Glossary

The language of shared inventory.

Plain definitions of the terms behind distributed inventory, out-of-stock and connected retail — the concepts SKUU is built on.

Dead stock: Dead stock is inventory a business has bought but cannot sell through at full price, tying up cash and margin until it is discounted or written off.
Distributed inventory network: A distributed inventory network connects separate shops so a shortage at one can be filled, in real time, by stock that already exists at another — without merging warehouses or sharing data.
Drop shipping: Drop shipping is a model where a retailer sells products it does not stock and a supplier ships them to the customer on the retailer's behalf, usually picking or producing to order.
Endless aisle: Endless aisle is a retail approach that lets a shop sell products it does not physically hold, by drawing on stock available elsewhere.
Multibrand retail: Multibrand retail is a shop that sells products from several different brands it does not own, rather than a single own-label range.
Network shelf: A network shelf is the invisible space inside a shop where partner stock from an inventory network appears for sale, kept strictly separate from the shop's own stock.
Order routing: Order routing is the process of automatically deciding which location or partner should fulfil a given order, based on rules like stock availability, proximity and delivery time.
Out-of-stock (stockout): Out-of-stock (a stockout) is when a customer wants to buy a product but the specific size or variant is unavailable — so the sale is lost unless it can be recovered elsewhere.
Product matching: Product matching is the process of recognising that a product listed in one shop is the same item as a product listed in another, so the two can be treated as interchangeable.
White-label fulfilment: White-label fulfilment is when one business ships an order on behalf of another in neutral packaging, so the end customer only ever sees the brand they bought from.