Apparel Fulfillment Glossary

Blanks: Undecorated garments, such as plain tees or hoodies, that are later printed or embroidered for custom, merch or uniform programs.
Care label: A permanent label sewn into a garment giving care instructions. In the U.S., the FTC Care Labeling Rule requires one on most textile apparel.
Chargeback: A deduction a retailer takes from a supplier's invoice for failing compliance rules, such as late shipments, incorrect labels or missing ASNs.
Colorway: A specific color combination of a style. Similar colorways, such as black and washed black, are a common source of picking errors without scan verification.
Cut and sew: Garments manufactured from fabric to the brand's own patterns, as opposed to decorated blanks. Cut-and-sew brands control fit and sizing directly.
Dimensional weight: A carrier pricing method that charges based on package size when it is large relative to its weight. Right-sized packaging keeps light apparel from being billed as heavy.
Drop: A limited or time-based product release, common in streetwear and fashion, that creates a short, intense spike in orders.
EDI 850: The electronic data interchange document a retailer uses to send a purchase order to a supplier.
EDI 856 (ASN): The advance ship notice a supplier sends to a retailer describing what is in each carton of a shipment before it arrives.
Flat-pack: Storing garments folded in polybags or cartons on shelves. It is the most space-efficient method and works well for knits, basics and casualwear.
Garment on hanger (GOH): Storage and shipping of clothing on hangers instead of folded. It reduces creasing for structured or delicate garments but uses more space.
GS1-128 label: A standardized carton label with a barcode encoding the shipping container code (SSCC). Retailers use it to match cartons with the ASN.
Hangtag: A removable tag attached to a garment showing brand, price, size or barcode. Missing or damaged hangtags are often replaced during returns refurbishment.
Polybag: A plastic bag that protects individual garments in storage and transit. Some marketplaces and retailers set rules for thickness and warning labels.
Prepack: A carton or polybag containing a fixed mix of sizes or colors in a ratio set by a retailer, such as one S, two M, two L and one XL.
Refurbishment: Restoring returned garments to sellable condition by steaming, refolding, rebagging or replacing hangtags.
Retail vendor guide: A retailer's rulebook for suppliers, covering labels, packing, EDI, shipping windows and penalties. Also called a routing or compliance guide.
Returns grading: Sorting returned garments by condition, often into grades such as A for resellable, B for needs refurbishment and C for discount or liquidation.
RN number: A Registered Identification Number issued by the FTC to U.S. businesses that make, import or sell textile, wool or fur products. It can identify the company on labels.
Sell-through rate: The share of received inventory that has sold during a set period. It shows which styles, sizes and colors are moving and which may need markdowns.
Size curve: The expected share of sales for each size in a style. Brands use size curves to set purchase quantities and allocate stock across channels.
Size run: The full range of sizes produced for a style, such as XS through XXL. A full size run is often required in wholesale prepacks.
Size-color matrix: The grid of every size and color a style is offered in. Each cell is a separate SKU with its own barcode, inventory count and sell-through rate.
Ticketing: Attaching retailer-specific price tickets, size stickers or barcode labels to garments before shipping to a store or distribution center.
UPC: A Universal Product Code is a 12-digit barcode that identifies a specific product variant. Retailers and marketplaces generally require GS1-issued UPCs.
Variant: A specific version of a style, such as a medium in navy. Apparel fulfillment tracks inventory, locations and orders at the variant level.

Apparel fulfillment glossary