Visual images for definitions are available at the bottom of this page.
This glossary is a work in progress. Please keep it alphabetically sorted.
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A, B, C movers
Categorization of SKUs based on their movement/demand. High demand/fast-moving SKUs are called A movers, the next set is called B, C movers, and so on.
Absolute Encoder
An absolute encoder is a type of rotary encoder that provides a unique digital code for each position of the shaft, allowing it to determine the absolute position of the encoder disc or shaft, even when power is interrupted.
Aisle
The space between racks or the space outside the rack is called an aisle; basically a designated pathway within Carte+ for the movement of bots. Every aisle has bot paths traversing across bays. The aisles at the outside of the system may or may not have bot paths.
Application Programming Interface (API)
An API is a set of programming instructions and standards. It’s often used to help different software applications work together.
Architecture
In a software context, “architecture” refers to the overall design and structure of a system, encompassing the organization of components, modules, data, and interactions to achieve specific functionalities while addressing performance, scalability, maintainability, and other quality attributes.
Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS)
A type of automated warehouse technology specifically designed for storing and retrieving items with minimal human intervention.
Azure
Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, offering a range of services for building, deploying, and managing applications globally.
Back of Store
The area in a retail store where goods are stored before being placed on shelves or picked for orders.
Back Order
A partially completed order that cannot be fulfilled completely because of an out-of-stock item. Typically, they’re fulfilled as soon as new stock arrives and is packed away.
Barcode
A marking made up of a series of bars and spaces used for identification of products in which a scanner is used to read the encoded information.
Barcode Scanner
A device used to scan barcodes.
Barcoding
The process in which barcodes are generated for accurate readability.
Batch picking
A method of picking in which we fulfill each SKU independently of the order, sorting happens downstream.
Bay
Each section of racks is separated by vertical columns (posts) that support levels and are called bays.
Buffer Location
Tote location that is intentionally left empty to make way for a tote.
Bidirectional movement
A rule in which robots can travel either up or down a botpath.
Bill of Materials (BoM)
A Bill of Materials (BoM) is a comprehensive list outlining the materials, components, and subassemblies required for the production of a finished product, providing a structured breakdown of the product’s composition and cost.
Bot path
The trajectory that robots follow within Carte+, powered using QuickStick.
Bot path buffer station
A location within bot path where robots can stay idle and not obstruct other robots’ tasks, and it can change dynamically.
Bot Path End Stopper
A device that stops a robot from moving out of a bot path to ensure safety in cases of a power shutdown or absence of XYZ lifts or indexers servicing the bot path.
Bot path Levels
Different levels of paths that a robot can traverse within Carte+.
Bot path Station
Each bot path station will carry a QuickStick path number and its corresponding position (in mm) which enables access to a tote location identified by (X,Y,Z) coordinates and linking with other bot paths.
Buffer Path
A bot path that traverses through an aisle or connects across aisles but does not service any storage location.
Bundling
Bundling refers to the process of combining several products or services into one convenient package.
Carte Configurator
Carte Configurator is a tool that takes the size of a solution and throughput requirements as inputs to give an optimized configuration.
Carte+ Modules
Parts of Carte+ system that make it whole. Examples are XYZ lifts, bot path, robot, rack, etc.
Cartelytics
A data tool analysis tool built by CK to give outputs in predefined formats to help understand order profile and inventory requirements.
Case
A case is typically a corrugated box where a standard quantity of a specific item is packed.
Cart
A cart is a wheeled vehicle designed for transporting goods or materials, typically pushed or pulled by a person.
CK
CK is short for Cartesian Kinetics, the name of our organization.
Code 128
A type of bar code, often used in logistics. It is often used for the product bar code in lieu of a UPC.
Cold Storage
A section of a warehouse in which refrigerated or frozen products are stored. Cold storage is most commonly found in food-grade warehouses.
Compartment
A divided space inside a partitioned tote.
Conveyor Belt
A conveyor belt is a continuous moving surface used to transport goods or materials from one point to another in a manufacturing or distribution facility.
