Hi. So I tried to put this post under site feedback but it has been disabled for me to use. So here it is…
I did not know what FBM meant for the first 5 years I sold on Amazon. I now admit I do not know a few other acronyms (such as NSFE) that I see a lot on this platform. Could you please compile and post a list of commonly used acronyms with translations for new users on this site? Or if you already have it, please tell me how to find it. Thank you vm (very much). Sue
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NSFE is the New Seller Forum Experience. This is the current Amazon forum, as opposed to the OSFE or Old Seller Forum Experience.
If you have any other specific examples we would be happy to clarify.
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There once existed a quite extensive live in the forums. Sadly it’s gone. I thought I had a list but I can’t find it
Here was a small part …
AA - Support group for long term Amazon sellers
BMVD – Books, Media, Video, DVD’s
BR – Brand Registry
BSA – Business Services Agreement
FBA – Fulfilled by Amazon
FBM – Fulfilled by Merchant. (Also known as MFN (Merchant Fulfilled Network)…) MFN is the Amazon used term.
MF – Merchant Fulfilled or Same as MFN
SI Account – A selling account on Amazon where the seller pays no monthly fee. An additional fee of .99¢ is charged on each order.
SP Account - Selling Professionally. A monthly fee of $39.99 USD
IPQ – Item Package Quantity
KDP – Kindle Direct Publishing
LTSF – Long-Term Storage Fee
PDP – Product Detail Page
PL – Private Label
PoA – Plan of Appeal
RIPV – Received Intellectual Property Violation
SIPV – Suspected Intellectual Property Violation
(SnL – Small and Light – An Amazon fulfillment program…)
VA – Virtual Assistant
NA Unified Account – North American Unified Account. Standard new seller account when registering on .com, .ca, .com.mx or com.br (Now is America Unified since Brazil was added)
Other Sellers – Secondary Buy Box area with 3 merchant offers
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@Chimanimani might still have their contributions
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SS - Seller Support
TBA - Transportation By Amazon
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IPI - Inventory Performance Index
SFP - Seller Fulfilled Prime
Amazon Automation - A Terrible Idea
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I found theirs.
A2Z - A to Z Guarantee
ASIN - Amazon Stock ID Number
ASU - Amazon Seller University (with condolences to Arizona State)
AWD - Amazon Warehouse Deals
AWS - Amazon Web Services
BB - Buy Box
BSA - (Amazon’s) Business Solutions Agreement
BSR - Best Seller Rank
Dog Page - Product Page showing a lovable Bowser, when the page does not exist (AKA 404 error)
FB - Feedback
FBA - Fulfilled by Amazon
FBM - Fulfilled by Merchant (Same as MFN)
FC - Fulfillment Center - Amazon Warehouse - Each with its own Location Code ( e.g. ONT1 = Ontario, CA #1)
FNSKU - Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit
INR - Item Not Received
IPI - Inventory Performance Index
MFN - Merchant Fullfilled Network (Same as FBM)
MFT - Marketplace Facilitator Tax
ODR - Order Defect Rate
PDP - Product Display (Detail) Page
POA - Plan of Action
S&L - Small and Light (SL) - FBA but with other Fees/Terms
Safe-T - Safe T Claim
SFP - Seller Fulfilled Prime
TBA - Transport by Amazon
VOC - Voice of the Customer
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Yes, there were actually several of them, and I remember collaborating with you on a tutorial thread you created some years back; Jes (aka CJ Tomes) posted one 18Nov21 that was pretty good, but it’s gone now, too - but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that our friend @Chimanimani still has a copy of the one he crafted shortly after that.
@Tallytony’s, from 21Apr21, is still active, however, here:
Another of the most-comprehensive lists of acronyms I ever saw in the OSFE was originally posted by a consultancy, OperationROI, on 30Nov21 - but it was posted in such a way that it was self-promoting; when @papy pointed that out, the user deleted the original post(s), then crafted a new set that didn’t run afoul of the Forum Guidelines, and garnered a good deal of likes in the latter form.
I saved that (I have Jes’ as well, but not Chimanimani’s in explicably), but it takes to posts due to the Discourse character-count limitation:
OperationROI
3h
Glossary of Amazon Abbreviations, Acronyms, Terms, and More for Sellers and Vendors (A - I)
************************************* # *************************************
1P – First-Party seller. A 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.
3P – 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.
3PL – 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
AGS – Amazon Global Selling
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 Fulfillment Center position.
AMS – Amazon Marketing Services. This is now known as Amazon Advertising.
AMG – Amazon Media Group.
AMZ – Amazon. More specifically, Amazon’s stock abbreviation.
AMZL – Amazon Logistics abbreviation.
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
APvU – Add Products via Upload.
AR – Amazon Robotics
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.
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
ARSAW – Amazon Robotics Semi-Automatic Workstation
ASBSA – Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement
ASC – Associate Safety Committee. For Fulfillment Center employees.
