A general answer; as pinning and keying of cables in general is a mess - unless you have a "well described standard" for a single use cable/connector.
Plugged and notched positions is in most cases meant to be a help, to use the cable in the correct position(s), often also for a specific device.
As pinning many times differ vastly, a general (not plugged nor keyed) cable opens up for mishaps (especially if power feed is available on any pins).
Mishaps: that is when you break something and wish to send it back for either free replacement or warranty repair.
Which is costly for the claim recipient, and time consuming for you...