best Deals and merchandising opportunities such as category page placements.
  • Brand Registry (BR) — Amazon Brand Registry unlocks a suite of tools designed to help you build and protect your brand, creating a better experience for customers. Once approved for Brand Registry you get access to A+ Content, Sponsored Brands, Amazon Stores, and Amazon Brand Analytics. Learn why brands should take advantage of Amazon’s Brand Registry program.
  • Brand Store — Amazon Brand Stores are created using a free, self-service tool to create a customized brand experience within Amazon. These can be customized and feature logos, products, and a curated experience that best represents a particular brand. Learn how to develop a robust Brand Store experience on Amazon.
  • Browse Node — Numerical codes to identify Amazon product categories. Nodes may be top-level and have many subcategories under them. Sub-cats are known to change. Amazon uses thousands of these per locale, and they are unique to local (ie, UK and US numbers are not the same).
  • BSA — Business Services Agreement / Business Solutions Agreement
  • BSR — Best Seller Rank — The order and ranking of a product in the category where it is listed. The rank is updated hourly and takes into account recent and past sales history. If there are no sales (ie, the product is new), the rank will be “None.”
  • BTR — Born To Run (Vendor Central Replenishment Code)This refers to an Amazon Vendor Central Program that gives sellers the chance to launch new products on Amazon at a faster rate.
  • Bundle — A group of complementary products sold as one ASIN unit.

C
  • CA — Canada — Abbreviation for the Canadian marketplace.
  • CAGR — Compound Annual Growth Rate — This refers to the percentage growth required for an investment to increase from its initial value to its final value, assuming that the annual profits were continually invested back into the investment over its duration.
  • Campaign — A series of organized advertising messages intended to promote a product or service. Advertising campaigns are used in Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and
    Sponsored Display ads.
  • Category Page — A landing page for a specific group of products within the Amazon website. Examples: Books, Electronics, or Toys & Games.
  • CCR — Counterfeit Complaint Rate — Refers to the frequency at which sellers receive complaints from customers regarding the authenticity of their products, specifically that they are counterfeit or fake.
  • CCU — Counterfeit Crimes Unit — Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit works with brands, law enforcement, and customers across the globe to stop bad actors and hold them accountable.
  • CD — Continuous Deployment — A software development methodology where code modifications are automatically deployed to the production environment without requiring manual approval.
  • Chargeback — A situation in which a customer asks their bank to dispute a charge for an order placed. These have a negative impact on sellers as orders that involve chargebacks count toward the Order Defect Rate.
  • Child ASIN — A buyable variant of a parent ASIN, when the customer must select an option such as size or color to purchase. All child ASINs should be on one detail page, under the parent ASIN.
  • Child product –Many products have one main item with options for size, color, flavor, pack sizes, and more. Often the main product is a parent product with the variants being child products.
  • Climate Pledge Friendly — An Amazon program launched in 2020 to make it easier for customers to shop eco-friendly, sustainable products on its sites.
  • CM — Change Management — A systematic approach to managing and implementing organizational changes effectively. It involves planning, communicating, and implementing changes in a way that minimizes resistance, maximizes adoption, and ensures that the changes align with the organization’s goals and strategies.
  • CMBR — Change Management Bar Raiser — A Change Management Bar Raiser is a neutral third-party interviewer who takes part in the recruitment process. Their participation guarantees that the most suitable long-term hiring decisions are made and that the company is consistently serving, delighting, and innovating for its customers.
  • COGs — Cost of Goods Sold — The value of goods sold during a certain period of time.
  • Contra COGs — COGs include all backends, such as Vine, ARA Premium, etc.
  • Concessions — Amounts Amazon has refunded to customers related to your products or orders.
  • Conversion — A conversion is when a user takes a desired action. In e-commerce, a conversion typically means that a sale or transaction has occurred. Within the context of advertising campaigns, a customer clicking a seller’s advertisement can also be considered a conversion.
  • Coupon — A promotional deal on Amazon where a vendor or seller offers an amount or percentage off for a limited time.
  • COW — Consumer Order Workflow — Consumer Order Workflow encompasses the entire process that occurs when a customer adds a product to their shopping cart and proceeds to checkout. It involves all the steps from the moment a buyer initiates an order until the order is fulfilled and delivered to the customer.
  • CP — Contribution Profit — A metric used to calculate the profitability of individual shipments that are dispatched from Amazon. It takes into account all the costs associated with producing, storing, and shipping a product, and then subtracts these expenses from the revenue generated by the sale to arrive at the net profit contribution of the shipment.
  • CPC — Cost Per Click — A payment model that relates to paid advertising. This is the amount Amazon charges the seller or vendors when a customer clicks on their ad. Using a CPC model the advertisements are displayed for free, however, the seller is charged each time a customer clicks the advertisement. The calculation is total ad cost/clicks.
  • CPH — Cost Per Head — A pricing metric that calculates the cost of a particular product or service per person or per individual. It is also commonly referred to as “price per person” and is often used in event planning or catering industries to determine the cost of food, beverages, or other services on a per-person basis.
  • CPT — Critical Pull Time. The time in which an order is in danger of not shipping in time for customer delivery cut-offs.
  • CPS — Cost Per Shipment — is a metric that calculates the cost of shipping a product from the seller to the customer. It takes into account all the expenses associated with the transportation of goods, such as shipping fees, handling charges, and packaging costs. CPS is the total cost incurred for each shipment, regardless of the number of items included in the shipment. It is also sometimes referred to as the “amount spent per shipment”.
  • CPU — Contacts Per Unit — This is a customer service performance metric that measures the number of customer inquiries related to orders that Amazon handles on behalf of a seller per self-fulfilled shipped unit. It is calculated by dividing the total number of order-related customer inquiries that Amazon handles by the number of self-fulfilled units shipped. The CPU metric is used by Amazon to assess the quality of a seller’s customer service and can help sellers identify areas for improvement.
  • CR — Cancellation Rate – The percentage of orders canceled by a seller before they were shipped to customers. Also known as a Pre-Fulfillment Cancellation Rate. For Amazon sellers, it’s important to maintain a good shipping performance which includes keeping the rate below 2.5%.
  • CRAP — Can’t Realize a Profit — If based on Amazon algorithms, a product is deemed CRaP, it means there is a reason it won’t realize a profit: Shipping costs, too much inventory, pricing issues, etc. can result in this designation. In other words, try to avoid selling CRAP on Amazon!
  • CRUD — Create, Read, Update, Delete — The acronym comes from the world of computer programming. It refers to the four functions that are considered necessary to implement a data storage application: create, read, update, and delete.
  • CS — Customer Service — The support a company provides to address customer inquiries, complaints, and requests, aimed at maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty.
  • CSM — Customer Success Manager — A representative who works with sellers to help them achieve their goals and grow their business on Amazon. In the context of Amazon’s Strategic Account Services Core program for sellers, a Customer Success Manager is a dedicated account manager who provides personalized support and guidance to help sellers optimize their business on Amazon.
  • CTI — Category, Type, Item — It is a term used in e-commerce and refers to the specific product category, type, and item number assigned to a particular product.
  • CTR — Click Through Rate — A metric that measures the number of clicks per impression of an advertisement. The calculation for this is # of clicks / # impressions = CTR.
  • Customer Service Performance — A measure of how well sellers are meeting the needs of customers. Includes Order Defect Rate and contributes to Account Health.
  • CWGR — Compound Weekly Growth Rate — The weekly growth of your investments over a specific period of time. It’s a measurement of how much you have earned on your investments every week during a given interval.
  • CX — Customer Experience — Also referred to as User Experience. The overall experience of a person using a product, website, or computer application, especially in terms of how easy or intuitive it is to use or interact with.