CosmosDB
Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model database service provided by Microsoft Azure, offering low-latency and scalable solutions for storing and querying data using various APIs, including SQL, MongoDB, Cassandra, Gremlin, and Azure Table Storage.
Curbside Pickup
A service where customers can pick up their orders directly from the curbside of a retail location.
Cycle Count
The process of regularly and systematically counting items inside totes within storage to ensure accuracy.
Dark Store
A retail facility or warehouse that is closed to the public and operates solely for fulfilling online orders.
Deck
The flat, elevated surface on a rack where totes are stored.
Decommission
The act of removing a tote from storage that no longer has any use in storage since it ran out of inventory during order fulfillment.
Digital Twin
A digital twin is a 3D model of Carte+ used to simulate all physical components in the real system; this is usually run on Emulate 3D software.
Discrete picking
Individual order processing, one at a time - no aggregation of SKUs for fulfillment.
Distribution Center
A distribution center, or DC, refers to a warehouse that maintains your inventory before it is transferred to your stores.
Distribution Channel
Distribution channels are the companies and individuals that participate in the delivery of goods. Examples are Amazon, FedEx, UPS, etc.
Double Deep
A storage configuration where totes are stored two deep, requiring fork arms to extend fully for access.
Downtime
The period during which Carte+ or a robot is not operational.
Dynamic Pick Wall
A specific area within storage that dynamically changes totes according to order profiles for operators or robotic arms to pick items and fulfill orders.
E-Stop
E-Stop is a button that immediately shuts down the operation of Carte+ to prevent or mitigate potential hazards.
E3D
Emulate3D (E3D) is software by Rockwell that allows you to run a digital twin in a 1:1 simulated fashion.
Each
An each is used to refer to an item. Picks are counted in eaches. Sometimes also called units.
Edge
A device with computing and processing capabilities located on-premise and close to Carte+.
Encoder
An encoder is a device used in automation and control systems to convert mechanical motion or position into electrical signals.
End Column Module
The vertical columns that look like a truss at the end of any aisles are called end column modules. They support every deck on an aisle.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the study of designing and arranging Carte+ human interfaces (pick/inbound stations) to optimize efficiency, comfort, and safety for human use.
External SKUs
SKUs that are not stored inside Carte+ storage but are available in the warehouse.
FEFO (First Expired First Out)
An inventory management system that prioritizes the use of products based on their expiration date.
FIFO
First In, First Out.
Fork Arm
The two arms of a robot that are used to extract or store totes.
Fulfillment Channel
In the context of e-commerce and logistics, a fulfillment channel refers to a specific method or avenue through which customer orders are processed, packed, and delivered. It can be through online or retail stores.
Goods-to-Person (G2P) Technology
A system where products are automatically brought to a stationary operator for picking, as opposed to the traditional person-to-goods method. This increases picking efficiency and reduces walking time.
HAZMAT
Hazardous materials (HAZMAT) are products that could harm individuals, animals, plants, property, or the environment. They will be stored separately as per regulations.
High Frequency SKU
SKUs that are in high demand.
HMI
Human Machine Interface; the user interface that allows interaction between technician and Carte+ modules.
Inbound Station
The station at which new totes are inbounded into Carte+ or existing totes are replenished.
Inbound wall
A specific area within storage that has a series of inbound stations to facilitate replenishment or inbounding of a tote.
Inbounding
The process of addition of new totes into Carte+ storage.
Incremental Encoder
An incremental encoder is a type of rotary encoder that generates pulses in response to incremental movement of a shaft or object. It can only tell the position with respect to a reference initiated, i.e., it cannot tell the absolute location.
Internal SKUs
SKUs that are stored inside Carte+ storage.
Inventory
Inventory is the total stock of items stored inside Carte+.
Inventory Accuracy
The degree to which the physical inventory matches the recorded inventory inside Carte+ storage.
Inventory Visibility
The ability to track and monitor the movement and status of inventory in real-time.
