Item Master / Product Master

The item master – also called a product master – is the single source of truth for every product a shipper moves. It contains the physical and logistical attributes of each SKU: case dimensions, case weight, cases per pallet layer, layers per pallet, pallet weight, stackability, temperature range, freight class, NMFC code, and hazmat classification. It's the foundational dataset that load planning, carrier pricing, document generation, and warehouse operations all depend on.

In practice, the item master lives in the shipper's ERP or warehouse management system and should be synchronized with any TMS or logistics platform. When a new order comes in, the system references the item master to calculate pallet counts, total shipment weight, cubic volume, and the correct freight classification – all without manual input. For shippers with hundreds or thousands of SKUs, this automation is the difference between planning loads in seconds and spending an hour per shipment on manual lookups.

The problem most mid-market shippers face isn't that they don't have an item master – it's that the data is incomplete, outdated, or trapped in a spreadsheet that nobody maintains. Missing dimensions mean manual pallet estimates. Wrong weights mean billing disputes and accessorial charges. Missing NMFC codes mean the carrier re-classes the shipment at a higher rate. Every data gap in the item master creates downstream cost and operational friction.

Treating the item master as critical infrastructure – keeping it current, complete, and connected to your logistics tools – is one of the highest-leverage investments a shipping operation can make. It's unglamorous master data management, but it underpins every load plan, every BOL, and every carrier invoice.