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 net sales/number of products sold.
Associates Program – This term refers to the Amazon referral program and is now called Amazon Affiliates.
ASU – Amazon Seller University
AWD – Amazon Warehouse Deals
AWS – Amazon Web Services
************************************* 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.
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.
BB – Buy Box. An abbreviation of the Amazon Buy Box, 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 cart. Buy Boxes are won through complex algorithms related to stock, ratings, customer service rankings, etc.
Best Deal – A time-bound promotional offer type for vendors on Amazon.
BISS – Business Industrial & Scientific Supplies. A specific selling category on Amazon.
Blue Badge – An Amazon full-time employee (as opposed to a temporary or contract worker.)
BMVD – Books, Media, Video, DVD’s
BOD – Boxes on Demand
BOGO – Buy One Get One. A type of promotion for sellers.
BR – Basic Replenishment (Vendor Central Replenishment Code). This means the product will only be reordered manually, found in Amazon’s Brand Analytics and table of costs.
BR – Brand Registry – 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.
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 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.
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 – Abbreviation for the Canadian marketplace.
CAGR – Compound Annual Growth Rate
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
CCU – Counterfeit Crimes Unit. Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit works with brands, law enforcement, and customers across the globe to stop bad actors and to hold them accountable.
CD – Continuous Deployment
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
CMBR – Change Management Bar Raiser
COGs – Cost of Goods Sold. The value of goods sold during a certain period of time.
Contra COGs – COGs including all backends, such as Vine, ARAP, etc.
Concessions – Amounts Amazon has refunded to customers related to your products or orders.
Coupon/Voucher – A promotional deal on Amazon where a vendor or seller offers an amount or percentage off for a limited time.
COW – Consumer Order Workflow
CP – Contribution Profit
CPC – Cost Per Click. This relates to sponsored ads and the amount Amazon charges the seller or vendors when a customer clicks on their ad. The calculation is total ad cost/clicks.
CPH – Cost Per Head
CPT – Critical Pull Time. The time in which an order is in danger of not shipping in time for customer delivery cut-offs.
CPS – Costs Per Shipment
CPU – Contacts Per Unit
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.
CTI – Category Type Item
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.
CS – Customer Service
CWGR – Compound Weekly Growth Rate
CX – Customer Experience
************************************* 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 relation to Amazon Fulfillment Centers.
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.
DNR – Delivered Not Received. In relation to warehouse delivery queue.
DMG – Damaged abbreviation.
Dog Page – Product Page showing a lovable dog, when the page does not exist (AKA 404 error).
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.
DP – Detail Page. A product page for an ASIN on Amazon. This displays important info such as price, title, bullets, description, customer reviews, etc.
DPMO – Defects Per Million Opportunities
DPV – Detail Page Views. A metric showing the number of impressions of a single detail page.
DPVR – Detail Page View Rate
DSP – Demand Side Platform. Amazon DSP is a demand-side platform that allows you to programmatically buy ads to reach new and existing audiences on and off Amazon.
DSP – Delivery Service Provider. For warehouse deliveries.
************************************* 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
EDD – Estimated Delivery Date
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 local 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
Existing Customers – Audiences who have purchased or re-purchased your brand or items on Amazon.
EXSD – Expected Ship Date
************************************* F *************************************
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 – Fulfilled by Merchant. Also known as MF (Merchant Fulfilled), this refers to shipping products directly to the end customer yourself, as opposed to Amazon doing it.
FC – Fulfillment Center. An Amazon warehouse.
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.
FNSKU – Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit. An Amazon product identifier for products that are fulfilled by Amazon.
FOL – Friends of Library
FPY – First Pass Yield
FTL – Full Truck Load
************************************* G *************************************
Gated Category – Businesses will need prior approval to sell in this category on Amazon. Access is limited.
Glance Views – Similar to Detailed Page Views. The number of times a detail page has been viewed.
GLN – Global Location Number. Unique identification code of a physical location.
Global SKU – A SKU that is part of a shared inventory pool and is available to be sold and shipped in multiple marketplaces.
GL String – Amazon’s codification system for allocating costs to the correct P&L.
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 the barcode. Amazon uses GS1’s database to check UPCs.
GTIN – Global Trade Item Number. Globally unique 14-digit number to identify items, products, and services.
************************************* H *************************************
Hazmat – Hazardous materials. These items may be flammable, dangerous, corrosive, pressurized, etc. They require special precautions and regulations when transporting or storing.
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.
************************************* I *************************************
IAT – Inbound Andon Tracker
IB – Inbound
ICQA – Inventory Control Quality Assurance
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.
INR – Item Not Received
IP – Intellectual Property
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
IPQ – Item Package Quantity
IRDR – Inventory Record Defect Ratio
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.
