| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 24/7 | Around-the-clock access, every day of the week |
| 3PL (Third-Party Logistics Provider) | An organization that manages and executes a particular logistics function, using its own assets and resources, on behalf of another company. |
| 4PL (Fourth-Party Logistics Provider) | The term "4PL" was introduced into the supply chain to convey that deep informational technology skills and deeper analytical skills were required to achieve supply chain leadership. But the true evolution of the 4PL term is better defined in context of the global marketplace where outsourced logistics creates more of a partnership critical to success than a supplier/customer relationship. Companies in the global marketplace are finding that supply chain engineered logistics is not a commodity, and understand it is a vital means to boost their cost savings, enhancing their cash flow and improving servicing levels for getting their products to market. |
| A/C | For account of |
| A/M | Above Mention |
| A/N | Above Noted |
| A/or | And/or |
| A/P | Account paid |
| A/R | All risks insurance |
| A/S | Aftersight |
| A/S | Alongside |
| AA | Always afloat |
| AAR | Against all risks |
| ABC | Activity Based Costing |
| ABC-Analysis | Analysis of an activity according to the so called 80/20-rule, i.e. that in every series of elements a small element is responsible for a large part of the effect (Pareto's principle). 80/20 is a description of a ratio that could just as well be 90/10 or 70/30. An ABC-analysis can be made of products, customers, suppliers and means a division of the studied activity into a number of groups, often 3: A, B and C. The criteria which are used for division into groups vary partly according to what is to be analysed, e.g. products, customers or suppliers, and partly according to what sort of activity is to be analysed. The sales volume is often used as a basis for such a division. The sales volume includes value, sales and contribution. However other division criteria that also can be used are, for example, customers' growth potential, the strategic importance of a product or supplier etc. |
| ABC-Classification | The classification of inventory, after ABC analysis, into three basic groups for the purpose of stock control and planning. Active Inventory |
| Absorption | Acceptance by the carrier of a portion of a joint rate or charge which is less than the amount which it would receive for the service in the absence of such joint rate or charge. |
| AC | Account current |
| ACC | Acceptance: accepted |
| ACC. COP | According to the custom of the port |
| Acceptance of Goods | The process of receiving a consignment from a consignor, usually against the issue of a receipt. As from this moment and on this place the carrier's responsibility for the consignment begins. |
| ACEP | See: Approved Continuous Examination Program |
| Acknowledgement of receipt | A notification relating to the receipt of e.g. goods, messages and documents. |
| Active Inventory | Covers raw material, work in progress, finished products that will be used or sold within a given period without extra cost or loss. This term does not cover the so-called reserve inventory. See also: cycle stock. |
| Activity Based Costing (ABC) | ABC seeks to relate all relevant revenue and costs to the value adding activities performed in the supply chain. Revenue and costs are applied to a relevant activity, independent of when and where they occur - they are not allocated to an organisational budget unit. |
| Actual Demand | Customers? orders and often also the allocation of items, ingredients and/or raw materials to production or distribution. |
| Actual Voyage Number | A code for identification purposes of the voyage and vessel which actually transports the container/cargo. |
| ACV | Actual cash value |
| ad val. | Ad valorem: according to value |
| AD?(a/d) | After date |
| Add-on | ...tariff (also proportional rate or arbitrary (in USA) |
| Added Value | The value attributed to products and services as the result of a particular process (e.g. production process, storage, transport). |
| Added Value Services | Services which are often unique to a specific customer and which represent additional facets to the organisation's basic offer. |
| Additional Costs | Costs for a resource that is used (or procured) e.g. for a certain operation but which would not occur if there was no such operation. |
| Additional?Shipping Costs | The additional cost for an extra shipment of goods. |
| Aditional Revenue | Revenue received for a certain activity which one would not have been obtained if the activity had not been carried out. |
| Aditional?Ordering Costs | Consist of the additional costs which occur when an order is placed for input into inventory, i.e. costs which would not have arisen if the order had not been placed. The additional ordering costs consist e.g. of tender invitations, order processing, telephone, postage and a fixed part of the transportation cost. The additional ordering costs of inventory replenishment orders within own production consist of administration costs for starting up the production, setup costs for setting up (engaging) the factory for the actual order, running-?in costs because of lower production rate and higher scrap, levels when starting up a batch production. |
| ADP | Automated data processing |
| ADR | European Agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road |
| Advance Arrangement | An agreement between the shipper and the carrier, concerning contacts between those parties prior to tendering the consignment. |
| Advance Notification of Delivery (AND) | The notification to a receiving warehouse, of an impending delivery. The message will be transmitted using EDI and give such details as consignment note number, order number, quantity and product description, delivery date and time. |
| Advanced Amount | Cash or cash equivalents expressed in a monetary amount given to a driver to cover expenses during a trip. |
| Advanced Charge | A charge paid by a carrier to an agent or to another carrier, which the delivering carrier then collects from the consignee. Such charges are usually for agents' forwarding fees and incidental expenses paid out of pocket for account of the shipment by an agent or other carrier (air cargo). |
| Advanced Interline | An interline carrier that picks up cargo from the shipper and delivers it to another carrier for shipment to the consignee. |
| Advice Note | A written piece of information e.g. about the status of the goods. |
| Advisory committee for Innovation & Tech transfer | See Strategic Programme for Innovation and Technology Transfer |
| AETR | European Agreement concerning the work of crews of vehicles engaged in international road transport |
| AFRA | Average freight rate assessment |
| Aft | At, near or towards the stern or rear of a vessel or an aircraft. |
| Aftermarket Parts Distribution | The management, distribution, and delivery of aftermarket parts through dedicated logistics centers, and specialized transportation services. |
| Agcy | Agency |
| Agency fee | Fee payable by a ship-owner or ship operator to a port agent. |
| Agents | Intelligent software that can be used in an exchange or auction to monitor prices and conditions on behalf of buyer and supplier, and in some cases to automatically execute trades. |
| Aggregate Inventory | The inventory for any group of items or products, involving multiple stock-keeping units. Synonym: Aggregate Stock. |
| Aggregate Inventory Management | The size of many inventories requires that they be broken down into groupings for the purpose of control. Aggregated inventory is the further collection of these groupings into a single entity to enable the establishment of operating policies, key performance indicators, targets and reports. Aggregate Inventory Management enables such things as the overall level of inventory desired to be established and then appropriate controls implemented to ensure that individual operating decisions achieve that goal, at optimum cost. |
| Agt. | Agent |
| AGV | Automated Guided Vehicle |
| AGWT | Actual gross weight |
| AIM | See Automatic Identification Manufacturers. |
| All-Time Order | The last order for a particular product in the last phase of its life cycle. This order is of such a size that the stock provided will satisfy all expected future demand (see all time requirement below) for the product concerned. Sometimes known as a life of type order. |
| All-Time Requirement | The total requirement for a particular product to be expected in the future. Normally used for products in the last phase of their life cycles, when production is (nearly) stopped. |
| All-Time Stock | The stock resulting from the assessment of an all-time requirement and delivery of an all-time order. If necessary, controls can be set for such stock to avoid consumption of items for reasons over and above those for which usage was predicted. |
| Allocated Stock | A part that has been reserved, but not yet withdrawn or issued from stock, and is thus not available for other purposes. |
| Allocation | The process of assigning activities, costs or facilities e.g. space to a certain organizational units. |
| Allotment | A share of the capacity of a means of transport assigned to a certain party, e.g. a carrier or an agent, for the purpose of the booking of cargo for a specific voyage. |
| Amidships | At or in the middle of a vessel. |
| AMT | Air Mail Transfer |
| Annual Agreement | The period of validity relating to delivery and payment terms, approximate annual quantities per part, prices, blanket order procedure and invoicing. Annual agreements normally cover standard products which are not produced within the company. They are instead normal assortment products from different suppliers. The products are often cheap and irregularly bought in small quantities. |
| Anticipation Stock | Inventory held in order to be able to: Satisfy a demand with seasonal fluctuations with a production level that does not fluctuate at all or that varies to a lesser extent than the demand. Cope with erratic production or deficiencies in production capacity. |
| AO | Account of |
| AOC | Agent of Change |
| APERAK | Definition: Application error and acknowledgement message. The function of this message is: a)? To inform a message issuer that his message has been received by the addressee's application and has been rejected due to errors encountered during it?s processing in the application. b)? To acknowledge to a message issuer the receipt of his message by the addressee's application. |
| Apparel | A vessel's outfit, such as rigging, anchor and life boats. The term used in distribution/transport of clothing for a single piece of clothing, a garment. |
| Application service provider | An online outsourcer or hosting service for applications, letting Net market makers rent instead of buying applications and services such as auctions, exchanges and catalog aggregation. Many application vendors are moving to a hosting model, but ASPs are often application-agnostic, plugging a feature of one application into a marketplace when appropriate and using another feature from another vendor elsewhere. |
| Approved Continuous Examination Program (ACEP) | An agreement between the owners of the equipment and the responsible governmental body to allow continuous examination of the equipment (e.g. containers). |
| Approx. | Approximately |
| Apron | See Platform. |
| APRYCLEE | A network of national information centers of information technologies. |
| Area Code | A code for the area where a container is situated. |
| Area of Repair | Geographical area where a container is under repair. |
| Area Off Hire Lease | Geographical area where a leased container becomes off hire. |
| Area Off Hire Sublease | Geographical area where a subleased container becomes off hire. |
| Area On Hire Lease | Geographical area where a leased container becomes on hire. |
| Area On Hire Sublease | Geographical area where a subleased container becomes on hire. |
| Arr. | Arrival |
| Arrd. | Arrived |
| Arrival Notice | A notice sent by a carrier to a nominated notify party advising of the arrival of a certain shipment. |
| Articles Dangereux de Route (ADR) | A European agreement concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by road. |
| AS/RS | Automatic Storage/Retrieval System |
| ASAP | As soon as possible |
| Ass. | Associate |
| Assembly | The stage of production in which components are put together into an end product appropriate to the process concerned. |
| Asset Management | A service designed to increase return on investment by managing, purchasing, and sustaining assets. |