IoT
IoT, or Internet of Things, refers to the network of interconnected physical devices embedded with sensors, software, and connectivity, enabling them to collect and exchange data, and often allowing remote monitoring and control through the internet.
Item
A single product.
Last-Mile Delivery
Last-mile delivery refers to the final leg of the order’s journey to reach a customer.
Latency
Latency refers to the delay or time lag between the initiation of a process and its completion, often measured in the context of data transmission, communication, or system response time.
License Plate
License plates are typically barcodes with an ID number placed on a pallet/tote/cases or other containers to track contents of that container.
Line Item (or Line)
The total SKUs in an order.
E.g. Imagine an order with 3 line items as follows:
| SKU | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Apple | 2 |
| Orange | 3 |
| Banana | 1 |
The total units in this order are 6, while the total lines (or line items) are 3.
Lines Per Hour (LPH)
The number of lines picked in an hour.
Maintenance
Regular upkeep and repair of equipment and systems to ensure optimal functionality.
Maintenance Routine
A scheduled plan for performing routine maintenance tasks on Carte+ modules.
Manual Picking
The process of physically selecting and gathering items from the dynamic pickwall by human operators.
Mezzanine
A tiered structure within a building used to provide operator access to various levels.
MFC
A Micro Fulfillment Center (MFC) is a compact, automated facility designed for rapid and efficient order fulfillment, often located in dense urban areas to streamline last-mile delivery logistics.
MongoDB
MongoDB is a popular and widely used NoSQL database management system that provides a flexible, scalable, and document-oriented storage solution, using JSON-like documents for data representation.
Node
Nodes are the junctions where two paths meet.
Node Controller
A Node Controller is a device that manages and controls communication within a network; it helps the robot to travel across bot paths.
Obsolete Inventory
Inventory that is at the end of its life-cycle; not sold for a long period and not expected to be sold in the future.
Off-peak hour
The time period during which warehouse operations experience lower demand and activity.
Omnichannel
Omnichannel refers to a sales approach that provides a seamless customer experience – regardless of where someone shops. That means that their website, mobile app, and in-store experience all interact so that customers can easily switch between channels.
Open order
Order that is yet to begin fulfilling.
Operational Environment
The overall conditions and factors inside a warehouse/retail space.
Operator
A human worker involved in various tasks within a warehouse.
Operator idle time
The duration for which the operator is idle, waiting for a tote to be ready at the dynamic pick wall or inbound wall.
Operator User Interface
The intuitive interface through which operators interact for all activities related to totes and order processing. Also called Operator UI.
Orchestrator
A cloud-hosted software that coordinates and manages the sequence of tasks in Carte+.
Order fulfillment
The entire process of receiving, processing, packing, picking, and shipping an order.
Order Picking
The process of selecting and gathering items from storage to fulfill customer orders.
Order Profile
Order Profile refers to the unique characteristics of a customer order, typically including a list of SKUs and their quantities.
Order Tote
A tote used to hold items for a specific customer order during the order picking process.
Outer Aisle
The outer areas of Carte+ where bot paths do not traverse across it are called the Outer Aisle.
Pallet
A flat structure, typically made out of wood, used to move goods on a pallet jack or forklift.
Partitioned tote
A tote with internal divisions designed to segregate and organize different items inside it.
Path Planning
Path planning is a computational problem to find a sequence of valid configurations that moves the robot from a source to a destination.
Peak hour
The time period during which warehouse operations experience the highest demand and activity.
Permanent End Stopper
A permanently fixed piece that is placed at the end of a lift/indexer pallet or a bot path to prevent robots from getting out of Carte+.
Pick List
The list of items an operator needs to pick from Carte+ (internal SKUs) and the warehouse (external SKUs).
Pick Productivity
The rate at which operators pick items from totes, traditionally measured in units per hour (UPH) or lines per hour (LPH).
Pick Station
A designated station where operators or robotic arms pick items for order fulfillment.
