Warehouse & 3PL glossary
Short, plain-English definitions of the words you’ll hear when you look for warehouse space or a 3PL. Updated 2026-10-25.
- 3PL (third-party logistics)
- A company that runs warehousing and shipping for other businesses: receiving, storage, order fulfillment and often transport. Learn more
- ASN (advance ship notice)
- A notice sent to the warehouse before a delivery, listing what is coming so it can be received faster and checked.
- Bonded warehouse
- A U.S. Customs–approved warehouse where imported goods can be stored before duty is paid. Learn more
- Clear height
- The usable height inside a warehouse, measured to the lowest overhead obstruction. It sets how high pallets can be racked. Learn more
- Cold chain
- Keeping temperature-sensitive goods within a set temperature range from production to delivery. Learn more
- Cross-docking
- Moving freight from inbound to outbound trucks with little or no storage time. Learn more
- Cycle count
- Counting part of the inventory on a rolling schedule instead of shutting down for a full count.
- Distribution center (DC)
- A warehouse built to receive goods in bulk and ship them quickly to stores or customers. Learn more
- Dock door / dock-high
- A loading door at truck-bed height, so forklifts can drive straight into the trailer.
- Drayage
- Short-distance trucking of containers, usually between a port or rail ramp and a warehouse.
- FBA prep
- Preparing products to Amazon’s requirements (labels, bagging, bundling) before sending them to Amazon fulfillment centers.
- FIFO / FEFO
- First-in, first-out / first-expired, first-out: rules for which stock ships first. FEFO matters for food and medicine.
- Floor-loaded
- Cartons stacked directly on the container or trailer floor, not on pallets. Unloading takes longer and usually costs more.
- Foreign-trade zone (FTZ)
- A secure area treated as outside U.S. Customs territory for duty purposes, where goods can be stored or processed. Learn more
- Kitting
- Assembling several items into one ready-to-ship kit or bundle.
- LTL (less than truckload)
- Shipping a few pallets on a truck shared with other shippers. Learn more
- NNN (triple net)
- A lease where the tenant pays taxes, insurance and maintenance on top of base rent. Learn more
- Pallet position
- One space for one pallet in racking or on the floor — the usual unit for public warehouse storage pricing. Learn more
- Pick and pack
- Picking the items for an order and packing them for shipment; usually billed per order plus per extra item. Learn more
- Public warehousing
- Shared warehouse space rented by the pallet or month, with handling fees, and no long lease. Learn more
- Putaway
- Moving received goods to their storage location in the warehouse.
- Reefer
- A refrigerated trailer or container.
- SKU
- Stock keeping unit: one distinct product (for example one size and color).
- Transloading
- Moving cargo from one mode to another, e.g. from an ocean container into a 53 ft domestic trailer. Learn more
- Warehouse receipt
- A document from a warehouse confirming the goods it holds and the storage terms; important if goods are lost or damaged.
- WMS (warehouse management system)
- Software that tracks inventory locations, receiving, picking and shipping in a warehouse.