| Asset Rationalization | A comparative analysis of transportation and distribution assets and optimal supply chain components. |
| Assignment | The transfer of certain rights from one party to another. |
| Assortiment Structure | Structures over the product assortment in the company. It includes both the assortment range, i.e. the number of different product types, and the assortment variety, i.e. the number of different designs within every product type. |
| ATA | Actual rime of arrival |
| ATD | Actual time of departure |
| ATP | Agreement of the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs |
| Atty | Attorney |
| Auctions | Let multiple buyers bid competitively for products from individual suppliers. Suitable for hard-to-move goods such as used capital equipment (forklifts) and surplus or excess inventory. Prices only move up, but buyers can buy below list prices while sellers sell for more than a liquidator pays. Auctions are becoming a feature of many Net markets, but some use auctions as their primary market mechanism. Examples: AdAuction, TradeOut.com (used equipment). |
| Audit | A methodical examination and review of a situation or condition (as within a business enterprise) concluding with a detailed report of findings. |
| Auth. | Authorized |
| Authentication | Proof by means of a signature or otherwise that a certain document or certain data is of undisputed origin and genuine. |
| Authorisation levels | A definition of the information or documents a certain user is allowed to view, update or amend and what functionality he/she is entitled to access. |
| Authorization | The commission to a certain person or body to act on behalf of another person or body. The person or body can be authorized e.g. to issue Bills of Lading or to collect freight. |
| Auto Container | Container equipped for the transportation of vehicles. |
| Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV) | These are battery electronic vehicles which follow a predetermined track within a warehouse operation. |
| Automatic Identification | A means of identifying an item e.g. a product, parcel or transport unit by a machine (device) entering the data automatically into a computer. The most widely used technology at present is bar code - others include radio frequency, magnetic stripes and optical character recognition. |
| Automatic Identification Manufacturers (AIM) | International organization of companies and/or associations involved or interested in automatic identification. |
| Aux. | Auxiliary |
| Availability | The primary measure of system performance relating to the expected percentage of the supported system that will be available at a random point in time and not out of service for lack of spares. |
| Available Stock | The stock available to service immediate demand. |
| Available to Promise (ATP) | The uncommitted portion of a company?s inventory and planned production, maintained in the master schedule to support customer order promising. The ATP quantity is the uncommitted inventory balance in the first period and is normally calculated for each period in which an MPS receipt is scheduled. In the first period, ATP includes on-hand inventory less customer orders that are due and overdue. |
| Average | In marine insurance: a loss or damage to or in respect of goods or equipment. The numerical result obtained by dividing the sum of two or more quantities by the number of quantities. |
| Average Adjusters | In general average affairs average adjusters are entrusted with the task of apportioning the loss and expenditure over the parties interested in the maritime venture and to determine which expenses are to be regarded as average or general average. |
| Average Inventory | Average inventory level measured over a certain period. It is calculated as follows: (Minimum inventory + maximum inventory) / 2 |
| AWB | Air Waybill |
| B/D | Bank(er?s) draft |
| B/G | Bonded goods |
| B/L | See Bill of Lading. |
| B/L R 300 | A classic marine Bill of Lading in which the carrier is also responsible for the part of the transport actually performed by himself. Sea Waybill: A non-negotiable document, which can only be made out to a named consignee. No surrender of the document by the consignee is required. |
| B/L R 302 | A modern document for either Combined Transport or Port to Port shipments depending whether the relevant spaces for place of receipt and/or place of delivery are indicated on the face of the document. Synonyms: Combined Transport Bill of Lading or Multimodal Transport document. |
| B2B | Business-to-business. Describes online transactions between one business, institution, or government agency and another. Differentiated from b2c (business-to-consumer) plays such as Amazon.com, eBay, and Yahoo. |
| BAC | Bunker adjustment charge |
| BACAT | Barge aboard catamaran |
| Back flushing | The deduction from inventory, after manufacture, of the component parts used in a parent by exploding the bill of materials by the production total of parents produced. |
| Back Haul | The return movement of a means of transport which has provided a transport service in one direction. |
| Back Letter | Back letters are drawn up in addition to a contract in order to lay down rights and/or obligations between both contracting parties, which, for some reason cannot be included in the original contract. This expression is sometimes used for letters of indemnity which are drawn up if the condition of the goods loaded gives rise to remarks and, nevertheless, the shipper insists upon receiving clean Bills of Lading. Letters of indemnity are only allowed in very exceptional circumstances. |
| Back Order | A customer?s order or commitment that is unfilled due to insufficient stock. |
| Back Scheduling | A method of obtaining a production schedule by working backwards from the required due date, in order to predict the latest start date in consistent with meeting that due date. |
| Back-end systems | Legacy enterprise systems that handle order processing, inventory, and receivables management for both buyers and suppliers. To deploy a digital trading platform, companies must often integrate new technologies with these older systems, which can include mainframe or ERP applications. |
| Back-handling | Use of delivery vehicles for return loads in order to optimise the utilisation of vehicle capacity. |
| Backbone | A central high speed network that connects smaller, independent networks. the NSFnet is an example. |
| Backhaul | The return movement of parts/material/containers from its original destination back to its point of origin. |
| Backlog | The quantity of goods still to be delivered, received, produced, issued, etc., for which the planned or agreed date has expired. The total number of customer orders which have been received but not yet been shipped. Synonym: Open Order. |
| Backorder | Order for a part in stock that cannot be or is not expected to be shipped directly. |
| Backorder Routine | Those special administrative routines which are needed to handle an inventory shortage that has arisen. |
| BAF | See Bunker Adjustment Factor. |
| Bags/Bulk | Part in bags. part in bulk |
| Bale space | The bale space of a vessel is the capacity of cargo spaces under deck (including hatchways but excluding void spaces behind cargo battens and beams) expressed in cubic meters or cubic feet. |
| Ballast | Materials solely carried to improve the trim and the stability of the vessel. In vessels usually water is carried as ballast in tanks, specially designed for that purpose. |
| Banking System | For marine purposes the practice of always keeping more than one piece of cargo on the quay or in the vessel ready for loading or discharging in order to avoid delays and to obtain optimal use of the loading gear. |
| Bar Coding | A method of encoding data for fast and accurate electronic readability. Bar codes are a series of alternating bars and spaces printed or stamped on products, labels, or other media, representing encoded information which can be read by electronic readers, used to facilitate timely and accurate input of data to a computer system. Bar codes represent letters and/or numbers and special characters like +, /, -, ., etc. |
| Bare Boat Charter | A charter whereby the charterer leases the bare ship and appoints the master and crew himself. |
| Barge | Flat bottomed inland cargo vessel for canals and rivers with or without own propulsion for the purpose of transporting goods. Synonym: Lighter. |
| Bars | Special devices mounted on container doors to provide a watertight locking. Synonym: Door lock bars. |
| Base | Home depot of container or trailer. |
| Basic Stock | Items of an inventory intended for issue against demand during the resupply lead-time. |
| Batch | A collection of products or data which is treated as one entity with respect to certain operations e.g. processing and production. |
| Batch Lot | A definite quantity of some product manufactured or produced under conditions that are presumed uniform and for production control purposes passing as a unit through the same series of operations. |
| Batch Number | A code used to identify the specific production point, for a product or an assembly, in a manufacturing or assembly process. |
| Batch Production | Method for production of a wide assortment in common production equipment. The setup costs in production can be reduced by using batch production. |
| Battens | Members protruding from the inside walls of a vessel's hold or a (thermal) container to keep away the cargo from the walls to provide an air passage. They may be integral with the walls, fastened to the walls or added during cargo handling. |
| Bay | A vertical division of a vessel from stem to stern, used as a part of the indication of a stowage place for containers. The numbers run from stem to stern - odd numbers indicate a 20 foot position, even numbers indicate a 40 foot position. |
| Bay Plan | A stowage plan that shows the locations of all the containers on the vessel. |
| BC | Bulk cargo |
| BC Code | Safe working practice code for solid bulk cargo. |
| Bdi | Both dates (days) inclusive |
| Bdth. | Breadth |
| Bdy. | Boundary |
| Benchmarking | Using specific measurements to compare performance against another standard. |
| Bending-moment | It is the result of vertical forces acting on a ship as a result of local differences between weight and buoyancy. The total of these forces should be zero - otherwise change of draft will occur. At sea the bending moment will change as a result of wave impact which than periodically changes the buoyancy distribution. Note: The maximum allowed bending moment of a vessel is restricted by the class bureau to certain limits which are different under port and sea conditions. |
| Berth | A location in a port where a vessel can be moored, often indicated by a code or name. |
| Beyond Economic Repair (BER) | Where the projected cost of repair, normally for a repairable or rotable item, exceeds a management set percentage of the replacement value of the item concerned. |
| Bilateral Transport Agreement | Agreement between two nations concerning their transport relation. |
| Bill of Health | The Bill of Health is the certificate issued by local medical authorities indicating the general health conditions in the port of departure or in the ports of call. The Bill of Health must have visa before departure by the Consul of the country of destination. When a vessel has free pratique, this means that the vessel has a clean Bill of Health certifying that there are no questions of contagious disease and that all quarantine regulations have been complied with, so that people may embark and disembark. |
| Bill of Lading (B/L) | A document which evidences a contract of carriage by sea. The document has the following functions: 1. A receipt for goods, signed duly by an authorized person on behalf of the carriers. 2. A document of title to the goods described therein. 3 Evidence of the terms and conditions of carriage agreed upon between the two parties. |
| Bill of Lading Clause | A particular article, stipulation or single proviso in a Bill of Lading. A clause can be standard and can be preprinted on the B/L. |
| Bill of Material | A means of recording all goods, raw materials, semifinished goods and other components used in a company's production. This record can e.g. concern the number of parts, the number of versions of different parts, and the division of parts into standard and non standard items. |
| Bill of Materials Function | Ability to present predefined lists of items routinely required by buyers for a specific purpose. Can greatly reduce the planning process. In vertical markets, the challenge is developing a complete list of items that need to be purchased for specific products or projects. PartMiner (electronic components) uses this function to create a complete view of buyer activity, both purchases that go to contract suppliers and purchases made on its anonymous spot market. Enables a market to combine a channel enabler approach with an exchange. |
