Fulfillment & Cross-Border Logistics Glossary
Eighteen terms that show up on every cross-border fulfillment call, defined precisely and updated for 2026. Use this page to level-set with stakeholders, brief a new operations hire, or audit a vendor's proposal.
- 3PL (Third-Party Logistics)
- A third-party logistics provider is a company that handles warehousing, inventory management, order fulfillment, and shipping on behalf of another business. A 3PL like HELVIA receives inbound inventory, stores it in a managed facility, picks and packs customer orders, and hands them off to carriers. Brands use 3PLs to convert fixed fulfillment costs into variable per-order costs and to avoid operating their own warehouses.
- Cross-border fulfillment
- Storing inventory in one country and shipping orders to customers in another. For US brands selling to Canada, the common model is to bulk-import inventory into a Canadian 3PL, clear customs once, then fulfill every order domestically at Canada Post or Purolator rates. This replaces per-parcel international shipments, eliminates repeated brokerage fees, and removes surprise duties at the customer door.
- CUSMA / USMCA
- The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA in Canada, USMCA in the US, T-MEC in Mexico) is the free trade agreement that replaced NAFTA on July 1, 2020. Goods that satisfy the agreement’s rules of origin qualify for preferential duty rates between the three countries. Importers must hold a valid CUSMA certification of origin to claim preference; without it, standard most-favored-nation duty rates apply.
- DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)
- An Incoterm where the seller is responsible for delivering goods to the buyer’s named destination with all duties, taxes, and customs clearance paid. For e-commerce, DDP means the shopper pays one all-in price at checkout and sees no customs invoice at the door. DDP maximizes conversion on cross-border orders but requires the seller to manage foreign tax registration and import compliance.
- DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid)
- An Incoterm (now technically replaced by DAP under Incoterms 2020, but still widely used in e-commerce) where the seller delivers the goods to the destination country but the buyer is responsible for paying import duties, taxes, and brokerage fees. DDU is cheaper for the seller but routinely produces surprise charges at the door, high refusal rates, and negative reviews on cross-border orders.
- De minimis threshold
- The low-value threshold below which a country waives duties and formal customs entry on imported goods. Canada’s de minimis is CAD 20 for duties (CAD 40 under CUSMA for goods from the US and Mexico). The United States historically allowed up to USD 800 under Section 321, but Executive Order 14324 suspended that exemption for all countries effective August 29, 2025, and the suspension remained in effect in 2026.
- Duty drawback
- A refund of duties, taxes, or fees paid on imported goods that are later exported, destroyed, or used to manufacture exported products. In Canada, the program is administered by the CBSA and generally allows claims up to four years after import. Drawback is useful for brands that import inventory into Canada but ship a portion back out to US or international customers from the same pool.
- FIFO / FEFO
- FIFO (First In, First Out) is an inventory picking rule that ships the oldest units received before newer ones, protecting against obsolescence. FEFO (First Expired, First Out) ships units with the earliest expiration date first, which is critical for food, supplements, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Warehouse management systems enforce these rules during picking by directing operators to the correct bin based on receipt or expiration date.
- HTS / HS code
- The Harmonized System (HS) is a six-digit international product classification maintained by the World Customs Organization and used by 200+ countries. Each country extends the six digits with its own subheadings (ten digits in the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule, ten digits in Canada’s Customs Tariff). The correct HS code determines the duty rate, eligibility for trade agreements like CUSMA, and required import documentation.
- Kitting
- A value-added warehouse service that combines multiple individual SKUs into a single ready-to-ship unit. Kitting is used for subscription boxes, promotional bundles, multi-pack retail sets, and display-ready packaging. Pre-kitted units ship faster and reduce pick labor on every order, at the cost of committing inventory to a specific configuration. HELVIA charges $1.75 per unit assembled for standard kitting.
- Landed cost
- The total cost of a product delivered to its final destination, including the unit cost, inbound freight, duties, taxes, brokerage fees, insurance, currency conversion, and last-mile shipping. Landed cost is the correct number to use when pricing cross-border products because it captures every expense between the factory and the customer’s door. Brands that optimize only unit cost often discover negative margins once landed cost is calculated.
- Last-mile delivery
- The final leg of a shipment from a local distribution point to the end customer’s address. Last-mile is typically the most expensive and time-sensitive segment of the supply chain because it involves individual stops rather than bulk movements. In Canadian e-commerce, Canada Post, Purolator, UPS, FedEx, Intelcom, and GLS are the dominant last-mile carriers, with coverage and pricing varying by postal code.
- NRI (Non-Resident Importer)
- A Canadian customs designation that allows a business located outside Canada to act as the importer of record without a physical Canadian presence. An NRI obtains a Business Number with an import/export account, registers for GST/HST, and takes responsibility for Canadian duties and taxes on its inventory. US brands use the NRI program to pre-position inventory in Canada and sell DDP without incorporating a Canadian entity.
- Pick and pack
- The warehouse process of retrieving ordered items from their storage locations (picking) and preparing them for shipment in an appropriate container with documentation and protective material (packing). Pick and pack is the core per-order fulfillment service most 3PLs charge for and is typically measured in orders per hour, accuracy rate, and cost per order. HELVIA’s standard rate is $3.77 per order plus $0.44 per additional item.
- Receiving / inbound
- The warehouse process of accepting inbound freight from a supplier, verifying it against the purchase order or advanced shipping notice, inspecting for damage, scanning units into the warehouse management system, and placing them into storage locations. Receiving accuracy directly drives downstream inventory accuracy, so most 3PLs enforce strict ASN requirements, labeling standards, and appointment windows for inbound deliveries.
- Section 321
- Section 321 of the Tariff Act of 1930 historically allowed shipments valued at USD 800 or less to enter the United States duty-free and with minimal customs processing. Executive Order 14324, implemented on August 29, 2025, suspended the Section 321 de minimis exemption for all countries; duties and formal entry now apply to low-value shipments regardless of origin. The suspension remained in force through 2026.
- SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
- A unique alphanumeric identifier assigned to a single variant of a product — distinct size, color, flavor, bundle, or configuration. SKUs are the atomic unit of inventory tracking: every receipt, pick, pack, cycle count, and sales report is keyed against a SKU. Clean SKU hygiene (one code per sellable variant, never reused) is a prerequisite for reliable multi-channel inventory sync across Shopify, Amazon, and other platforms.
- WMS (Warehouse Management System)
- The software system that controls day-to-day warehouse operations: receiving, putaway, inventory tracking, pick path optimization, packing, shipping label generation, and carrier manifesting. A modern WMS uses barcode scanning at every touchpoint to enforce accuracy, exposes real-time inventory to sales channels via API, and produces the audit trail needed for cycle counts and annual inventory reconciliation. HELVIA operates an integrated WMS with 99.9% inventory accuracy.
Need a term defined for your specific use case? Contact our operations team or review the cross-border fulfillment guide for the 2026 policy context.