D
  • DEA — Dynamic E-commerce Ads — A component of Amazon DSP, these ads will have e-commerce features built within the display ad, such as retail price and review ratings.
  • DEA — Delivery Estimate Accuracy — In the context of Amazon Fulfillment Centers, DEA refers to the accuracy of delivery estimates provided to customers when they place an order. It is a measure of how well Amazon predicts the delivery time for a particular order based on factors such as inventory availability, shipping location, and carrier performance.
  • DOTD — Deal of the Day — On Amazon’s Gold Box or Deals page, a single item or small set of closely related items is discounted for a period of one day only.
  • DMG — Damaged — Refers to goods or products that have been physically damaged during transport or handling.
  • DNR — Delivered Not Received — It is a term used in shipping and logistics to describe a situation where the order tracking system shows that a shipment has been delivered to the customer, but the customer claims that they have not received it.
  • Dog Page — Product Page showing a lovable dog, when the page does not exist (Also known as a 404 Error).
  • DOTD — Deal Of The Day — A marketing promotion offered by Amazon, where a single product or bundle is offered at a discounted price for a limited period of 24 hours. The Deal Of The Day promotion is typically featured on Amazon’s Gold Box or Deals page and can be a highly effective way for sellers to boost sales, clear inventory, or introduce new products to the market.
  • DP — Detail Page — Also known as the Product Detail Page, it is a page on Amazon that contains all the information about a product that a customer sees. This includes product images, product details, descriptions, prices, sellers, and shipping options.
  • DPMO — Defects Per Million Opportunities — A quality control metric that measures the number of defects in a process per million opportunities for defects to occur, indicating the error rate of a process.
  • DPV — Detail Page Views — It is a metric that measures the number of times a single product detail page has been viewed by customers. Detail Page Views are an essential metric for Amazon, as it provides insights into the popularity and visibility of individual products.
  • DPVR — Detail Page View Rate — A metric used in Amazon Advertising that measures the effectiveness of product ads in generating detail page views for the advertised product. Detail Page View Rate is calculated by dividing the total number of promoted product detail page views by the number of ad impressions and presenting it as a rate.
  • Dropship — Dropshipping is a fulfillment method for retailers. When a store or merchant doesn’t physically have or ship the item. If the item is purchased by a customer, the retailer orders it from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. This can save on costs associated with storage and fulfillment.
  • DSP — Delivery Service Provider — A third-party service provider that is contracted to deliver goods to customers on behalf of a company.
  • DSP — Demand Side Platform — Amazon Demand Side Platform or Amazon DSP is a demand-side platform that allows you to programmatically buy ads to reach new and existing audiences on and off Amazon. (Previously known as Amazon Advertising Platform.)
  • Dynamic Bidding – A bidding approach for advertising campaigns that allows a seller’s bid to increase in real-time if the bid is more likely to convert to a sale, or decrease in real-time if it’s less likely to convert to a sale. For example, you can set rules-based bidding for Sponsored Product ads.

E
  • EAN — European Article Number —  A 13-digit number system for identifying retail products in Europe.
  • Early Reviewer Program — An Amazon program that incentivizes customers who have purchased a product to leave an honest review. This program has been shut down.
  • EBC — Enhanced Brand Content — A detail page where the product description has enhanced content and branding, which includes graphics and images embedded into the page. EBC content used to be specifically for sellers. As of 2020, EBC is obsolete and has been replaced by A+ Content.
  • ECR — Executive Customer Relations — A department within Amazon that handles the most complex and escalated customer contacts received by the company. They are responsible for resolving customer complaints and issues that have not been successfully resolved through other customer service channels.
  • EDD — Estimated Delivery Date — Refers to the projected date when a customer is expected to receive their order based on various factors like shipping method, transit time, and carrier performance.
  • EDI — Electronic Data Interchange — A method for companies and businesses to send digital information to one another digitally.
  • EFN — European Fulfillment Network — Allows sellers with an Amazon Europe Marketplaces account who are also registered with Amazon to store their inventory in their European fulfillment center, and fulfill orders coming from other European marketplaces from the same local inventory pool.
  • EOD — End of Day. Usually refers to the close of that particular business day.
  • ESL — English as a Second Language — It refers to the learning of English by individuals who speak a different native language.
  • Existing Customers — Audiences who have purchased or re-purchased your brand or items on Amazon.
  • EXSD — Expected Ship Date — The estimated date when an item will leave the fulfillment center and be shipped to the customer. This is typically based on factors such as inventory availability, processing time, and delivery deadlines, and is closely tied to the critical pull time for the order.