Pick Tote
A tote that arrived at the dynamic pick wall for operators to pick items for order fulfillment
Pick-to-Light
Pick-to-Light (PTL) is an order picking technology that uses visual indicators, such as lights or displays, to guide operators to the correct items for efficient and accurate picking.
Picking accuracy
The precision with which items are selected and gathered from pick totes to an order tote.
Picking rate
The speed at which items are picked from totes, measured in units per hour (UPH). Sometimes called picks per hour (PPH).
PLC
A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is a digital device designed to control and automate industrial processes, machinery, and manufacturing systems through programmable logic and real-time input/output interfaces.
Product Substitution
The practice of replacing one product with a suitable alternative in case of unavailability.
Purging
The process of removing existing totes from storage.
Put wall
A designated area where order totes are placed for consolidating items corresponding to each order.
Put-to-Light
Similar to Pick-to-Light except that it is used for the put wall where picked items are placed into order totes.
QuickStick
QuickStick® is a Linear Motor technology that powers bot paths inside Carte+.
QuickStick Path number
An identifier for bot paths in QuickStick configurator.
RaaS
Similar to SaaS (Software as a Service), RaaS is a non-capex-based subscription cost model for purchasing automation solutions.
Rack
A framework or structure used for storing totes in Carte+.
Replenishment
The process of adding more items into an existing tote inside storage.
Retrieving
In the context of robot actions, retrieving is the process of finding and bringing a tote from storage to the pick station.
Retrofit
A retrofit is the addition or modification of new features, components, or technology to existing equipment or systems to enhance performance or functionality. In this context, Carte+ can be built on existing racks by simply installing botpaths and lifts or indexers.
Robot
A machine equipped with sensors and actuators that move on bot paths inside Carte+.
Robot trolley
A trolley on which robots can be mounted and carried around by a technician. It is also used to help insert robots into Carte+.
Robotic Picking
The process of physically selecting and gathering items from the dynamic pickwall using a robotic arm.
ROI
ROI is short for Return on Investment. It is typically estimated in years during which the capex investment is recouped by way of savings from Carte+ installation.
Rotary Indexer
A module in Carte+ with only a rotary mechanism that enables a robot to travel in the X and Y directions.
Scissor Lift
A lifting mechanism to raise or lower the robot to facilitate retrieving/storing totes at different storage levels.
Seasonality
Fluctuations in demand that repeat with a similar pattern over equivalent time periods.
Seasonality Index
A seasonality index is used to adjust the forecast to account for cyclical changes in demand. The average demand is represented by the number “1”. For example, if December’s sales were, on average, 30% greater than the average monthly sales for the year, you would have a seasonality index of 1.3 (1 plus .30) for December. If January’s sales were, on average, 20% less than the average monthly sales for the year, you would have a seasonality index of 0.8 (1 minus .20).
Service bus
A service bus enables communication between software components, like sending messages between applications, facilitating seamless integration. An example is Azure Service Bus in Microsoft Azure.
Service Level Agreement
Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a formal contract specifying the level of service, performance metrics, and responsibilities agreed upon between a service provider and a customer.
Setup time
The time required for production run, beginning from install till the first successful run.
Shelf Life
The time an item can be stored in the warehouse till it cannot be used for order fulfillment.
Shunt resistor
A shunt resistor is a device installed near control panels to ensure accurate current measurement, which, in turn, supports various aspects of system control, protection, and monitoring.
Single Deep
A storage configuration where totes are stored one deep, easily accessible by fork arms without having to extend fully.
SKU
Expanded as “Stock Keeping Unit”. They represent different sizes/types of a product.
SKU Consolidation
The practice of grouping similar products or SKUs together into a single tote from multiple totes for efficient picking later and freeing up empty totes.
SKU ID
Pronounced as “skew ID”, is a number or code used to identify each unique product or inventory item.
Smoothing factor
Also called a smoothing constant, a smoothing factor is a number between zero and one (0.01, 0.02, . . . 0.99) that is used to weight the most recent period’s demand against the forecast for that period to produce the next period’s forecast in an exponential smoothing calculation.
Stage Area
An area inside a warehouse where staging is done.