| Bimodal Trailer | A road semi-trailer with retractable running gear to allow mounting on a pair of rail boogies. Synonym: Road-Rail trailer A trailer which is able to carry different types of standardized unit loads, (e.g. a chassis which is appropriate for the carriage of one FEU or two TEU's). |
| Bk. | Bank |
| Bkge | Bokerage |
| BL-efficiency | This can be divided into internal and external efficiency. Internal BL-efficiency is efficiency in the control and handling of the materials flow. External BL-efficiency is the contribution to the company's results from the control and handling of the materials flow measure as a percentage of the possible contribution. |
| BL-function | All activities in a company, both operational and administrative, aiming at fulfilling the company's BL administrative targets, such as low costs for material control and material handling, good customer service, high inventory turnover. A BL-function is not necessarily the same as an organizational department. |
| BL-objectives | Objectives which are formulated from a BL-perspective. They can be divided into four groups - 1. Reduction of BL-costs, 2. Ensuring material supply for manufacturing, 3. Adapting customer services to meet customer needs, 4. Increasing inventory turnover. Every group of BL-objectives consists of a number of sub targets such as low transportation costs, low inventory costs, short delivery times, high service level, low shortage costs, low tied up capital etc. |
| BL-perspective | Frame of reference for the coordination of the following targets in the company: to reduce transportation, storing and packing costs, to increase readiness for deliveries to the market, to guarantee the material supply to the manufacturing operation, to improve inventory turnover. |
| BL-systems | A comprehensive term for all activities, resources, relations between different activities, management and objectives in a company which are connected with the material flow from a supplier through the company and to the end customer. The company's BL-systems can e.g. be divided into the three sub-systems: the Material Supply System, the Production Control System and the Distribution System. They are working to support the overall BL-function to enable it to fulfill its purpose. A BL-system is always unique for the situation. The person who is going to use the system decides the definitions of the system. He/she will then determine what the system will focus on from the perspective of the targets to be achieved by the system. |
| Blanket Release | A delivery condition which means that the buyer can require delivery of a consignment at any time after the purchasing agreement has been concluded. A blanket release can involve a whole consignment or parts thereof. |
| Blanket Release Schedule | A schedule that includes dates when different call offs will be made and describes the goods and the quantities to be called off. |
| Blk. | Bulk |
| Boatman | Person who attends to the mooring and unmooring of vessels. |
| Bollard | Post, fixed to a quay or a vessel, for securing mooring ropes. |
| Bolster | See Container Bolster. |
| BOM | Bill Of Materials |
| Bona Fide | In good faith - without dishonesty, fraud or deceit. |
| Bonded | Booking |
| Booking Reference Number | The number assigned to a certain booking by the carrier or his agent. |
| Bookmark | Saved link to a resource, typically a Web page, that allow you to quickly retrieve a particular resource in the future without the need to retype the URL. Many browsers allow you to manage and structure a collection of bookmarks according to individual preferences. A bookmark is also referred to as a favorite. Synonym: Favourites |
| Bottleneck | A stage in a process that limits performance. Note: Generally this is interpreted as a facility, function, department etc. that impedes performance, for example a warehouse or distribution centre where goods arrive at a faster rate than they can be transported or stored, thus causing stock-piling at improper moments or in unwanted areas. |
| Bottom Fittings | Special conical shaped devices inserted between a container and the permanent floor on the deck of a vessel in order to avoid shifting of the container during the voyage of this vessel. |
| Bottom Lift | Handling of containers with equipment attached to the four bottom corner fittings (castings). |
| Box Pallet | Pallet with at least three fixed, removable or collapsible vertical sides. |
| BPO | Rail Tariff Balkans - Near East (Balkan Proche Orient) |
| BPR | Business Process Re-engineering |
| Branch Warehouse | A facility for holding a common stock for a smaller geographical environment, which acts as a subsidiary to a central warehouse. |
| Break Bulk | To commence discharge. |
| Break Bulk Cargo | General cargo conventionally stowed as opposed to unitized, containerized and Roll On-Roll Off cargo. Synonym: Conventional Cargo. |
| Break Points | Break points where there is manufacturing, storing or re-loading. |
| Brl. | Barrel |
| Broken Stowage | The cargo space which is unavoidably lost when stowing cargo. The percentage of wasted space depends upon e.g. the kind of cargo, the packing and the used spaces. |
| Broker | Person who acts as an agent or intermediary in negotiating contracts. |
| Browser | Application that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the Web. It uses the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to request resources from Web servers throughout the Internet on behalf of the browser user. The browser then receives that resource - typically an HTML document - which is displayed by the browser. Popular browsers are the Netscape Navigator and the Internet Explorer. |
| Brussels Tariff Nomenclature (BTN) | The old Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature for the classification of goods. Now replaced by the Harmonized System. |
| BSI Specification | British Standards Institution Specification for freight containers. |
| BTN | See Brussels Tariff Nomenclature. |
| Budget | The company's action plan for the future expressed in economic terms, e.g. production budget or purchasing budget. General description of inventory which releases the input and output stages from direct dependence on one other. The term is used both for cycle stock and safety stock when attention is directed to the released function. |
| Buffer Stock | General description of inventory which releases the input and output stages from direct dependence on one other. A quantity of goods or articles kept in store to safeguard against unforeseen shortages or demands. The term is used both for cycle stock and safety stock when attention is directed to the released function. |
| Build Stock | See Anticipation Stock |
| Bulk Bags | A large polythene liner that can be fitted to a 20'GP as an alternative to bulk containers. |
| Bulk Cargo | Unpacked homogeneous cargo poured loose in a certain space of a vessel or container e.g. oil and grain. |
| Bulk Carrier | Single deck vessel designed to carry homogeneous unpacked dry cargoes such as grain, iron ore and coal. |
| Bulk Container | Shipping container designed for the carriage of free-flowing dry cargoes, which are loaded through hatchways in the roof of the container and discharged through hatchways at one end of the container. |
| Bulkhead | Upright partition dividing compartments on board a vessel. The functions of bulkheads are: 1. To increase the safety of a vessel by dividing it into watertight compartments. 2. To separate the engine room from the cargo holds. 3. To increase the transverse strength of a vessel. 4. A vertically mounted board to provide front wall protection against shifting cargo and commonly seen on platform trailers (road cargo). Synonym: Header Board. |
| Bull rings | Rings for lashing the cargo in containers. |
| Bunker | (Tank) spaces on board a vessel to store fuel. |
| Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) | Adjustment applied by shipping lines or liner conferences to offset the effect of fluctuations in the cost of bunkers. |
| BUP | Bulk Unit Programme |
| Bureau Veritas | French classification society. |
| Business Concept | A clear statement of how the company is trying to create profitability. The main components of the business concept are: the niche in, the business area that the company specializes in, the products or systems offered in that niche, and the resources and internal relations in the company by whose help success is achieved. |
| Business Intelligence | Usage of timely and accurate information to base decisions upon. Typically, includes a broad category of applications and technologies for gathering, storing, analyzing, and providing access to data. Activities include decision support, query and reporting, online analytical processing, statistical analysis, forecasting, and data mining. |
| Business Logistics (BL) | Strategic, tactical and operational approaches and principles applied to increase the return on investment by developing the cost efficiency of the material flow, the return on capital in the material flow and the service to the customers. The BL-principles are the basis for development, planning, coordination and control of the material flow from raw material supplier to end customer. |
| Business Logistics Costs | All costs that can be related to the material flow in a company. In the first instance it is the following costs that are usually regarded as BL costs: transportation costs, inventory costs, packing costs, administrative costs, order processing, inventory control, transport administration, additional purchasing costs, setup costs and shortage costs. |
| Business Process Improvement (BPI) | Business process improvement can be an effective strategy - when conducted as an integrated process to redesign the nature of the work, the information systems support that work and the organisation around that work. BPI is a means of process improvement. |
| Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) | The fundamental analysis and radical redesign of everything: business processes and management systems, job definitions, organizational structures and beliefs and behaviors to achieve dramatic performance improvements to meet contemporary requirements. Information technology (IT) is a key enabler in this process. |
| Buyer's Market | A 'buyer's market' is considered to exist when goods can easily be secured and when the economic forces of business tend to cause goods to be priced at the purchaser's estimate of value. In other words, a state of trade favourable to the buyer, with relatively large supply and low prices. |
| BW | Bonded warehouse |
| Bxs | Boxes |
| C&D | Collection and delivery |
| C&F | Cost and Freight |
| C&F | Cost and freight (CFR) |
| C&I | Cost and insurance |
| C/D | Customs declaration |
| C/N | Consignment note |
| C/N (2) | Credit Note |
| C/O | Certificate of origin |
| C/P | Charter party |
| C/P blading | Charter party bill of lading |
| C/T | Container Terminal |
| CAC | Currency adjustment charge |
| CAD | See Cash Against Documents. |
| CAF | See Currency Adjustment Factor. |
| Call | The visit of a vessel to a port. |
| Call Sign | A code published by the International Telecommunication Union in its annual List of Ships' Stations to be used for the information interchange between vessels, port authorities and other relevant participants in international trade. |
| CALS Test Network (CTN) | The CALS Test Network (CTN) is a confederation of hundreds of industry and government organizations that have agreed to evaluate and demonstrate the interchange and functional use of digital technical information using CALS standards. This is accomplished through a collaborative multi-service effort. |
| Capacity | The ability, in a given time, of a resource measured in quality and quantity. The quantity of goods which can be stored in or loaded into a warehouse, store and/or loaded into a means of transport at a particular time. |
| Capacity Control | Process of registering and steering of capacity. |
| Capacity Management | Planning of machines and personnel in order to achieve the most efficient utilization of resources. |
| Capital Costs | Costs of using capital as a production factor. Capital costs are considered to include depreciation and interest. They are normally expressed per year and are defined as the yearly cost return on investment and depreciation of an investment cost for e.g. a building, a machine or an increase in inventory. |