F
  • FB — Facebook — An acronym used to refer to Facebook, which is a social networking website that allows users to connect, share content, and communicate with others.
  • FBA — Fulfillment by Amazon — When Amazon is responsible for storing your products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. Fulfillment by Amazon means Amazon will pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products.
  • FBM — Fulfillment by Merchant — This refers to the seller storing and shipping the products directly to the customer, as opposed to Amazon doing it. Sometimes known as Merchant Fulfilled (MF), Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN), or Fulfillment by Seller (FBS).
  • FBS — Fulfillment by Seller — See Fulfillment by Merchant and Merchant Fulfilled Network.
  • FC — Fulfillment Center — An warehouse facility used by Amazon to store, process, and fulfill customer orders.
  • Featured Offer — The price that shows up first when a customer views a product listing. The Featured Offer has better customer visibility, otherwise, a customer needs to go to the Other Sellers on Amazon list to see other prices available. This is also known as the Buy Box winner. See Buy Box.
  • FF — Flat File (Vendor Central Replenishment Code) — This is actually a code used across both Amazon Vendor Central and Amazon Seller Central and refers to bulk upload templates.
  • FFP — Frustration-Free Packaging — An Amazon program that eliminates excessive packing and over-boxing. An Amazon sustainability initiative.
  • First-Party Seller — A First-Party Seller (1P) relationship means Amazon acts as the retailer, and you operate as a wholesale supplier to Amazon. Using Vendor Central Amazon sends you a purchase order (PO) and you fulfill the PO and ship the product back to Amazon. To sell in a 1P capacity, you need to be invited by Amazon directly.
  • Fixed Bid — A standard bidding approach that allows a seller to indicate an exact bid for all conversion opportunities regardless of the conversion likelihood. See also bid.
  • Flagged Post — An entry in the Seller Forums that is being reported. When a post is flagged a box opens, the seller must indicate why a post is being flagged.
  • FNSKU — Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit — An Amazon product identifier for products that are fulfilled by Amazon.
  • FOL — Friends of Library — A non-profit organization that supports public libraries and their activities.
  • Fulfillment Method — The process from the time an order is received to when it’s delivered. Sellers on Amazon typically have two options for fulfillment: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM).
  • FPY — First Pass Yield — A measure of quality in a process that reflects the percentage of product made correctly without needing any rework or corrective activity.
  • FTL — Full Truck Load — A shipping term used to describe a shipment that requires a full truck or trailer to transport. Full Truck Load shipments typically occupy the entire space of the truck, and the cost of shipping is calculated based on the weight and distance of the shipment.

G
  • Gated Category — A product category on Amazon that requires approval before a seller can list and sell products in that category. Amazon may require sellers to meet specific performance criteria, pay additional fees, or undergo additional qualification processes before granting approval for gated categories.
  • GL String — Amazon’s codification system for allocating costs to the correct Profit & Loss Statement.
  • Glance Views — Similar to Detailed Page Views. The number of times a detail page has been viewed.
  • GLN — Global Location Number —A unique identification code assigned to physical locations and legal entities involved in the supply chain.
  • Global Promotions Sales The total sales amount from deals and coupons across all stores.
  • Global SKU — A SKU that is part of a shared inventory pool and is available to be sold and shipped in multiple marketplaces.
  • Goldbox — Amazon’s landing page, containing Deal of the Day, Lightning Deals, and a selection of categories’ best promotions and savings. Also known as Today’s Deals.
  • Greenlight — (Vendor Central Replenishment Code)Greenlight is the code that signifies availability, meaning the ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) is currently available from the supplier and is found in the case.
  • GS1 — Global Standards 1 — A non-profit that develops global standards for business including barcodes. Amazon uses GS1’s database to check UPC barcodes.
  • GS1 Database — Global Standards 1 Database — An external database of registered Global Trade Identification Numbers (GTIN) that Amazon uses to verify that a GTIN is authentic.
  • GTIN — Global Trade Identification Number — A unique identifier assigned to products to enable their identification and tracking throughout the global supply chain. GTINs can include various types of numbers, such as Universal Product Codes (UPCs), International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs), or European Article Numbers (EANs), and they are used by retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers to manage inventory, track sales, and improve supply chain efficiency.

H
  • Handling Time — The amount of time a seller needs between receiving an order and shipping the product to customers. Typically applies for seller-fulfilled products.
  • HAZMAT — Hazardous Materials — These items may be flammable, dangerous, corrosive, pressurized, etc. They require special precautions and regulations when transporting or storing.
  • HBA — Health & Beauty Aids — A category of consumer products that include personal care and hygiene items like skin care products, cosmetics, hair care products, oral care products, and personal grooming products. These types of products are designed to improve personal appearance, hygiene, and health.
  • HSA — Headline Search Ads — Advertisements that are located on top of a search results page. These have been renamed to Sponsored Brands.
  • Hijacking — When a seller jumps on a brand’s listing to sell a counterfeit product at a lower price. This causes the legitimate brand to lose the Buy Box and can result in a number of issues for the brand.
  • HTF — Hard To Find — A term used to describe items that are difficult to locate or purchase. Hard To Find items are often associated with BOLO (Be On the Look Out) posts, which alert others in the reseller community to the potential value of a particular product or product line.