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Some I left out … that are coming to mind
FB - Feedback
FC - Fulfillment Center
GS1 - Global Standards 1, non-profit that develops global standards for business including the barcode.
GTIN - Global Trade Item Number, a globally unique 14 digits number to identify trade items. The primary ones
a) UPC: Universal Product Code
b) ISBN: International Standard Book Number
c) EAN: European Article Number
d) JAN: Japanese Article Number
LTL - Less than Truck Load.
MAP - Minimum Advertised Price
PPC - Pay per Click
ROI - Return on Investment
ETA - Well I came in between your posts … lol.
4 Likes
OperationROI
3h
Glossary of Amazon Abbreviations, Acronyms, Terms, and More for Sellers and Vendors (K - Z)
************************************* 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
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.
LTL – Less Than Truckload. Shipment measure for ground transport that means more than 30 cartons in a combined load with other merchants.
Listing Optimization – The process of improving an Amazon detail page and product information, including titles, bullet points, features, descriptions, and images.
LOA – Letter of Authorization
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.
LTSF – Long-Term Storage Fee. Amazon’s chargeback for inventory that has been stored in a fulfillment center for more than 365 days.
************************************* M *************************************
Marketplace – What locale or domain you are selling in. Refers to a country (US, CA, UK, DE, etc.) or overall third-party merchants.
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.
MCF – Multi-Channel Fulfillment. For sellers who sell on Amazon and other marketplaces. Some inventory is fulfilled by Amazon and other inventory by other sales channels or the merchant themselves.
MF – Merchant Fulfilled. Refers to shipping products directly to the end customer yourself, as opposed to Amazon doing it.
MFN – Merchant Fulfilled Network (Same as Fulfilled by Merchant or FBM)
MFT – Marketplace Facilitator Tax
MNR – Manifested Not Received. In relation to warehouse delivery queue.
MOM – Month Over Month
MOQ – Minimum Order Quantity. The minimum amount Amazon must order.
MTD – Month To Date
MSRP – Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. Sometimes referred to as a “sticker price.” The purpose being to keep prices similar 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.
************************************* 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
NDD – Next Day Delivery
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 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 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 Fulfilment Center scheduling.
ODR – Order Defect Rate. The percentage of orders that have received negative feedback, an A-to-Z Guarantee claim, or a service credit card chargeback. It allows Amazon to measure overall performance with a single metric.
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. This review process is done at Amazon during Q1 and Q3.
OM – Operations Manager. Fulfilment Center position.
OOS – Out Of Stock
OP – Order Picker
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, the abbreviated term
ORDT – On-Road Dynamic Transfer. For warehouse deliveries.
************************************* 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
PED – Prime Exclusive Discount. A deal type available only to FBA sellers on Amazon for Prime-eligible items. Can be an amount or percentage off, a limited-time deal.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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 – Safe T Claim
Sales Rank – Amazon’s internal ranking of products in search and browse.
SB or SBA – Sponsored Brands. 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. 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 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.
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.
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,” or 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.
SFP – Seller Fulfilled Prime. Sellers that stick to the Amazon Prime SLA, but ship from their own warehouses and control their own fulfillment.
SIOC – Ships in Own Container
SIPV – Suspected Intellectual Property Violation
SKU – Stock Keeping Unit. A unique code to identify a product.
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. 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.
SPOO/SP00 – Shipping Package #
SRC – Simple Record Count
SRP – Suggested Retail Price
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 *************************************
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.
TOS – Terms of Service
TOT – Time Off Task. A fulfillment center term 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. 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 *************************************
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.
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.
UR – Universal Receive
URP – Universal Receive Prep
URS – Universal Receive Sort
UTA – Unable to Access
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.
VAT – Value Added Tax. For products sold in 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.
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.
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.
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
VOC – Voice of the Customer
Voucher/Coupon – 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
YTD – Year To Date
ETA:
I see Rob posted Chimanimani’s while I was crafting this.
6 Likes
Um, @Dogtamer were gonna need to make that an FAQ at some point
3 Likes
@suzq48 First off welcome to SAS!
Second, this was a GREAT question!
4 Likes
You all are so responsive, thank you. I will print out these lists until you have a way to click to see it on this site. I felt kinda dumb asking for it but now I feel much better!
5 Likes
I left out likely one of the most important …
DTE - DogTamer’Ese
:to speak in Dogtamer
Used in a sentence: "I went all DTE on his 
"
15 Likes
We all had to figure it out when we started too.
3 Likes
I am convinced that the only dumb question is one that goes unasked - after all, that’s why we’re all here: to help each other out.
7 Likes
Absolutely not a dumb question, and even us vets have to ask each other what some of them mean from time to time
3 Likes
HCbA … Headache Caused by Acronyms
EHCbA … Exploding Head Caused by Acronyms
You may not see them in use a lot but we can attest to the fact that they do exist through real life experiences.
8 Likes
IFYP (I feel your pain)
7 Likes