17 terms you will hear on a Retail project, each with what it means, where it shows up in the business, and what QA should test.
SKU · GTIN · POS · OMS · WMS · PIM · Planogram · Open-to-buy · GMROI · Sell-through · Markdown · Shrink · Replenishment · Allocation · ATS · Oversell · Retail EDI
The retailer's own code for one sellable variant of a product: one size, one colour, one pack. A T-shirt in three sizes and two colours is six SKUs.
Where it shows up: Created in merchandising, then used by every system downstream: purchasing, the warehouse, the till and online.
What QA should test: Variant creation, SKU-to-barcode mapping, and that a discontinued SKU stops flowing to POS and the website.
The GS1 number printed in a product's barcode (UPC or EAN). Unlike a SKU it is global, so a supplier, a distributor and a marketplace all mean the same item by it.
Where it shows up: Supplier onboarding, receiving at the warehouse, scanning at the till and listing on marketplaces.
What QA should test: Check-digit validation, one GTIN mapped to exactly one SKU, and scans of unknown barcodes.
The till system in a store: scanning, pricing, promotions, payment, receipts and returns.
Where it shows up: Store sales. Every transaction is later posted to the ERP for stock and finance.
What QA should test: Price and promotion accuracy, offline mode, split payments, returns against the original receipt, and end-of-day posting.
The system that takes an online or omnichannel order and decides where it is fulfilled from: a warehouse, a store or a supplier.
Where it shows up: Online sales, buy-online-pick-up-in-store, ship-from-store and returns.
What QA should test: Order splitting, sourcing rules, status updates to the customer, cancellations and partial refunds.
Runs the distribution centre: receiving, put-away, picking, packing and dispatch, down to the bin location.
Where it shows up: Distribution, between the supplier and the store or the customer.
What QA should test: Receiving against the purchase order and ASN, pick accuracy, short picks, and stock updates back to the ERP and OMS.
The master source for product content: descriptions, attributes, images and categories, published to every sales channel.
Where it shows up: Before a product goes on sale, and whenever product content changes.
What QA should test: Mandatory attributes, image and text sync to the website and marketplaces, and behaviour when a channel rejects a listing.
A diagram that shows exactly where each product sits on a shelf, how many facings it gets and at what height.
Where it shows up: Space planning in head office, executed by store teams.
What QA should test: Planogram changes reaching the right stores, and the link between shelf capacity and replenishment quantities.
The budget a buyer still has available to purchase stock for a period: planned purchases minus what is already on order.
Where it shows up: Merchandise planning and buying, before purchase orders are raised.
What QA should test: OTB reducing when a PO is approved, releasing when a PO is cancelled, and blocks when a PO would exceed it.
Gross margin divided by the average inventory at cost. It shows how many rupees of margin each rupee of stock earns.
Where it shows up: Category and store performance reviews.
What QA should test: The calculation inputs: margin after markdowns, and inventory valued at cost on the right dates.
Units sold as a percentage of units received or available in a period. High sell-through means stock is moving.
Where it shows up: Weekly trading reviews, markdown and reorder decisions.
What QA should test: That returns and transfers are counted consistently, and the report matches POS and receipt data.
A permanent price reduction to clear slow stock, as opposed to a temporary promotion.
Where it shows up: End of season, slow-moving lines, clearance.
What QA should test: Effective dates per store and channel, labels and tills updated together, and margin reported after the markdown.
Stock that is recorded but no longer there: theft, damage, expiry or admin errors.
Where it shows up: Found during stock counts and reconciliations.
What QA should test: Stock adjustments with reason codes, count variance reports, and that adjustments post to finance.
Automatically reordering stock so shelves and warehouses do not run empty, based on sales, minimum levels and lead times.
Where it shows up: Daily, between stores, the DC and suppliers.
What QA should test: Order quantities against min/max and pack sizes, behaviour during promotions, and no orders for discontinued items.
Deciding how a quantity of new stock is split across stores or channels, usually by store size, sales history and space.
Where it shows up: When a purchase order arrives at the DC, especially for new and seasonal lines.
What QA should test: Allocation rules, rounding to pack sizes, and stores that are closed or newly opened.
The quantity the website or a channel may sell right now: stock on hand minus what is reserved, held or already promised.
Where it shows up: Online and omnichannel selling.
What QA should test: Reservations on order, release on cancellation, safety stock, and the race when two customers buy the last unit.
Selling more units than actually exist, usually because stock figures were stale or two channels sold the same unit.
Where it shows up: Peak sales, flash sales and slow inventory sync.
What QA should test: Concurrency tests on the last units, inventory feed delays, and what the customer is told when an order cannot be filled.
Standard files exchanged with suppliers: 850 is the purchase order, 856 the advance ship notice (ASN), 810 the invoice.
Where it shows up: Between buying, the supplier, the DC and accounts payable.
What QA should test: Mapping of every field, rejected or duplicate files, and three-way match of PO, receipt and invoice.
The Retail track walks through the whole business end to end, and Session 01 is free in English and Telugu.