I
  • IAT — Inbound Andon Tracker — A tool used by Amazon support agents to track and manage Andon Cord tickets related to inbound shipments. See Andon Cords.
  • IB — Inbound — A term used to describe the process of receiving goods or materials from external sources into a facility or operation.
  • ICQA – Inventory Control Quality Assurance — A department within Amazon’s fulfillment centers responsible for maintaining accurate inventory records and ensuring that all stowed items are properly accounted for.
  • IDQ — Item Data Quality — Refers to the condition of an item’s information, for example, if the product has bullet points and images.
  • Impressions — A measure of views or ad views. Determined by the number of single times a page is located and loaded.
  • Individual Seller — A selling account on Amazon where an individual seller pays a per-item fee. Access to a wide range of tools, discounts, and reports are not available as an individual seller. You also cannot exceed selling 40 units per month.
  • Individual Selling Plan One of two selling plans Amazon offers to enable sellers to access Seller Central. The Individual selling plan offers limited features for a fee of $0.99 per unit, plus additional referral, FBA, and other fees. The Professional selling plan is $39.99 a month, plus referral and other fees, but has more benefits for sellers.
  • INR — Item Not Received — A term used to describe a situation where a customer claims that they have not received an item that they ordered.
  • IP — Intellectual Property — Trademarks, copyrights, and patents. These allow a rights owner to control how their materials are used, sold, or distributed.
  • IP Accelerator — Amazon’s IP Accelerator program helps businesses more quickly obtain intellectual property rights and brand protection in Amazon’s stores.
  • IPI — Inventory Performance Index — The IPI is a metric to gauge your inventory performance over time that measures how efficient and productive you are in managing your inventory in FBA. The score will affect the amount of inventory that Amazon will allow you to send to their fulfillment centers.
  • IPQ – Item Package Quantity — A term used to describe the number of units of a product that are included in a single package or container.
  • IRDR — Inventory Record Defect Ratio — A metric used to measure the accuracy of inventory records in Amazon’s fulfillment centers. The Inventory Record Defect Ratio is calculated by comparing the virtual inventory count in a bin with the physical inventory count obtained during a random inventory check. This is an important metric for ensuring inventory accuracy and preventing stock-related issues that can impact customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
  • IS — In Season (Vendor Central Replenishment Code) — The code is located in the Brand Analytics and a table of costs for products or articles sold during specific seasons.
  • IS — In Stock (Vendor Central Replenishment Code) — If required, Amazon automatically reordered a product in stock; the code is found in the Vendor Catalog.
  • ISBN – International Standard Book Number — A 13-digit identity number is assigned to individual books by standard book numbering agencies. Until 2006, ISBNs were 10 digits. An ISBN, SKU, and ASIN may all be used in listings on Amazon.

K
  • KDP — Kindle Direct Publishing — Self-publish eBooks and paperbacks for free with Kindle Direct Publishing, and reach millions of readers on Amazon.
  • KPI — Key Performance Indicators — A measurable value that determines how well your business or organization is performing against set objectives.

L
  • LBB — Lost Buy Box — Refers to the situation where a seller’s product listing on Amazon no longer appears with the Buy Box button, usually because another seller has a better offer as determined by Amazon’s algorithm.
  • LD — Lightning Deals — A promotion on Amazon offered in a limited quantity for a short period of time. Lightning Deals are available, one per customer, until either the deal’s promotion period expires or all the available inventory is claimed. Lightning Deals can be found throughout Amazon, and are available on Today’s Deals or Prime Day page
  • Less Than Container Load — Shipment measure that means less than 18 cubic meters.
  • Listing — A product in the Amazon store, much like an item in a catalog. A listing offers a product for sale using a product detail page. See Detail Page
  • Listing Optimization — The process of improving an Amazon detail page and product information, including titles, product details, descriptions, and images.
  • Listing Quality — A measurement of how well a listing is performing. Tracks discoverability, the product detail page experience, and customer returns.
  • LOA — Letter of Authorization — A legal document that authorizes a designated person or entity to act on behalf of another person or entity in certain matters, such as managing an Amazon seller account or obtaining approval for restricted products or categories.
  • LR — Limited Replenishment (Vendor Central Replenishment Code) — This means the product will only be reordered if needed, found in Amazon’s Brand Analytics and costs table.
  • LSR — Late Shipment Rate — The percentage of a seller’s orders not shipped on time. This refers to the date an order was shipped, not the date it was delivered. Maintaining good shipping performance includes keeping this rate under 4%.
  • LTL — Less Than Truckload —  Shipment measure for ground transport means more than 30 cartons in a combined load with other merchants.
  • LTSF — Long-Term Storage Fee — Amazon’s chargeback for inventory that has been stored in a fulfillment center for more than 365 days.