| Capital Rationalization | Means of improving the rate of return mainly by a faster return on capital. It is often used as a working title for a change in production methods which releases capital without decreasing production. |
| Cargo | Goods transported or to be transported, all goods carried on a ship covered by a B/L. Any goods, wares, merchandise, and articles of every kind whatsoever carried on a ship, other than mail, ship's stores, ship's spare parts, ship's equipment, stowage material, crew's effects and passengers' accompanied baggage (IMO). Any property carried on an aircraft, other than mail, stores and accompanied or mishandled baggage Also referred to as 'goods' (ICAO). |
| Cargo Handling | All procedures necessary to enable the physical handling of goods. |
| Cargo Restriction Code | A code indicating that the use of a certain container is restricted to particular cargo. |
| Cargo Tracer | A document sent by the agent to all relevant parties, stating that certain cargo is either missing or over landed. |
| Cargo Unit | A vehicle, container, pallet, flat, portable tank or any other entity or any part thereof which belongs to the ship but is not permanently attached to that ship. |
| Carriage | The process of transporting (conveying) cargo, from one point to another. Synonym: Transport. |
| Carriage and Insurance Paid To.. | Carriage and insurance paid to... means that the seller has the same obligations as under CPT but with the addition that the seller has to procure cargo insurance against the buyer's risk of loss of or damage to the goods during the carriage. The seller contracts for insurance and pays the insurance premium. The buyer should note that under the CIP term the seller is only required to obtain insurance on minimum coverage. The CIP term requires the seller to clear the goods for export. This term may be used for any mode of transport including multimodal transport. |
| Carriage Paid To (...named place of destination) | Carriage paid to...? means that the seller pays the freight for the carriage of the goods to the named destination. The risk of loss of or damage to the goods, as well as any additional costs due to events occurring after the time the goods have been delivered to the carrier, is transferred from the seller to the buyer when the goods have been delivered into the custody of the carrier. |
| Carrier | The party undertaking transport of goods from one point to another. |
| Carrier Haulage | The inland transport service which is performed by the sea-carrier under the terms and conditions of the tariff and of the relevant transport document. |
| Carriers Bill of Lading Ports | Terminal, Pre-terminal port or Post-terminal Port as per tariff, indicated on the Bill of Lading and which is not the port physically called at by Carriers' ocean vessels. Note: Under normal circumstances in the B/L only ports should be mentioned which are actually called at. |
| Carriers' Lien | When the shipper ships goods 'collect', the carrier has a possessory claim on these goods, which means that the carrier can retain possession of the goods as security for the charges due. |
| Carrying Cost | See stockroom cost. |
| Carrying Temperature | Required cargo temperature during transport and storage. See also Setting/Air Delivery Temperature. |
| Cartage | See Haulage. |
| CAS | Currency adjustment surcharge |
| Cash Against Documents (CAD) | Terms of payment: if the buyer of goods pays for the goods against transfer of the documents, entitling him to obtain delivery of the goods from the carrier. |
| Cash On Delivery (COD) | Terms of payment: if the carrier collects a payment from the consignee and remits the amount to the shipper. |
| CASS | Cargo Accounts Setdement System (IATA) |
| Catalog Aggregation | Normalizing product data from multiple vendors so it can be easily compared. Virtual distributors and content aggregators often provide this service to buyers. Most valuable when products are complex and have many attributes. Prices are set, sometimes on contract. |
| Catalog Aggregators | Make sense of buying options by aggregating catalogs from multiple vendors with relatively static prices. Act as a neutral intermediary but help buyers make sense of multiple vendors. Also normalize information coming from diverse sources to enable comparisons of similar products and services. Typically function as virtual distributors but don't take possession of goods themselves. Collect transaction fees on purchases but can generate additional revenue via credit checks, logistics, fulfillment, insurance, or other parts of the transaction process. Must satisfy suppliers' needs for differentiation while making comparisons possible for buyers. Examples: Chemdex, PlasticsNet, Sciquest (scientific equipment), Testmart (test equipment). Synonym: Virtual distributor. |
| Category Management | The management of groups of products that are interchangeable, or substitutable, in meeting consumer needs as opposed to the traditional concentration on individual products and brands. |
| CB | Container base |
| Cbd | Cash before delivery |
| Cbm | Cubic meter |
| CC | Charges collect |
| CCL | Customs clearance |
| CCS | Consolidated cargo (container) service |
| Cell | Location on board of a container vessel where one container can be stowed. |
| Cell Position | The location of a cell on board of a container vessel identified by a code for successively the bay, the row and the tier, indicating the position of a container on that vessel. |
| Cell-guide | Steel bars and rails used to steer containers during loading and discharging whilst sliding in the ship. |
| Cellular Vessel | A vessel, specially designed and equipped for the carriage of containers. |
| CEM | European Conference on Goodstrain time-tables |
| CENSA | Council of European and Japanese National Shipowner's Associations. The main objectives of this organization are to promote and protect sound shipping policies in all sectors of shipping, to coordinate and present the views of its members and to exchange views with other ship-owner groups. |
| Central Warehouse | A common inventory location for a large geographical area, often used to supply smaller branch warehouses. |
| Centre of Gravity | Point at which the entire weight of a body may be considered as concentrated so that if supported at this point the body would remain in equilibrium in any position. |
| CEO | Chief executive officer |
| Certificate | A document by which a fact is formally or officially attested and in which special requirements and conditions can be stated. |
| Certificate of Analysis | A document, often required by an importer or governmental authorities, attesting to the quality or purity of commodities. The origin of the certification may be a chemist or any other authorized body such as an inspection firm retained by the exporter or importer. In some cases the document may be drawn up by the manufacturer certifying that the merchandise shipped has been tested in his facility and found conform to the specifications. |
| Certificate of Classification | A certificate, issued by the classification society and stating the class under which a vessel is registered. |
| Certificate of Delivery | A certificate indicating the condition of a vessel upon delivery for a charter including ballast, available bunkers and fresh water. |
| Certificate of Free Sale | A certificate, required by some countries as evidence that the goods are normally sold on the open market and approved by the regulatory authorities in the country of origin. |
| Certificate of Origin | A certificate, showing the country of original production of goods. Frequently used by customs in ascertaining duties under preferential tariff programs or in connection with regulating imports from specific sources. |
| Certificate of Redelivery | A certificate, indicating the condition of a vessel upon redelivery from a charter including ballast, available bunkers and fresh water. |
| CET | Contraband Enforcement Team Used to explain the type of customs hold a container may have upon arrival into the USA. Example: Container has been placed on CET hold |
| CFD | Continuous Flow Distribution |
| CFR | See Cost and Freight (...named port of destination). |
| CFS | See Container Freight Station. |
| CH | Carriers haulage |
| Ch.fwd. | Charges forward |
| Chain Conveyor | A conveyor consisting of two or more strands of chain running in parallel tracks with the loads carried directly on the chains. |
| Channel Enablers | Marketplaces friendly to existing distribution channels rather than trying to create a new channel. Maintain relationships for the traders rather than in the Net market itself. Examples: IMXchange.com (market for mortgage lenders and brokers), Channelpoint (market between insurance brokers and carriers). |
| Channel Structure | The method by which goods move from the producer to the customer. This will range from direct selling with no intermediaries to a structure involving agents, wholesales, retailers, etc. |
| Charge | An amount to be paid for carriage of goods based on the applicable rate of such carriage, or an amount to be paid for a special or incidental service in connection with the carriage of goods. |
| Charge Type | A separate, identifiable element of charges to be used in the pricing/rating of common services rendered to customers. |
| Charter Contract | See Charter Party. |
| Charter Party | A contract in which the ship owner agrees to place his vessel or a part of it at the disposal of a third party, the charterer, for the carriage of goods for which he receives a freight per ton cargo, or to let his vessel for a definite period or trip for which a hire is paid. |
| Charterer | The legal person who has signed a charter party with the owner of a vessel or an aircraft and thus hires or leases a vessel or an aircraft or a part of the capacity thereof. |
| Chassis | 1. A wheeled carriage onto which an ocean container is mounted for inland conveyance. 2. The part of a motor vehicle that includes the engine, the frame, suspension system, wheels, steering mechanism etc., but not the body |
| CHC | Cargo handling charges |
| Churn | The relentless cycle of acquiring new customers and losing others that characterizes consumer e-commerce and reduces lifetime customer value because switching is so easy. (See switching costs, lifetime value of the customer.) |
| cia | Cash in advance |
| CIF | Cost, Insurance and Freight means that the seller has the same obligations as under CFR but with the addition that he has to procure marine insurance against the buyer's risk of loss of or damage to the goods during the carriage. The seller contracts for insurance and pays the insurance premium.? The buyer should note that under the CIF term the seller is only required to obtain insurance on minimum coverage. The CIF term requires the seller to clear the goods for export. This term can only be used for sea and inland waterway transport. When the ship's rail serves no practical purposes such as in the case of roll-on/ roll-off or container traffic, the CIP term is more appropriate to use. |
| CIF&E | Cost, insurance, freight and exchange |
| CIF&I | Cost, insurance, freight and interest |
| CIFC | Cost, insurance, freight and commission |
| CIFC&E | Cost, insurance, freight, commission and exchange |
| CIFC&I | Cost, insurance, freight, commission and interest |
| CIFI&E | Cost, insurance, freight, interest & exchange |
| CIFIC | Cost, insurance, freight, interest, commission |
| CIFLT | Cost, insurance and freight. London terms |
| CIFW | Cost, insurance and freight/war |
| CIM | International Convention concerning the Carriage of Goods by Railway |
| CIM (2) | Computer Integrated Manufacturing, an ESPRIT project on the use of information technology in industrial environments. |
| CIP | See Carriage and Insurance Paid To (...named place of destination). |
| CIV | Cm International Convention on the Carriage of Passengers and Luggage by Railway |
| CKD | Completely knocked down/unassembled |
| Claim | The buyer's claim notification indicating wrong or defective parts delivered, delay or other shortcomings in a delivery. |
| Classification | Arrangement according to a systematic division of a number of objects into groups, based on some likenesses or some common traits. |
| Classification Society | An organization, whose main function is to carry out surveys of vessels, its purpose being to set and maintain standards of construction and upkeep for vessels, their engines and their safety equipment. A classification society also inspects and approves the construction of shipping containers. |
| Clean B/L | See: clean bill of lading |
| Clean Bill of Lading | A Bill of Lading which does not contain any qualification about the apparent order and condition of the goods to be transported (it bears no stamped clauses on the front of the B/L). It bears no superimposed clauses expressly declaring a defective condition of the goods or packaging (resolution of the ICS 1951). |
