A plain-language glossary of the apparel operations and apparel ERP terms that come up when a growing brand runs product development, inventory, orders, warehouse execution, production, payments, and reporting in one connected system. Each entry links to a deeper explanation.
Product development and data
Apparel ERP. An ERP built around apparel workflows (size-color variants, seasons, wholesale terms, retailer EDI, multi-channel inventory) rather than a generic ERP configured to approximate them. It runs product, inventory, orders, warehouse, production, and reporting as one connected system. Learn more
Apparel PLM. Product lifecycle management for apparel: tech packs, bills of materials, approvals, sizing, and version history from first sketch to a production-ready style. Learn more
Apparel PIM. Product information management that centralizes style, color, size, attribute, and channel content so every team and sales channel reads the same product record. Learn more
Tech pack. The specification document that communicates a design to a factory: measurements, construction, materials, colorways, and grading. It is the contract between design and production. Learn more
Bill of materials (BOM). The structured list of every material and component in a garment, with quantities and costs. A BOM rollup turns those line items into a unit cost used for pricing and margin. Learn more
Grade rule. The set of incremental measurement changes that scale a base size up and down a size run, so one graded spec produces consistent fit across the range. Learn more
Style master. The single authoritative record for a style, its variants, attributes, images, and channel data, that every downstream process draws from. Learn more
Inventory
Available to sell (ATS) and available to promise (ATP). ATS is stock a channel can sell right now; ATP also accounts for inbound supply that can be committed to future orders. Confusing the two is a common source of oversells. Learn more
Allocation rule. A policy that reserves shared inventory across channels, for example holding a percentage for wholesale prebooks while releasing the rest to DTC, so one channel does not starve another. Learn more
Oversell. Selling the same unit twice because channels read stock from separate views that reconcile on a delay. Without one real-time inventory pool it becomes a structural outcome, not an occasional error. Learn more
Single source of truth. One system that holds the authoritative version of inventory, orders, and product data, so teams stop arguing over which file or tool is correct. Learn more
Cycle count. Counting a subset of inventory on a rolling schedule to keep accuracy high without a full-warehouse shutdown. Learn more
Inventory truth. The degree to which the stock number a system reports matches physical reality across channels and locations. Weak inventory truth is breakpoint 3 in the 6 Breakpoints framework. Learn more
Orders, wholesale, and EDI
Order management system (OMS). The layer that takes orders from wholesale, DTC, and marketplaces into one queue with shared product and inventory context so fulfillment can act on them. Learn more
Electronic data interchange (EDI). A standardized format for exchanging documents with retail trading partners, such as purchase orders, ship notices, and invoices, so orders and confirmations flow without manual re-keying. Learn more
EDI 940 and 945. The warehouse shipping order (940) tells a 3PL or warehouse to ship, and the shipping advice (945) confirms what shipped. Together they keep brand, warehouse, and retailer in sync on fulfillment. Learn more
Advance ship notice (ASN, EDI 856). An electronic notice sent before a shipment arrives, detailing its contents and packing. Late or inaccurate ASNs trigger retailer chargebacks and receiving delays. Learn more
Linesheet. The wholesale sales document that presents a collection with styles, colors, prices, and order minimums for buyers to order from. Learn more
B2B portal. A self-service wholesale ordering environment where retailers browse the line, check availability, and place orders, replacing PDF linesheets and email re-keying. Learn more
Apparel CRM. Customer management for apparel that keeps deals, accounts, contacts, customer-specific pricing, credit, and order history on one record connected to operations, not a separate pipeline tool. Learn more
Warehouse and fulfillment
Warehouse management system (WMS). The system that runs physical warehouse execution: receiving, putaway, picking, packing, shipping, transfers, and returns, usually with a mobile scanning app. Learn more
Third-party logistics (3PL). An external partner that stores and ships inventory on a brand's behalf. The brand keeps demand and inventory ownership while the 3PL executes fulfillment. Learn more
The 3PL blind spot. The loss of inventory and execution visibility that appears when fulfillment moves to a 3PL and the brand can no longer see stock and order status in real time. Learn more
Cross-docking. Moving received goods straight to outbound shipping with little or no storage, to cut handling and speed fulfillment during high-volume windows. Learn more
Pick-pack error rate. The share of orders shipped with the wrong item or quantity. It is a core warehouse accuracy benchmark because each error is a return, a refund, and a trust cost. Learn more
Multi-warehouse. Running inventory and fulfillment across two or more locations or 3PLs, which requires location-level stock truth and rules for where each order ships from. Learn more
Retail replenishment. Keeping stores, 3PLs, and wholesale partners stocked at the right level by triggering transfers and purchase orders from real sell-through rather than guesswork. Learn more
Production and sourcing
Production order. The instruction to make a quantity of a style at a factory, tracked against the plan so what gets made, received, and costed stays aligned with what was planned. Learn more
Full-package production (FPP). A sourcing model where the factory handles materials and the full make of a finished garment, versus cut-make-trim where the brand supplies materials. Learn more
Cut and sew. Manufacturing garments from raw fabric and patterns rather than decorating blanks, giving full control over fit, construction, and materials. Learn more
Landed cost. The true unit cost of imported stock once duty, freight, and insurance are rolled in. Without it, margin reporting by style is wrong. Learn more
Finance and reporting
Cost of goods sold (COGS). The direct cost of the goods a brand sold in a period. Accurate COGS depends on accurate landed cost and inventory valuation. Learn more
Sell-through rate. The percentage of received inventory sold in a period. Misreading it, for example ignoring receipt timing, leads to bad buying and markdown decisions. Learn more
Operations reporting. Reporting built on connected operational data rather than spreadsheet exports, so finance, operations, and sales work from the same numbers. Learn more
The 6 Breakpoints framework. Uphance's diagnostic of the six points where disconnected apparel operations stop scaling cleanly: product data, production, inventory, orders, warehouse, and reporting. Learn more