M
  • MAP — Minimum Advertised Price — A special note on MAP by locale: In the US, if a retailer buys inventory from a manufacturer that has a MAP policy, they must NOT sell the product below that price. If they do, they risk no longer working with that manufacturer. However, this is not legal in Europe.
  • Marketplace — What locale or domain you are selling in? Refers to a country (US, CA, UK, DE, etc.) or overall third-party merchants.
  • Marketplace Product Guidance — A tool for sellers that analyzes the demand for existing inventory or new products in various stores. The guidance provides recommendations for cross-listing or new product development.
  • MCF — Multi-Channel Fulfillment — For sellers who sell on Amazon and other marketplaces. Some inventory is fulfilled by Amazon and other inventory is by other sales channels or the merchant themselves.
  • MCF Order — Multi-Channel Fulfillment Order — The Multi-Channel Fulfillment feature allows a seller to use FBA inventory to fulfill orders from any store in which they sell, including their own website. See also Fulfillment by Amazon.
  • MF — Merchant Fulfilled — Refers to shipping products directly to the end customer yourself, as opposed to Amazon doing it. See Fulfilled by Merchant and Merchant Fulfilled Network.
  • MFN — Merchant Fulfilled Network — When the seller ships products to customers themselves, rather than using Fulfillment by Amazon. Same as Fulfilled by Merchant or FBM.
  • MFS — Merchant Fulfilled Shipping — A shipping method where the seller ships products to customers themselves. Also called Fulfillment by Merchant or Merchant Fulfilled Network.
  • MFT — Marketplace Facilitator Tax — A type of sales tax that is collected and remitted by online marketplaces like Amazon on behalf of third-party sellers who make sales through the platform.
  • MNR — Manifested Not Received — A term used to describe a situation where a package has been shipped and a tracking number has been generated, but the carrier has not yet confirmed receipt of the package.
  • MOD — Forum Moderator — A person responsible for managing and moderating online forums or communities.
  • MOM — Month Over Month — A term used to describe changes in performance or metrics over a period of one month compared to the previous month.
  • MOQ — Minimum Order Quantity. The minimum amount Amazon must order.
  • MSRP — Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. Sometimes referred to as a “sticker price.” The purpose is to keep prices similar from store to store. But retailers may not price items using MSRP, and customers may end up paying higher or lower prices based on supply and demand.
  • MTD — Month To Date — A term used to describe the period of time from the beginning of the current month up to the present day.
  • MWS — Marketplace Web Services. Marketplace Web Services, an environment for sellers to add applications to their accounts. It is not available for individual seller accounts.

N
  • NAFN — North American Fulfillment Network — Vendors in North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico) may find their products shipped to any of these countries using Amazon’s fulfillment channels.
  • NA Unified Account — North American Unified Account. Standard new seller account when registering on .com, .ca or .com.mx
  • NDA — Non-Disclosure Agreement — A legal contract that establishes a confidential relationship between two or more parties and outlines the terms and conditions for protecting confidential information shared between them.
  • NDD — Next Day Delivery — A shipping option that guarantees delivery of a package or item to the recipient on the next business day after it is shipped.
  • NIS — New Item Setup — The initial creation of a product, from accepting terms and agreements to developing an ASIN and filling out detail page info.
  • NP — New Product (Vendor Central Replenishment Code) — This refers to a newly listed product and is located in Brand Analytics and table of costs.
  • NR – Non-Replenishable (Vendor Central Replenishment Code) — A product that is not available, found in Brand Analytics and the table of costs.
  • NS — Dropship (Vendor Central Replenishment Code) — This means the products are not in the Amazon warehouse and are fulfilled by a third-party supplier, and the code is found in Brand Analytics and the table of costs.
  • NTB — New to Brand — Launched in 2019, Amazon’s advertising metric determines whether an ad-attributed purchase was made by an existing customer or one buying a brand’s product on Amazon for the first time over the prior year. With NTB, advertisers receive campaign performance metrics such as total new-to-brand purchases and sales, new-to-brand purchase rate, and cost per new-to-brand customer.
  • NY — Not Yet Published (Vendor Central Replenishment Code) — A new product that has yet to be released. The code is found in Case.

O
  • OA — Online Arbitrage — Businesses that purchase products at lower prices to resell them online for a greater price to reap profits.
  • OB — Obsolete (Vendor Central Replenishment Code)This refers to a product that will no longer be available and will not be ordered and located in Amazon’s Brand Analytics on Vendor Central.
  • OB — Outbound — When referring to Fulfillment Center scheduling.
  • ODR — Order Defect Rate — A measurement of how well a seller offers products that meet the needs and expectations of customers. The Account Health is affected by the percentage of orders that have received negative feedback, an A-to-Z Guarantee claim, or a service credit card chargeback. The Order Defect Rate allows Amazon to measure overall performance with a single metric. An important part of Account Health is keeping the Order Defect Rate under 1%.
  • OF — Off-Season (Vendor Central Replenishment Code)Seasonal articles or products sold out of season, located in the Brand Analytics and table of costs.
  • OLR — Organization and Leadership Review — A process used by Amazon to evaluate the performance and potential of its employees and identify opportunities for career growth and development. This review process is done at Amazon during Q1 and Q3.
  • OM — Operations Manager — A position within Amazon that is responsible for overseeing and managing day-to-day operations in a Fulfillment Center or department of the company.
  • OOS — Out Of Stock — A term used to describe a situation where a product or item is no longer available for purchase or is temporarily unavailable.
  • OP — Order Picker — A position within Amazon’s fulfillment centers that involves selecting and retrieving items from storage bins and shelves to fulfill customer orders.
  • OP — Out Of Print (Vendor Central Replenishment Code)A product that is no longer produced, otherwise known as an EOL product (end-of-line). The code is found in Case.
  • Ops — Operations — Refers to the processes, systems, and activities involved in producing and delivering goods or services.
  • Order Handling Capacity – The set number of orders a seller can process within a specified handling time. Order Handling Capacity applies to sellers using the Merchant Fulfilled Network to ship products.
  • ORDT — On-Road Dynamic Transfer — A process used by Amazon to transfer packages and items between delivery trucks while they are on the road. On-Road Dynamic Transfer is designed to optimize the delivery process by reducing the need for trucks to return to a warehouse or distribution center to pick up additional packages, which can save time and improve delivery efficiency.
  • OTC — Over The Counter — Refers to over-the-counter trading, which is a type of trading that takes place directly between two parties without the supervision of an exchange. In Over The Counter trading, the two parties negotiate the terms of the transaction and agree on a price, which may be based on various factors such as market conditions, supply and demand, and other factors.
  • Other Sellers — A section on an Amazon product detail page that displays offers from third-party sellers who are also selling the same product. The Other Sellers Box allows customers to compare prices, shipping options, and seller ratings for a particular product and choose the best option that meets their needs.