| Clean on Board | When goods are loaded on board and the document issued in respect to these goods is clean. Note: Through the usage of the UCP 500 rules the term has now become superfluous. |
| Clearance Terminal | Terminal where Customs facilities for the clearance of goods are available. |
| Cleared Without Examination (CWE) | Cleared by customs without inspection. |
| Client | A party with which a company has a commercial relationship concerning the transport of e.g. cargo or concerning certain services of the company concerned, either directly or through an agent. Synonym: Customer. |
| Clip on Unit (COU) | Detachable aggregate for a temperature controlled container (Conair). |
| Closed Ventilated Container | A container of a closed type, similar to a general purpose container, but specially designed for carriage of cargo where ventilation, either natural or mechanical (forced), is necessary. |
| CLP | Cargo Loss Prevention |
| CLP (2) | See Container Load Plan. |
| cm | Centimeter(s) |
| CMR | Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road |
| CNC | See Compagneurs Nationales des Conteneurs. |
| Cnee | Consignee |
| Cnmt | Consignment |
| Co-loading | The loading, on the way, of cargo from another shipper, having the same final destination as the cargo loaded earlier. |
| Co-makership | The long-term relationship between e.g. a supplier or a carrier and a customer, on the basis of mutual confidence. Synonym: Co-shippership. |
| Co-Managed Inventory | A support arrangement similar to Vendor Managed Inventory but where replacement orders for the vendor-owned stock are agreed by the user prior to delivery. |
| Co-shippership | See Co-makership. |
| Coalition | Coalitions are either buy-side or sell-side and are generally groups of buyers or sellers who agree to channel procurement through a single marketplace. They operate a marketplace without having a third party, neutral Net market as the hub. Many claim to be neutral--that anyone can join--but, by the nature of their partnership their first audience is either buyers or sellers. The advantage of coalitions, particularly buy-side coalitions, is they can do a lot of transactions, which creates marketplace liquidity. However, the problem with coalitions is they have several challenges to overcome--political challenges, both from regulators and relationships between powerful companies, as well as technology challenges of integrating legacy systems. Due to the complexity of these issues, none are operational yet. If they do in fact successfully overcome these obstacles and operationalize, we expect they will conduct a large number of transactions because they can force their suppliers to go through this marketplace t |
| COC | Carrier Owned Container |
| COD | See Cash On Delivery. |
| COFC | Container-on-Flat-Car (Rail flatcar) |
| Cofferdam | An empty space on board of a vessel between two bulkheads or two decks separating oil tanks from each other and/or the engine room or other compartments. |
| Collaboration | Interaction of two or more parties - people and companies - related to a common topic. This includes sharing information and doing business. Characteristic of collaboration, instead of integration and cooperation, is the loose coupling of the parties involved and the fast, flexible, ad hoc approach to successful interaction. |
| Collapsible Container | Container which can be easily folded, disassembled and reassembled. |
| Coltrainer | Collapsible container |
| Combination Charge | An amount which is obtained by combining two or more charges. |
| Combination Chassis | A chassis which can carry either one forty foot or thirty foot container or a combination of shorter containers e.g. 2 x 20 feet. |
| Combined Transport | Intermodal transport where the major part of the journey is by one mode such as rail, inland waterway or sea and any initial and/or final leg carried out by another mode such as road. Synonym: Multimodal Transport |
| Combined Transport Document (CTD) | Negotiable or non-negotiable document evidencing a contract for the performance and/or procurement of performance of combined transport of goods. Synonym: Multi modal transport document. |
| Combined Transport Operator (CTO) | A party who undertakes to carry goods with different modes of transport. Synonym: Multimodal Transport Operator. |
| Combiterms | Delivery terms for intemarional groupage traffic (among forwarders) |
| Commercial Invoice | A document showing commercial values of the transaction between the buyer and seller. |
| Commodity | Indication of the type of goods. Commodities are coded according to the harmonized system. |
| Commodity Box Rate | A rate classified by commodity and quoted per container. |
| Commodity Code | Code used in the Harmonized System for the classification of goods which are most commonly produced and traded. |
| Common Access Reference | A key to relate all subsequent transfers of data to the same business case or file. |
| Common Costs | Shared costs which are independent of individual activities, whether they are carried out or not. A shared cost is thus common for many activities in a company. |
| Compagneurs Nationales des Conteneurs | Abbreviation: CNC affiliate of the French National Railways for Container traffic. |
| Competitive Devices | Comprehensive description of different sales promotional tools used by a business to improve its competitiveness. A company's competitive devices consist principally of the product, pricing, product mix, distribution systems, advertising, PR and customer service. |
| Complete Knock-Down? (CKD) | A form of manufacturing, involving the deconstruction of vehicles into kit form for subsequent re-assembly at a chosen destination. SKD (Semi Knock-Down) is a diluted version of CKD. |
| Complete Software Solutions | These solutions are applied within an industrial environment, providing manufacturers with real time information and a clear overview of its operations. Various management tools are offered through a common interface for all users and other systems throughout the company, with functions, such as order processing, accounting & billing, inventory and production planning being typical solution inclusions. |
| Component | A uniquely identifiable product that is considered indivisible for a particular planning or control purpose, and/or which cannot be decomposed without destroying it. Note: A component for one organizational group may be the final assembly of another group (e.g. electric motor). |
| Component Manufacturer? (CM) | A manufacturer of automotive components and supplier to vehicle assemblers (see Vehicle Manufacturers). |
| Component Part | Raw material, ingredient, part, or subassembly that goes into a higher level assembly, compound, or other part. |
| Compradore | A local advisor or agent employed by a foreign party or company who acts as an intermediary in transactions with local inhabitants. |
| Computer Virus | A program that can infect other programs by modifying them to include a possibly evolved copy of itself. |
| Conair Container | Thermal container served by an external cooling system (e.g. a vessel's or Clip On Unit), which regulates the temperature of cargo. Note: Conair is a brand name. |
| Conditions | Anything called for as requirements before the performance or completion of something else.? Contractual stipulations which are printed on a document or provided separately. |
| Cones | Devices for facilitating the loading, positioning and lashing of containers. The cones insert into the bottom castings of the container. Synonym: Locating pin. |
| Congestion | Accumulation of vessels at a port to the extent that vessels arriving to load or discharge are obliged to wait for a vacant berth. |
| Connecting Road Haulage | See Drayage. |
| Consgt | Consignment |
| Consignee | The party such as mentioned in the transport document by whom the goods, cargo or containers are to be received. |
| Consignment | A separate identifiable number of goods (available to be) transported from one consignor to one consignee via one or more than one modes of transport and specified in one single transport document. Synonym for the USA: Shipment. |
| Consignment Instructions | Instructions from either the seller/consignor or the buyer/consignee to a freight forwarder, carrier or his agent, or other provider of a service, enabling the movement of goods and associated activities. The following functions can be covered: 1. Movement and handling of goods (shipping, forwarding and stowage) 2. Customs formalities 3. Distribution of documents 4. Allocation of documents (freight and charges for the connected operations) 5. Special instructions (insurance, dangerous goods, goods release, additional documents required) |
| Consignment Note | A document prepared by the shipper and comprising a transport contract. It contains details of the consignment to be carried to the port of loading and it is signed by the inland carrier as proof of receipt. |
| Consignment Stock | The stock of goods with an external party (customer) which is still the property of the supplier. Payment for these goods is made to the supplier at the moment when they are sold (used) by this party. |
| Consignor | See Shipper. |
| Consolidate | To group and stuff several shipments together in one container. |
| Consolidated Container | Container stuffed with several shipments (consignments) from different shippers for delivery to one or more consignees. |
| Consolidation | The grouping together of smaller consignments of goods into a large consignment for carriage as a larger unit in order to obtain a reduced rate. |
| Consolidation Point | Location where consolidation of consignments takes place. |
| Consolidator | A firm or company which consolidates cargo. |
| Consortium | Consortium is a form of cooperation between two or more carriers to operate in a particular trade. |
| Consular Invoice | An invoice covering shipment of goods certified by a consular official of the destination country, and used normally by customs or officials concerned with foreign exchange availability to ascertain the correctness of commercial invoice values. |
| Consumable | A classification of stock used to describe items or products that are totally consumed in use (eg paper, oil, grease etc). |
| Container | An item of equipment as defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for transport purposes. It must be of: 1. a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use 2. specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods, by one or more modes of transport without intermediate reloading 3. fitted with devices permitting its ready handling, particularly from one mode of transport to another 4. so designed as to be easy to fill and empty 5. having an internal volume of 1 m3 or more. The term container includes neither vehicles nor conventional packing. Synonym: Freight Container. |
| Container Bolster | A container floor without sides or end walls which does not have the ISO corner fittings and is generally used for Ro/Ro operations. Synonym: Bolster. Note: A bolster cannot be handled either full or empty by a container spreader without special gear. |
| Container Chassis | A vehicle specially built for the purpose of transporting a container so that, when container and chassis are assembled, the produced unit serves as a road trailer. |
| Container Check Digit | The 7th digit of the serial number of a container used to check whether prefix and serial number are correct. |
| Container Depot | Storage area for empty containers. |
| Container Freight Station (CFS) | A facility at which (export) LCL cargo is received from merchants for loading (stuffing) into containers or at which (import) LCL cargo is unloaded (stripped) from containers and delivered to merchants. |
| Container Lease | The contract by which the owner of containers (lessor) gives the use of containers to a lessee for a specified period of time and for fixed payments. |
| Container Load Plan | A list of items loaded in a specific container and where appropriate their sequence of loading. |
| Container Logistics | The controlling and positioning of containers and other equipment. |
| Container Manifest | The document specifying the contents of particular freight containers or other transport units, prepared by the party responsible for their loading into the container or unit. Synonym: Unit packing list, Container Load Plan. |
| Container Moves | The number of actions performed by one container crane during a certain period. |
