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Glossary

The words you'll see on screen and in this manual, in plain English. Terms link to the page that explains them fully.

Accounting period​

A month (or other span) the warehouse closes so that the stock activity in it is locked and can be reported to supply partners. See Accounting periods.

Activity report​

The Supply-Partner Activity Report. On screen it shows everything received, shipped and adjusted for one supply partner over a date range; the PDF lists the shipped orders, formatted for ISO 9001 records. Run it from the supply partner's page or the portal. See The activity report.

Adjustment​

A change to a stock quantity that isn't a receiving or a shipment — a count correction, damage, a found item. Every adjustment records a reason and shows in Adjustments review.

Alias​

Another spelling of the same thing. An item alias is a part number written differently (with or without dashes, an old supplier number); a customer alias is another name or code the same customer is known by. Searching by any alias finds the record. See How items are identified.

API key​

A credential an administrator issues so another system (an integration or script) can use ConsignTrak on behalf of a user. See API keys.

API key scope​

The permissions ticked on an API key. A key can only do what its scopes allow and what the key's user's role allows. See API keys.

Audit chain​

A tamper-evident record of every change ConsignTrak has made. Each supply partner's page shows an anchor that proves the history hasn't been altered. See The audit trail.

Backorder control​

An item setting that is recorded but not yet acted on: nothing in ConsignTrak changes how an order behaves when it's on. See Creating and editing an item.

Bin​

See Location.

Consignment​

Stock the warehouse holds and ships but doesn't own. The supply partner owns it; the warehouse is their agent. See How consignment flows.

Customer​

The company an order ships to (a distributor, OEM or end user). Customers can have several drop-ship locations and contacts.

Cycle count​

A small daily count of a few items, instead of a once-a-year full inventory. Variances are reviewed and approved as adjustments. See Cycle counts.

Direct ship​

An order (or a line of one) the supply partner ships from their own stock instead of the warehouse. ConsignTrak tracks it so the order is complete, but no warehouse stock moves. See Orders.

Disposition​

What happens to a held or excepted item next. Pick exceptions have dispositions the office chooses in the triage queue; quarantined stock has no disposition step yet (#1518).

Drop-ship location​

An alternate delivery address saved on a customer.

End-of-day (EOD) shipment report​

The list of everything shipped today, run by the office at close of business.

Exception​

See Pick exception.

Legacy account code​

The customer code carried over from the previous system: the first four letters of the company name, the first three of the street, and the ZIP code. Still searchable as an alias.

Location​

A named place in the warehouse where stock sits — a bin, a shelf, a rack, a staging area. Also called a bin. See Locations & bins.

Manufacturer code​

The short identifier a supply partner has carried since the previous system (for example "5"). It appears on releases and reports. This is a field name, not a role — the role is Supply Partner.

Mispick​

A pick exception: the wrong item or quantity was picked. See Pick exceptions.

Movement​

Every change to a stock quantity — received, shipped, adjusted, relocated, quarantined — is recorded as a movement with who, when and why. Movements are what the audit trail is made of.

Order​

A request to ship items to a customer, usually sent by the supply partner by email. The office enters it; the warehouse picks, packs and ships it. See Orders.

Order block​

A hold on an order while a pick exception is open. The order can't be packed or shipped until the office resolves the exception. See Pick exceptions.

Original release number​

A number that increments across all supply partners and uniquely identifies an order. See Release numbers.

Pack verification​

The packer's per-line check that what's in the box matches the release, tapped on the phone as they pack.

Parcel / box​

One physical package in a shipment. A shipment can have several, each with its own tracking number.

Part number​

The supply partner's identifier for an item. Not a fixed SKU: the same part number written with or without dashes or spaces still matches. See How items are identified.

Pending tracking​

The office queue of shipped orders that still need a tracking number. See Pending tracking.

Persona​

Which set of screens a phone user sees (Warehouse, Office, Administrator). Set by the user's role.

Pick batch​

The pick work for one released order. It is created when a picker taps Start picking and holds that order's warehouse lines; the queue runs Rush, then High, then Normal, oldest first. See Picking.

Pick exception​

A problem a picker reports from the floor: a short pick (not enough stock), a mispick (wrong item) or a quality problem. The office resolves it in the triage queue. See Pick exceptions.

Picker undid​

A row in the triage queue recording that a picker reversed a short pick they had reported. Nothing is left to resolve.

Post to inventory​

The receiving step that turns counted, inspected goods into available stock. Until posting, received items aren't sellable.

QC (quality check)​

Inspecting received goods before they're posted. A fail sends the line to quarantine.

Quarantine​

A hold for goods that failed inspection at receiving. Held stock isn't available to orders. There is no release-or-scrap step yet — a held line stays until its receiving batch is voided (see Quarantine).

Receiving​

The process of taking in a stock transfer from a supply partner: create the batch, count the lines, inspect, post. See Receiving.

Reconciliation flag​

A mark on a shipment whose carrier data never matched a box ConsignTrak knows about. See Automatic carrier updates.

Release​

To send an entered order to the warehouse for picking. Releasing assigns the release number and produces the printed release. See Orders.

Release number​

The number an order gets when released, counting up separately for each supply partner. Distinct from the original release number. See Release numbers.

Retired (location)​

A bin that's been taken out of use. It keeps its history and can be reactivated. See Locations.

Role​

What a user is allowed to see and do: Administrator, Office, Warehouse or Supply Partner. See Who sees what.

Serial tracking​

An item setting that is recorded but not yet acted on: ConsignTrak doesn't collect serial numbers at receiving or shipping today. See Creating and editing an item.

Short pick​

A pick exception: less stock on the shelf than the order needs.

Split fulfillment​

An order where some lines ship from the warehouse and some direct from the supply partner.

Staging area​

A location of the staging type where a picked batch waits for packing. The release and the packer's screen both show which area. See Staging areas.

Statement​

A per-period summary a supply partner receives showing their stock activity, on the cadence set on their record. See the portal's Statements.

Statement cadence​

How often a supply partner receives a statement — monthly or quarterly — set on the partner's record. See Supply Partners.

Supply Partner​

The company that owns the consigned stock — the manufacturer whose goods the warehouse holds and ships. Nearly everything in ConsignTrak is grouped by supply partner. See Supply Partners.

Tracking number​

The carrier's identifier for a parcel. Scanned with the phone camera at shipping, or added later from the pending-tracking queue.

Unit of measure (UOM)​

How an item is counted — each, box, carton, linear foot. See Units of measure.

Variance​

The difference between what a cycle count found and what ConsignTrak expected. Approving it records an adjustment. See Reading variance.

Will-call​

An order the customer picks up at the warehouse instead of having it shipped. The pickup is recorded with a proof-of-pickup photo.