P
  • P&L — Profit and Loss
  • PA — Process Assistant. An Amazon warehouse position that works as a supervisor under the Area Manager.
  • Parent ASIN — An ASIN that serves to group variations on one detail page. Each main ASIN can have multiple variants, such as color, size, flavor, scent, etc. The variants are referred to as child ASINs.
  • Parent Product — See Variations.
  • PCOGS — Product Cost of Goods Sold. The formula is shipped units * cost price.
  • PDA — Product Display Ads. A type of display advertising where a product’s ad appears throughout Amazon on category and product pages.
  • PDP — Product Detail Page. Also known as the Detail Page, it is a page on Amazon that contains all the information about a product that a customer sees. This includes product images, product details, descriptions, price, sellers, and shipping options. See also listing.
  • PED — Prime Exclusive Discount. A deal type available only to FBA sellers on Amazon for Prime-eligible items. Prime Exclusive Discounts can be an amount or percentage off, a limited-time deal.
  • Pending Order — An order in which a product has been purchased but for which the customer’s payment has not yet been confirmed. Amazon will confirm payments, and while an order is still pending, it shouldn’t be shipped.
  • Permanently Unavailable (Vendor Central Replenishment Code). A product that cannot be offered anymore and is not ordered by Amazon. This term is found in the VC catalog.
  • PMV — Process Map Visuals
  • PNOV — Preliminary Notice of Violation
  • PO — Purchase Order
  • POA — Plan of Appeal / Plan of Action
  • POC — Point of Contact — Typically an individual or team responsible for managing communications and interactions between two or more parties, such as between a company and a customer, a vendor, or a partner.
  • POD — Proof of Delivery. When Amazon has not received an item a vendor has sent and needs proof that the item was delivered by the carrier.
  • Policy Compliance — See Product Policy Compliance.
  • POPS — Proactive Outbound Problem Solve
  • PPC — Pay Per Click. A term often used for Amazon Advertising, in which advertisers pay a fee each time an ad is clicked.
  • PPE — Personal Protective Equipment. Often required for working in certain positions at an Amazon FC.
  • PPM — Pure Product Margin. The formula for calculating this is: (Revenue — PCOGS) / Revenue
  • PPQA — Process Path Quality Assurance
  • PPV — Product Price Variance. When a vendor raises an invoice and the item price on the invoice differs from what Amazon has in the system.
  • PQV — Product Quantity Variance. When a vendor sends inventory to Amazon and the amount they shipped differs from the amount Amazon received.
  • PR — Planned Replenishment (Vendor Central Replenishment Code). This is a standard code that indicates a product will be reordered automatically. The code can be found in Brand Analytics reporting on Vendor Central.
  • Pre-Fulfillment Cancellation RateSee Cancellation Rate.
  • Pricing Health — A feature allowing sellers to address pricing errors and to see how well their listed prices are driving sales. Pricing Health also allows sellers to see how eligible they are to become the Featured Offer.
  • Prime — Amazon Prime. A paid subscription service for free, fast delivery on millions of items. Amazon Prime includes a range of services and streaming entertainment options such as Prime Video, Prime Music, Prime Pantry, Twitch, and more.
  • Private Label — Products legally owned by a retailer or supplier and sold under their own brand name, but made by other manufacturers.
  • PRL — Prepaid Return Label
  • Product Policy Compliance — A measure of how well a seller is meeting Amazon’s product policy. Respecting intellectual property, selling authentic items, and accurately reporting a product’s condition are all part of Product Policy Compliance. Maintaining Product Policy Compliance is an important part of good Account Health.
  • Professional Seller — A selling account on Amazon where a business pays a monthly fee (but no per-item fee). Allows access to a range of tools, discounts, and reports that are not available as an individual seller. See also Professional Selling Plan.
  • Professional Selling Plan – One of two selling plans Amazon offers to enable sellers to access Seller Central. The Professional Selling Plan offers the most Seller Central features and tools and is the most appropriate plan for many new sellers.
  • Product Review — Reviews of the product, not the seller.
  • Project Zero — An Amazon program for Brand Registry businesses to weed out counterfeits and IP infringement through self-service reporting, serialization, and more.

Q
  • Q1 — First Quarter. January-March of any given year.
  • Q2 — Second Quarter. April-June of any given year.
  • Q3 — Third Quarter. July-Sept of any given year.
  • Q4 — Fourth Quarter. October-December of any given year, also notable for containing Black Friday and the holiday shopping season.
  • QA — Quality Assurance
  • QBR — Quarterly Business Review

R
  • RA — Retail Arbitrage. Businesses that purchase products at lower prices to resell them for a greater price to reap profits.
  • Remote Fulfillment with FBA — A feature allowing sellers who have FBA inventory in the United States to sell that inventory to customers in Canada and Mexico. See also Fulfillment by Amazon.
  • Restock Limit — The limit of items that a seller can have in FBA stock at any given time across all ASINs for sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon. The Restock Limit is determined by storage type, as well as past and forecasted sales.
  • RFS — Refund at First Scan
  • RIPV — Received Intellectual Property Violation
  • RoAS — Return On Ad Spend. Used to determine the effectiveness of an ad campaign. Should tell you how many dollars you will receive for every dollar you spend on advertising.
  • ROI — Return on Investment. Performance metric to determine the success of an investment relative to the costs.
  • RRP — Recommended Retail Price
  • RSP — Robotics Service Platform. In the context of working at the Fulfillment Centers.
  • RSR — Reserve Stow Racks