| Container Number | Identification number of a container consisting of prefix and serial number and check digit. (e.g. KNLU 123456-7, see also container serial number and container prefix.) |
| Container Owner | A party who has a container at his disposal and who is entitled to lease or sell the container. |
| Container Platform | A container floor without sides or end walls which can be loaded by spreader directly and is generally used for Lo-Lo operations. |
| Container Pool | A certain stock of containers which is jointly used by several container carriers and/or leasing companies. |
| Container Prefix | A four letter code that forms the first part of a container identification number indicating the owner of a container. Synonym: Owner's Container Code. |
| Container Safety Convention (CSC) | International convention for safe containers. |
| Container Serial Number | A seven digit serial number (6 plus 1 Check Digit) that forms the second part of a container identification number. |
| Container Service Charges | Charges to be paid by cargo interests as per tariff. |
| Container Size Code | An indication of 2 digits of the nominal length and nominal height. See also Size/Type ISO6346. |
| Container Size/Type | Description of the size and type of a freight container or similar unit load device as specified in ISO6346. |
| Container Stack | Two or more containers, one placed above the other forming a vertical column. See also stack. |
| Container Sublease | Contract by which a carrier gives the use of containers to another carrier for a specified period of time and for fixed payments. |
| Container Terminal | Place where loaded and/or empty containers are loaded or discharged into or from a means of transport. |
| Container Type Code | Two digits, the first of which indicates the category and the second of which indicates certain physical characteristics or other attributes. See also container Size/Type ISO6346. |
| Container Yard (CY) | A facility at which FCL traffic and empty containers are received from or delivered to the Merchant by or on behalf of the Carrier. Note: Often this yard is used to receive goods on behalf of the merchant and pack these in containers for FCL traffic.? Synonym: Marshalling Yard. |
| Containerized | Indication that goods have been stowed in a container. |
| Contingency Stock | Stock held to cover potential system failure situations which can be mathematically modeled. |
| Continuous Improvement (CI) | A term that describes the many management practices and techniques used to find and eliminate waste and to general improvements in business processes, quality or costs. |
| Continuous Replenishment (CRP) | CRP is based on the supplier delivering replenishment shipments triggered by the demand communicated by the retailer ? either based directly on EPOS data from stores, or based on shipments out of the distribution centers (which should correlate closely with sales). Key rules for the process must be agreed i.e. frequency, minimum quantities etc. |
| Contraband | Goods forbidden by national law to be imported or exported. |
| Contract | An agreement enforceable by law between two or more parties stipulating their rights and obligations which are required by one or both parties to acts or forbearance by the other or both. |
| Contract Carrier | A third party carrier contracted to manage relationships with suppliers. |
| Contract Logistics | The contracting out of all the warehousing, transport and distribution activities or a part thereof by manufacturing companies. |
| Contract of Affreightment | An agreement whereby the ship owner agrees to carry goods by water, or furnishes a vessel for the purpose of carrying goods by water, in return for a sum of money called freight. There are two forms: the charter party and the contract contained in the Bill of Lading. |
| Contractor Integrated Tech Info Service | A technical information service based on the integration of databases (contractor , subcontractor, and government ) contractually established and managed by the defense contractor to receive, maintain, and provide access to technical and support information on a defense system. |
| Contractual Port of Loading | A port at which an ocean vessel does not call, but which is equalized with the actual port of call and upon which inland haulage services and inland tariffs are based. Synonym: Commercial POL/POD. Note: Generally speaking it is seen as the port to be mentioned on the B/L from which cargo is accepted (e.g. delivered by the consignee for sea transport). |
| Contribution | The difference between additional revenue and additional cost. It can relate to a product group, a single product, a customer or a group of customers. |
| Contribution Degree | Economic key data defined as the contribution as a percentage of the total revenues. |
| Control | The registration and check on data and activities as well as determining supervising procedures and changes related to procedures. |
| Control Group Cycle Counting | The repeated physical inventory taking of a small "control group" of parts, in the same locations, within a very short time frame to verify the design of a new inventory process. It is the only form of cycle counting not truly used to measure inventory record accuracy. |
| Conventional Cargo | See Break Bulk Cargo. |
| Convertor Dolly | An auxiliary undercarriage assembly consisting of a chassis, fifth wheel and towbar used to convert a semitrailer or a container chassis to a full trailer. |
| Conveyance | Transport of goods from one place to another. |
| Conveyor | A mechanical device in the form of a continuous belt for transporting cargo. |
| COP | Customs of port |
| COQ | Cost of Quality |
| Core Competence | The combination of individual skills and use of technologies that underlay the various products and or services of a business. |
| Corner Fittings | Fittings located at the corners of containers providing means of supporting, stacking, handling and securing the container. Synonym: corner casting. |
| Corner Post | Vertical structural member at either side of an 'end frame' of a container joining a top and a bottom corner fitting (and thereby forming a 'corner structure'). |
| Correction Message | A substitution for what has been wrong in a prior data interchange between computers in accordance with interchange agreements. |
| COS | Cash on shipment |
| Cost and Freight... | Cost and Freight means that the seller must pay the costs and freight necessary to bring the goods to the named port of destination but the risk of loss of or damage to the goods, as well as any additional costs due to events occurring after the time the goods have been delivered on board the vessel, is transferred from the seller to the buyer when the goods pass the ship's rail in the port of shipment. The CFR term requires the seller to clear the goods for export. This term can only be used for sea and inland waterway transport. When the ship's rail serves no practical purpose, such as in the case of roll-on/roll-off or container traffic, the CPT term is more appropriate to use. |
| Cost Interest | Is an interest rate decided by the management to be used internally in calculations of rate of return, calculations of costs for work-in-progress, storage and inventory costs etc. The calculation expresses the desired return on investment, i.e. the alternative value of the capital. Different calculation interest rates can be used for different uses of capital. |
| COT | The customer arranges his own transport of the container to and from the terminal or depot but agrees to restitute the container back to the terminal or depot. |
| COTIF | Convention Concerning International Carrriage by Rail (CIM-CIV) |
| COU | See Clip On Unit. |
| Country of Departure | Country from which a certain means of transport is scheduled to depart or has departed. |
| Country of Despatch | Country from which the goods are shipped. |
| Country of Origin | Country in which the goods have been produced or manufactured, according to criteria laid down for the purpose of application of the customs tariff, of quantitative restrictions, or of any other measure related to trade. |
| Country of Provenance | The country from which goods or cargo are sent to the importing country. |
| CP | Customs of Port |
| CP (2) | Carriage paid |
| CPLTC | Conference Port Liner Term Charges |
| CPT | See Carriage Paid To (...named place of destination). |
| Crane | A machine designed for moving and lifting weight by means of a movable projecting arm or a horizontal beam which is able to travel over a certain distance. |
| Crew Member | Any person actually employed for duties on board during a voyage in the working or service of a ship and included in the crew list (IMO). |
| Critical mass | When enough buyers and sellers participate in a Net market so goods or services change hands efficiently. Also, the time when a market gains momentum, achieves liquidity, and becomes a more efficient way to buy or sell than the traditional physical market or channel. (See network effect, liquidity.) |
| Critical Path Method | A network planning technique used for planning and controlling the activities in a project. By showing each of these activities and their associated times, the 'critical path' can be determined. The critical path is the series of successive activities which takes up most time and is therefore decisive for the total lead time of the project. |
| CRM | See: Customer Relationship Management |
| Cross Trades | Term used in shipping for the services of a vessel between nations other than the nation in which the vessel is registered (UNCTAD). |
| Cross-Docking | Transhipment of goods at various points along the supply chain . It relates to the physical receipt of goods and their immediate transfer to the next onward phase without being brought into inventory - e.g. from the supplier to a customer's central warehouse, configured in the correct way to allow onward movement to regional warehouses. |
| CRP | Continuous Replenishment Programme |
| Cruise Ship | A ship on an international voyage carrying passengers participating in a group programme and accommodated on board, for the purpose of making scheduled temporary tourist visits at one or more different ports, and which during the voyage does not normally: (a) embark or disembark any other passengers - (b) load or discharge any cargo. |
| CS | Customer Service |
| CSC | See Container Safety Convention. |
| CSR | Corporate social responsibility |
| CST | Container Service Tariff |
| CT | Conference terms |
| CT (2) | Combined transport |
| CTD | See Combined Transport Document. |
| CTO | See Combined Transport Operator. |
| CTPC | Cargo Traffic Procedures Committee (IATA) |
| Cu.ft | Cubic foot (feet) |
| Cu.in | Cubic inch(es) |
| Currency | A medium of exchange of value, defined by reference to the geographical location of the authorities responsible for it ISO4217. In general, the monetary unit, involved in a transaction and represented by a name or a symbol. |
| Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF) | Adjustment applied by shipping lines or liner conferences on freight rates to offset losses or gains for carriers resulting from fluctuations in exchange rates of tariff currencies. |
| Customer | See Client. |
| Customer Order Point (COP) | The point in the manufacturing process when the product becomes customer order oriented. The COP marks the changeover in the process from forecast and inventory control to customer order control. |
| Customer Order Production | Production for a specific customer order as opposed to inventory production. |
| Customer Pick Up | Cargo picked up by a customer at a warehouse. |
| Customer Relationship Management (CRM) | Set of methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way. It includes all business processes in sales, marketing, and service that touch the customer. For example, an enterprise might build a database about its customers that describes relationships in sufficient detail so that management, salespeople, people providing service, and even the customer can access information, match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements, know what other products a customer has purchased, and so on. In contrast to customer care, Customer Relationship Management tends to be used to deal more specifically with the integration of all business functions with each other. |
| Customer Response Centers (CRC) | CRC?s are local centers where products may be picked-up or delivered locally to customers. CRC?s can be owned/managed by third parties, or co-owned by several companies (often manufacturers) serving the same customer base in a local market area. |
| Customer Service | An element in the combination of the company's competitive means which includes service factors before, during and after purchasing. Product availability is one of the most important customer service elements. |