Staging
“Staging” in a warehouse refers to the designated area where goods or items are temporarily placed and organized before being further processed, shipped, or utilized in the fulfillment of orders.
Station
Entry or exit points within Carte+ for picking, replenishing, inbounding, and purging of totes.
Stockout
A stockout is the temporary absence of a product or item in inventory, resulting in unavailability for customers.
Storage
Systematic placement and organization of totes on decks inside racks within Carte+. In other words, Carte+ Inventory.
Storage Capacity
The total number of tote locations available inside Carte+, including tote buffer locations.
Storage Levels
Different tiers within a Carte+ storage where totes are placed.
Storage Utilization Rate
It is defined as a percentage of available locations utilized. Typically calculated as: (totes inside storage)/(total number of available tote locations - number of buffer locations).
Store Fulfillment
Store fulfillment involves picking, packing, and delivery of goods from a distribution center to nearby retail stores to meet inventory demands.
Storing
In the context of robot actions, storing is the process of putting totes from the pick/inbound station into the storage.
Supervisor screen
A display interface used by warehouse supervisors to monitor and manage operations.
Task
An activity to be done by a robot with or without a tote.
Third-party Logistics (3PL)
A type of logistics provider that offers product transportation, management, and organizational services in addition to warehousing.
Throughput - Totes/hr
The rate at which totes are presented to pick wall, measured in totes per hour.
Tote
A container used for transporting and holding items within Carte+. Also called bins.
Tote Buffer Location
Tote location that is intentionally left empty to make way for a tote during tote defragmentation. Typically assigned as a percentage of total available tote location.
Tote Defragmentation
The process of optimizing the arrangement of totes within Carte+ for accessing double deep totes.
Tote fill rate
Defined as a percentage of the total tote volume that can be occupied for storing items inside it. Typically, it is 70%.
Tote Location
The designated position where totes can be stored within Carte+ storage, each location is identified by (X,Y,Z) coordinates.
Tote Swap
A process in which a tote in the dynamic pick wall is replaced by another tote for pickers to pick items from.
Unidirectional movement
A rule in which robots can travel only in one direction on a botpath. This could lead to a carousel-like movement.
Universal Product Code (UPC)
The unique barcode and 12-digit number assigned to products and managed by the Global Standards Organization.
Units
The sum total of all quantities across all lines in an order. E.g. Imagine an order with 3 line items as follows:
| SKU | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Apple | 2 |
| Orange | 3 |
| Banana | 1 |
The total units in this order are 6, while the total lines are 3.
Units Per Hour (UPH)
The number of units picked in an hour.
Vertical Column
Vertical columns are dividers that separate an aisle into bays.
Very Narrow Aisle
Aisles that are less than six feet and often use guided & automated systems to travel within aisles.
Warehouse
A facility for storing and handling goods, often with distribution services.
Warehouse Control System (WCS)
WCS is software that controls the material handling systems within the warehouse, coordinating and optimizing processes such as inventory management, order picking, and shipping.
Warehouse Execution System (WES)
WES is a software solution that manages and directs real-time activities within a warehouse, including order fulfillment, resource allocation, and inventory management.
Warehouse Management System (WMS)
WMS is software designed to facilitate management and optimization of daily warehouse operations, including inventory management, order processing, and shipping.
Wave Picking
A method of order picking where groups of orders are processed in waves to improve efficiency.
Wavegen
Wavegen is a tool called by the orchestrator at the beginning of fulfillment to generate a list of waved orders.
Wave Changeover
The process of replacing all or some pick totes in the dynamic pick wall for the next wave.
Waving
The process of combining orders with a similar list of SKUs to minimize tote swaps and fulfill maximum orders in one go.
XYZ Lift
A lifting mechanism used to raise or lower totes between different levels within Carte+.
Zone Picking
“Zone picking” is an order fulfillment method where warehouse operators are assigned specific zones, and each operator is responsible for picking items only within their designated area to enhance efficiency.
Visual Images
Carte+ images
Layout images