S
  • Safe T Claim or Safe-T — Seller Assurance for ECommerce Transactions claim. This feature allows sellers to ask for reimbursement from Amazon for a refund offered to a customer for sellerfulfilled products under certain conditions.
  • Sales Rank — Amazon’s internal ranking of products in search and browsing.
  • SAS — Strategic Account Services Core — Strategic Account Services Core is a program offered by Amazon to its sellers that provides access to a designated account manager who can help optimize their business on Amazon, such as by improving product visibility, increasing sales, and developing growth strategies. To participate in Strategic Account Services Core, sellers need to meet certain eligibility requirements and can contact Amazon to learn more.
  • SB or SBA — Sponsored Brands ads. Keyword-targeted ads that promote a brand with the logo, creative, and a collection of products. Sponsored Brands ads drive awareness and discovery of your brand and product portfolio with customizable ads that appear in Amazon shopping results.
  • SBC — Simple Bin Count
  • SC – Seller Central. Amazon Seller Central is the web interface used by brands and merchants to market and sell their products directly to Amazon’s customers. If you have a Seller Central account, you’re considered a marketplace or third-party seller.
  • SD or SDA – Sponsored Display ads. Keyword-targeted display ads that promote products. Sponsored Display ads create self-service display campaigns to reach relevant shoppers on and off Amazon.
  • SDD – Same-Day Delivery
  • Seller — Company or individual that sells goods through Amazon.
  • Seller Account Information — An area of Amazon Seller Central dedicated to viewing or updating: payment, business, shipping and return, and tax information; registered Amazon services; and product listing status. 
  • Seller Feedback — Reviews of the seller of the product, not the product itself.
  • Seller Forums — An online community (borderline social network) created by Amazon for sellers. Sellers can ask questions, share experiences and in some cases insult and/or give bad advice to other sellers. Seller Forums are restricted to sellers, though the moderators are Amazon’s employees who can edit posts and answer questions. All forum moderators indicate their name at the beginning of their post and their avatar is black with an “a”. Participants of the forums are expected to follow the posting guidelines.
  • SellerFulfilled Product — A product for which the seller stores the inventory and ships directly to customers through their Merchant-Fulfilled Network. See also Fulfillment by Merchant.
  • Seller PerformanceA measure of how well a seller is meeting customer needs and expectations. Seller Performance is a combination of Customer Service Performance, Policy Compliance, and Shipping Performance. Good Seller Performance means good Account Health.
  • Seller University — Amazon’s collection of videos and documents explaining how to sell on Amazon. Seller University is the official source of information sanctioned by Amazon. It is free, it offers videos, PDFs, and articles.
  • Selling Application — A request for approval to sell a product in the Amazon store. Some projects must be approved before the sale.
  • SEO — Search Engine Optimization. A process to increase traffic and visibility to a website, brand, or product through a search engine on the web. Refers only to “organic,” unpaid, or free results, as opposed to paid placement, such as ads.
  • Sessions — One session is a group of interactions/page views/loads that one user takes on a website within a certain time frame. A useful metric when it comes to shopping or customer habits on Amazon.
  • SeSu or SS — Seller Support
  • Settlement Period — The standard twoweek period after which total income from purchases is deposited into a seller’s account. The exact dates of each period can change if a seller requests payment early.
  • SFP — Seller Fulfilled Prime. Sellers that stick to the Amazon Prime SLA, but ship from their own warehouses and control their own fulfillment. Learn more about Seller Fulfilled Prime requirements.
  • Shipping Performance A measure of how well a seller is meeting customer expectations for prompt shipment and delivery. Shipping performance is a metric used in the measurement of Account HealthLearn more here with the Account Health FAQ.
  • SIOC — Ships in Own Container
  • SIPV — Suspected Intellectual Property Violation
  • SKU — Stock Keeping Unit. A unique code to identify a product. Amazon uses an SKU to identify a product sold by a specific seller. In other words, a SKU is a specific product offered by a specific seller. Amazon lists ASINs, but a seller’s inventory typically uses SKU numbers.
  • SLA — Service Level Agreement
  • SLAM — Shipping Label Auto Manifest
  • SnS — Subscribe and Save. Amazon’s service allows customers to routinely auto-order delivery on certain products at a discounted price. Bundling more of these products increases the discount level. Enrollment for Subscribe and Save is now automatic for Sellers.
  • SnL or S&L — Small and Light. An Amazon fulfillment program for smaller items that, when qualified, results in reduced shipping costs.
  • SP or SPA — Sponsored Products ads. Keyword-targeted ads that promote an individual product, and are on a cost-per-click basis. Sponsored Product ads help customers find your products by quickly creating ads that appear in related shopping results and product pages.
  • SPN — Service Provider Network. The Amazon Service Provider Network is a network of over 300 professional service providers who are trained and certified by Amazon. Learn more about the Amazon Service Provider Network.
  • SPOO/SP00 — Shipping Package #
  • SRC — Simple Record Count
  • SRP — Suggested Retail Price
  • SS or SeSu — Seller Support
  • SSA — Shipping Settings Automation – A tool for sellers using merchantfulfilled shipping. It automatically sets the default handling time for products based on warehouse location, distance to customers, and carrier performance information.
  • STA — Send to Amazon — The process of sending FBA inventory to fulfillment centers. See also Fulfillment by Amazon.
  • Storage Volume Limit The total amount of physical space that products can take up in Amazon’s fulfillment centers at any given time. This applies to sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon.
  • Store Replaced by Brand Store. It’s a website within Amazon curated for your brand. See Brand Store.
  • Storefront — Replaced by Brand Store. It’s a website within Amazon curated for your brand. See Brand Store.
  • Suspension — Seller loses the right to sell but can appeal. If the appeal is denied the seller can still submit a revised Plan of Action. If the seller is banned Amazon is no longer reading the emails and appeals.