| Customer Service Level | A performance measure of customer service. Note: generally this is seen as the degree with which customer orders can be executed, in accordance with the terms which are generally accepted in the market. |
| Customer Structure | Information about a company's customers which includes e.g. the number of customers, the customer's size in relation to sales or given contribution, the geographical structure relating to location and distance, etc. |
| Customer?Service Mix | Those service elements which are included in customer mix service primarily influenced by the unique circumstances of each case. They can therefore vary between business, line of business and situation etc. |
| Customs | The department of the Civil Service that deals with the levying of duties and taxes on imported goods from foreign countries and the control over the export and import of goods e.g. allowed quota, prohibited goods. |
| Customs Broker | An authorized agent specialized in customs clearance procedures on account of importers/exporters.? Customs Clearance Agent |
| Customs Invoice | Document required by the customs in an importing country in which an exporter states the invoice or other price (e.g. selling price, price of identical goods), and specifies costs for freight, insurance and packing etc., terms of delivery and payment, for the purpose of determining the customs value in the importing country of goods consigned to that country. |
| Customs Management | The import and export management of materials throughout the world |
| Customs Value | The worth of an item or group of items expressed in a monetary amount, within a consignment declared to Customs for duty and statistical reasons. |
| CVGK | Customs value per gross kilogram |
| CVGP | Customs value per gross pound |
| CWE | See Cleared Without Examination. |
| CWO | Cash with order |
| cwt | Hundredweight |
| CY | See Container Yard. |
| Cy (2) | Currency |
| Cybernetics | The study of control processes in mechanical, biological, electrical and information systems. |
| CYC | Container Yard Charges - Charges at destination |
| Cycle Counting | Cycle counting is the physical counting of stock on a perpetual basis, rather than counting stock periodically. A cycle is the time required to count all items in the inventory at least once. The frequency of cycle counting can be varied to focus management attention on the more valuable or important items or to match work processes. Some of the systems used are: ABC system with the highest count frequency for items with the highest annual usage value. Reorder system when stocks are counted at the time of order. Receiver system with counting when goods are received. Zero balance system to count items when a backorder situation is reached to confirm that no stock is held. Transaction system where stocks are counted after a specified number of transactions. |
| Cycle Stock | One of the two main components of any item of inventory, the cycle stock is the most active part - i.e. that which depletes gradually and is replenished cyclically when orders are received. Another part of the item inventory is the safety stock which is a cushion of protection against uncertainty in the demand or in the replenishment lead time. |
| Cycle Stock/Lot Size Inventory | Occurs when the input into stock is different from the output. A certain minimum material quantity must be taken into stock and used gradually or one has to take out a certain quantity from the stock and the stock will gradually consist of smaller lots. The goods that in the meantime are in stock are called cycle stock. |
| Cycle Time | Available working time divided by the number of units needed. |
| Cyclic Planning | Planning data which can be used several times for a production operation which is to be repeated in exactly the same way from time to time. |
| Cyclic Production | Describes a production series which is repeated according to a fixed timetable. |
| D/A | Documents against acceptance |
| D/O | Delivery order |
| D/P | Documents against payment |
| D2D | Design to Distribution |
| DAF | Delivered at frontier (lncoterms) |
| Damaged Cargo Report | Written statement concerning established damages to cargo and/or equipment. |
| Dangerous Goods | Goods are to be considered dangerous if the transport of such goods might cause harm, risk, peril, or other evil to people, environment, equipment or any property whatsoever. |
| Dangerous Goods Declaration | Document issued by a consignor in accordance with applicable conventions or regulations, describing hazardous goods or materials for transport purposes, and stating that the latter have been packed and labeled in accordance with the provisions of the relevant conventions or regulations. |
| Dangerous Goods Packing Certificate | A document as part of the dangerous goods declaration in which the responsible party declares that the cargo has been stowed in accordance with the rules in a clean container in compliance with the IMDG regulations and properly secured. |
| DAS | Delivery / delivered alongside ship |
| Data Plate | A metal identification plate affixed to a container which displays among others the gross and tare weights and external dimensions. |
| Dbk | Drawback |
| DCAS | Distribution Cost Analysis System |
| DCP | Freight Carriage paid to (Incoterms) |
| DDP | See: Delivered duty paid |
| DDU | Delivered Duty Unpaid (...named place of destination). |
| De-Coupling Stock | Inventory accumulated between dependent activities in the goods flow to reduce the need for completely synchronised operations. |
| Deadload | The difference between the actual and calculated ship's draft. |
| Deadweight (DWT) | The total weight of cargo, cargo equipment, bunkers, provisions, water, stores and spare parts which a vessel can lift when loaded to her maximum draught as applicable under the circumstances. The deadweight is expressed in tons. |
| Decision Support System (DSS) | An interactive computer-based system which generates a number of alternatives to solve an unstructured problem. These alternatives are being interpreted by the manager (decision-maker), whereafter he decides which alternative is to be used to solve the problem. |
| Deck | Any extended horizontal structure in a vessel or an aircraft, serving as a floor and structural support, covering, partially or fully, a portion of the vessel or aircraft. |
| Declaration of Origin | Appropriate statement as to the origin of the goods, made in connection with their exportation by the manufacturer, producer, supplier, exporter or other competent person on the commercial invoice or any document relating to goods. |
| Declared Value for Carriage | The value of the goods declared to the carrier by the shipper for the purpose of determining charges or of establishing the limit of the carrier's liability for loss, damage or delay. It is also the basis for possible applicable valuation charges. |
| Decoupling Inventory | A stock retained to make the independent control of two successive operations possible. |
| Decoupling Point | The point in the supply chain which provides a buffer between differing input and output rates. |
| Decoupling Point Position | The position of the decoupling point determines the way in which the business is managed and controlled and how various partners communicate along the supply chain. DP position for a particular product/market combination is determined in a trade off between market requirements and stock investment requirements, within the constraints of business characteristics such as lead time and flexibility of the supply organisation. Five different DP positions representing five basic logistic structures cover all possible product/market situations : Make and ship to stock Make to stock Assemble to order Make to order Purchase and make to order |
| Dedicated Contract Carriage | Specialized transportation services customized to meet customers' carriage needs. |
| Dedicated Logistics Centers | The management of warehouses and processing centers dedicated to the flow-through distribution of parts and products. |
| Deduct Point | The point in the production process up to which all the parts assumed to have been used (as defined in the bill of material) are "backflushed", (automatically deducted) from the inventory records. Also see Backflushing. |
| Deep Tank | Tank fitted and equipped for the carriage of vegetable oil (e.g. palm oil and coconut oil) and other liquids in bulk. By means of oil-tight bulkheads and/or decks it is possible to carry different kinds of liquid in adjacent tanks. Deep tanks may be equipped with heating facilities in order to carry and discharge oil at the required temperature (shipping). |
| Default Charge | A (standard) charge applicable for a trade, stretch or location. In the absence of specifics (not otherwise specified/enumerated) a general amount has been set. |
| Degree?of Centralization | The BL-system contains a number of "keypoints" where manufacturing, storing or reloading take place. The structure of the BL-system is dependent on the geographical location of these points. The degree of centralization will increase if the number of "keypoints" on one or several levels decreases, and vice versa. The BL-system can also be physically centralized while at the same time administration and decision-making can be decentralized. |
| Degroupage | Splitting up shipments into small consignments. |
| Delivered At Frontier .. | Abbreviation: DAF |
| Delivered Duty Paid ... | The seller fulfils his obligation to deliver when the goods have been made available at the named place in the country of importation. The seller has to bear the risks and costs, including duties, taxes and other charges of delivering the goods thereto, cleared for importation. If the parties wish to exclude from the seller's obligations some of the costs payable upon importation of the goods (such as value added tax (VAT)), this should be made clear by adding words to this effect: "Delivered duty paid, VAT unpaid (...named place of destination)". This term may be used irrespective of the mode of transport. Abbreviation: DDP |
| Delivered Duty Unpaid ... | Abbreviation: DDU |
| Delivered Ex Quay ... | Abbreviation: DEQ |
| Delivered Ex Ship ... | Abbreviation: DES |
| Delivering Carrier | The carrier who delivers the consignment to the consignee or his agent (air cargo). |
| Delivery | The process of delivering the consignment to the consignee at the agreed place. |
| Delivery Accuracy | The number of complete orders that are delivered on time. |
| Delivery Clauses | Please see "terms of delivery". |
| Delivery Flexibility | The degree to which you can meet customers' special requirements regarding e.g. packing, mode of transport, order quantity, etc. |
| Delivery Instruction | Document issued by a buyer giving instructions regarding the details of the delivery of goods ordered. |
| Delivery Note | A document recording the delivery of products to a consignee (customer). |
| Delivery Order | A document issued by or on behalf of the carrier authorizing the release of import cargo identified thereon and manifested under a single Bill of Lading (shipping). |
| Delivery Party | The party to which goods are to be delivered. |
| Delivery Reliability | Indicates the extent to which specified order quantities have been delivered in accordance with the agreed delivery time, compared to the total number of orders delivered. For example 85% of the total number of orders has e.g. been delivered according to the agreed delivery time. |
| Delivery Schedule | The required and/or agreed time of delivery of goods or services, purchased for a future period. |
| Delivery Service | Activities during the purchasing process aimed at the maximum use of time and space. Delivery service includes a great number of elements of which the most important ones are: delivery time, delivery reliability, order fulfillment rate and delivery flexibility. |
| Delivery Status | Information on how far a delivery has progressed, i.e. where it is situated in the chain from manufacturing, via loading and transportation to the customer's goods received department. |
| Delivery Time | Promised delivery time is the time within which the vendor, according to the contract of sale (or practice), should deliver the goods to the customer. The time which passes from order to delivery is real delivery time. Please compare with lead time and order cycle time. |
| Delivery Time Setting | This means that the delivery time for an order in set with regard to total order situation, available capacity etc. |
| Demand | The quantity of goods required by the market to be delivered in a particular period or at a specific date. |