T
  • TBA — Transport by Amazon
  • Temporarily Unavailable — (Vendor Central Replenishment Code). A product that is not ordered by Amazon, this term is located in the VC (Vendor Central) catalog.
  • Third-Party Seller — A business or individual that sells a product or products using Seller Central. Sellers sell products directly to consumers on Amazon under their own business name, taking on the role of retailers. Compare the benefits and differences between Amazon Vendors (1P) and Amazon Sellers (3P).
  • Third-Party Logistics — Refers to the outsourcing of e-commerce logistics processes to a third-party business, including inventory management, warehousing, and fulfillment. 3PL providers allow e-commerce merchants to accomplish more, with the tools and infrastructure to automate retail order fulfillment.
  • TOS — Terms of Service
  • TOT — Time Off Task. A fulfillment center term is used to determine task completion duration.
  • Trademark — A symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product.
  • Trademark infringement — Unauthorized use of a trademark. A common and grave problem in Amazon.
  • Transparency — Proactively prevent counterfeit products on Amazon. Transparency is a product serialization service that helps identify individual units and proactively prevent counterfeits from reaching customers.
  • TTT — Tote Transition Time
  • Twister — Amazon’s detail page function for merging ASINs of various colors and sizes onto one page. This is more customer-friendly than having each seller or item with a specific size or color on its own detail page.

U
  • UI — User Interface
  • UN — Unknown (Vendor Central Replenishment Code). This is a code that indicates the status of the product is unknown. It is located in Amazon’s Brand Analytics and table of costs.
  • Unshipped Order – A purchased order with a confirmed payment that has not yet been shipped to the customer.
  • Unverified Review — A product review from someone who may or may not have actually purchased the item.
  • UPH — Units Per Hour
  • UPC — Universal Product Code. A 12-digit number is displayed with the barcode on the vast majority of retail products. UPC is the standard code for identifying commercial
    products, often identified with barcodes.
  • UR — Universal Receive
  • URP — Universal Receive Prep
  • URS — Universal Receive Sort
  • UTA — Unable to Access
  • Utilization Quantity The total number of units that sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon have in all fulfillment centers. Specifically refers to units being prepared for shipping, in the process of being shipped, and being received. Counts toward your Restock Limit.
  • UTL — Unable to Locate
  • UX — User Experience

V
  • Variation — Many products have one main item with options for size, color, flavor, pack sizes, and more. Often the main product is a parent ASIN with the variants being child ASINs.
  • Variation Wizard – A tool that allows sellers to create variations of a product ASIN, such as different colors or sizes.
  • VAT — Value Added Tax. For products sold in the European Economic Area such as the UK and EU.
  • VC — Vendor Catalog
  • Verified Review — A review obtained from a genuine purchaser of the product in question.
  • Vendor — Vendors, using Vendor Central, sell products to Amazon’s retail side to be sold by Amazon to end consumers, taking on the role of wholesalers. Learn the between Amazon Vendors and Amazon Sellers.
  • Vendor Central — Using Vendor Central Amazon sends you a purchase order (PO) and you fulfill the PO and ship the product back to Amazon. A vendor relationship means Amazon acts as the retailer, and you operate as a wholesale supplier to Amazon. To sell in Vendor Central, you need to be invited by Amazon directly.
  • Vendor Central Replenishment Codes — Codes assigned by Amazon allow the systems on Vendor Central to identify terminology related to inventory and availability. Learn more about Understanding Amazon Vendor Central Replenishment Codes.
  • Vine — See Amazon Vine.
  • VIR — Volume Incentive Rebate. Higher volume sales result in a greater discount, making this a beneficial scenario for both the seller and the supplier.
  • VIS — Video In Search. Offers advertisers a content-rich medium in which to make a direct connection with Amazon customers through videos in mobile search results.
  • VNHO — Virtual New Hire Orientation
  • VTR Valid Tracking Rate The percentage of products shipped through Merchant Fulfilled Network that had a valid tracking number when shipped to customers. Maintaining good Shipping Performance includes keeping this rate above 95%.
  • VOC — Voice of the Customer
  • Voucher — A promotional deal on Amazon where a vendor or seller offers an amount or percentage off for a limited time.

W
  • Warehouse Deals — Sold by Amazon Warehouse, a business of Amazon that sells quality “used” (usually just items with damaged packaging or returned) products and rents out used textbooks. All items are inspected and graded using Amazon’s rigorous 20-point quality inspection process and sold at a discount. Purchases are Prime-eligible and backed by Amazon’s 30-day return policy and customer service.
  • WHS — Warehouse Health and Safety. Alternatively, may just be shorthand for “warehouse”.
  • WOW — Week Over Week

Y
  • YOY — Year Over Year. A method of evaluating two or more measured events from one year to the previous year.
  • YTD — Year To Date. Refers to the period of time beginning the first day of the current calendar year through the current date.

If you have any terms that we missed, please let us know in the comments as we will try to keep this list updated.

4 Comments

  • Frank says:

    What does “Holph” mean?

    • Greg Yevich says:

      Hello Frank,
      That’s a term I have never heard. I’m curious about where you found that term. I did some research and the only thing I could find is a seller on Amazon called “Holph” but that’s about it.

      Greg

  • Madonna Parker says:

    What does ICQA stand for at Amazon?

    • Greg Yevich says:

      Hello Madonna,

      ICQA stands for Inventory Control and Quality Assurance. This department ensures that inventory accuracy and quality standards are met within Amazon’s fulfillment centers. The goal of the Inventory Control and Quality Assurance team is to maintain the integrity of Amazon’s inventory and ensure that customers receive the right products in the right condition and on time. I hope this answers your question.

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