| Demand Forecast | See Forecast Demand. |
| Demand Satisfaction Rate | See Fill Rate. |
| Demise Charter | A contract whereby the ship owner leases his vessel to the charterer for a period of time during which the whole use and management of the vessel passes to the charterer, which involves that the charterer is to pay all expenses for the operation and maintenance of the vessel. Officers and crew will become servants of the charterer. A demise charter whereby the charterer has the right to place his own master and crew on board of the vessel is also called 'bareboat charter'. |
| Denomination of Quantity | See Unit of Measure. |
| Density of Commodity | The mass of a commodity to its volume. |
| Dependent Demand | A demand directly related to or derived from the demand for other items or end products. Dependent demands are therefore calculated, and need not and should not be forecast. |
| Depot | The place designated by the carrier where empty containers are kept in stock and received from or delivered to the container operators or merchants. |
| DEQ | Delivered Ex Quay (...named port of destination). |
| Derrick | Lifting equipment on board a conventional vessel for loading and discharging cargo, consisting of a post attached to the deck and an inclined spar. |
| DES | Delivered Ex Ship (...named port of destination). |
| Despatch | The process of sending goods. Synonym: Dispatch. |
| Despatch Advice | Information send by shippers to the recipient of goods informing that specified goods are sent or ready to be sent advising the detailed contents of the consignment. Synonym: Dispatch note. |
| Despatch Days | The days gained if the free time included in the rate and allowed for the use of certain equipment is not fully used. |
| Destination | Place for which goods or a vehicle is bound.? The ultimate stopping place according to the contract of carriage |
| DET | Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions |
| Det Norske Veritas | Norwegian classification society. |
| Detention | Keeping equipment beyond the time allowed. See demurrage. |
| Detention Charge | Charges levied on usage of equipment exceeding free time period as stipulated in the pertinent inland rules and conditions. |
| Deterioration | The downgrading of a product due to long storage, damage to packing or other external influences. |
| Deterministic Inventory Control Models | An inventory control system where all the variables and parameters used are known, or can be calculated with certainty. The rate of demand for items, and the associated inventory costs, is assumed to be known with assurance and the replenishment lead time is assumed to be constant and independent of demand. |
| Devanning | See: Stripping, Unpacking. |
| Deviation from a Route | A divergence from the agreed or customary route. |
| DGSA | Dangerous Goods Safety Advisor |
| Dia | Diameter |
| Dimensions | Measurements in length, width and height, regarding cargo. |
| Dir | Direct |
| Direct Delivery | The conveyance of goods directly from the vendor to the buyer. Frequently used if a third party acts as intermediary agent between vendor and buyer.? Direct discharge from vessel onto railroad car, road vehicle or barge with the purpose of immediate transport from the port area (usually occurs when ports lack adequate storage space or when ports are not equipped to handle a specific cargo). |
| Direct Interchange | Transfer of leased equipment from one lessee to another (container). |
| Direct Route | The shortest operated route between two points. |
| Disbursement | Sums paid out by a ship's agent at a port and recovered from the carrier. |
| Discharge | The unloading of a vehicle, a vessel or an aircraft.? The landing of cargo. |
| DISCOUNTING | Recalculation of one or more payment's value to another point in time than the agreed-on date of payment, usually with regard to the certain interest rate. |
| Discrepancy | Difference between the particulars given and the particulars found. |
| Discrete Code | A bar code in which the spaces between characters (intercharacter gaps) are not part of the code as each character begins and ends with a bar. The spaces can therefore vary in width, specified tolerances. An example is Code 39. |
| Disintermediation | When a Net market bypasses a traditional channel, more directly linking buyers with suppliers |
| Dispatch | See Despatch. |
| Displacement | The weight of the quantity of water displaced by the vessel. The displacement of the vessel on her light draft represents the weight of the vessel ready for use including stores etc. |
| Disposable Pallet | Pallet intended to be discarded after a single cycle of use. Synonym: One-way pallet, Expendable pallet. |
| Disposal Chain | A sequence of events in a goods-flow which gets rid of a specific good. This may include removal, recycling, waste dumping etc. |
| Disposal of Goods | The act of getting rid of goods. |
| Dispositioning | All activities relating to the inland movement of empty and or full containers. |
| Distribution | All activities, both physical and administrative, which contribute to making the company's products available on the market. The concept also includes e.g. marketing, selection of distribution concepts and physical distribution. See also "physical distribution". |
| Distribution Centre | A warehouse for the receipt, the storage and the dispersal of goods among customers. Synonym: Branch Warehouse. |
| Distribution Channel | The route by which a company distributes goods. |
| Distribution Requirement Planning DRP-1 | The function of determining the need to replenish inventory at branch warehouses over a forward time period. A time-phased order point approach is used where planned orders at branch warehouse level are exploded via MRP logic to become gross requirements on the supplying source enabling the translation of inventory plans into material flows. In the case of multi-level distribution networks, this explosion process can continue down through the various levels of regional warehouses, master warehouse, factory warehouse, etc., and become input to the master production schedule. |
| Distribution Requirements Planning | Abbreviation: DRP-I. The function of determining the need to replenish stock at branch warehouses. |
| Distribution Resource Planning | The set of concepts, procedures and techniques, being an extension of DRP-I, for the effective planning and control of the physical distribution. |
| Distribution Resource Planning DRP1.1 | The extension of MRP into the planning of the key resources contained in a distribution system. |
| Distribution?by Value | Please see "ABC-analysis". |
| Distribution?Systems | Comprehensive term for all activities, relations between the different activities, resources, management and objectives in a company which aim to make the company's products available on the market. An important objective for the distribution system is to create maximum availability for the company's products on the market at the lowest possible cost. Maximum availability is achieved by, among other things, choosing the right distribution concept, the right marketing concept and an efficient physical distribution system. |
| Divider | A vertically mounted partition in a compartment on board. Synonym: Partition. |
| Divisionalization | Division of a group or a company into several more or less independent units/divisions. These can be legally separate subsidiaries which are not necessarily 100 percent owned by the parent company. |
| Dock Receipt | Document issued by a shipping line acknowledging that goods are received for shipment. |
| Document | Anything printed, written, relied upon to record or prove something. |
| Document Holder | Usually fastened to the door on the front of a container. May contain e.g. a certificate of approval of the container. |
| Document of Title | A term to mean that possession of the specified document entitles the holder to control of the goods listed in that document. |
| Documentary Credit | The basis of international trade by means of which payment is made against surrender of the specified documents. |
| Door Lock Bars | See Bars. |
| Double Banking | Two vessels moored alongside each other on a certain berth. |
| Double-deck Pallet | Flat pallet with a top and bottom deck. |
| Down Time | The period of time when a machine is not available for production due to a functional failure or maintenance. |
| Draft | The draft of a vessel is the vertical distance between the waterline and the underside of the keel of the vessel. During the construction of a vessel the marks showing the draft are welded on each side of the vessel near the stem, the stern and amidships. Synonym: Draught. |
| Draught | See Draft. |
| Drawback | Repayment of any part of customs or excise duties previously collected on imported goods, when those goods are exported again. |
| Drayage | The hauling of a load by a cart with detachable sides. (dray). Road transportation between the nearest railway terminal and the stuffing place. Synonym: Connecting Road Haulage |
| Drilling Rig | A structure, which drills wells in the bottom in order to search for oil. |
| Drive | Dedicated Road Infrastructure for Vehicle Safety in Europe, a major initiative begun in 1988 to apply information technology to the improvement of road safety and the reduction of environmental pollution by road traffic. Acronym: DRIVE |
| Drop off Charge | Charge made by container owner and/or terminal operators for delivery of a leased, or pool container into depot stock. The dropoff charge may be a combination of actual handling and storage charges with surcharges. |
| DRP | Distribution Requirement Planning |
| DRP II | Distribution Resource Planning |
| DRP-I | See Distribution Requirements Planning. |
| Dry Bulk Container | Container consisting of a cargo-carrying structure, firmly secured within a framework, for the carriage of dry solids in bulk without packaging. Containers of this type have type codes 80 and 81. |
| Dry Cargo Container | Shipping container which is designed for the carriage of goods other than liquids. |
| DSS | See Decision Support System. |
| DTI | Department of Trade and Industry |
| Du-pont chart | Graphical chart for relating different cost/revenue concepts to each other. Originates from the multinational enterprise Du-Pont's organization of a budget and calculation system. It can simply be expressed as a graphical basis for the Du-Pont formula. |
| Du-pont formula | The formula presents a way of calculating a company's rate of return for a certain period. Rate of Return = Surplus degree x Return on Capital. Surplus degree = Surplus / Turnover. Turnover = sales / invested capital |
| Dunnage | Stowage material, mainly timber or board, used to prevent damage to cargo during carriage. |
| Duty Free Zone | An area where goods or cargo can be stored without paying import customs duties awaiting further transport or manufacturing. |
| DWCC | Dead weight cargo capacity |
| DWT | See Deadweight. |
| ETD | See: Estimated Time of Departure |
| ETS | Expected time of sailing |
| Europallet(s) | The Europallet is the supposedly standard pallet for the European Union countries.? It covers an area of 1 metre x 1 metre and is therefore smaller than the pallets currently in use in most other parts of the world (e.g. Australia where the standard pallet is 1.17 x 1.17 meters).? The ability/inability of some destinations to handle one or other of the types of pallets can cause needless added expense (unless we're doing the re-palletisation, then it's good for the profit margin!). |
| European Article Numbering Association (EAN) | An international body responsible for administering the European Article Numbering system. It has affiliates in many countries such as: CCG in West Germany, DCC in Japan, ANA in the United Kingdom. Note: The North American body responsible for the Uniform Product Code (UPC) coding is the Uniform Code Council. (UPC is a subset of EAN). |
| European Pallet Pool | Pool for the exchange of standard size pallets (Europallets) in European cargo traffic, formed in 1961 by a number of European rail administrators. |
| European Zone Charge (EZC) | A charge for inland haulage transport in case of carrier haulage in Europe. |
| EVA | Economic Value Added |
| Even Keel | Said of a vessel which is balanced in such a way that the draft forward and aft is the same as the draft in the midship of the vessel on both sides. |
| Event | An occurrence. |
| Ex Works ... | Ex works means that the seller fulfils his obligation to deliver when he has made the goods available at his premises (i.e. works, factory, warehouse, etc.) to the buyer. In particular, he is not responsible for loading the goods on the vehicle provided by the buyer or for clearing the goods for export, unless otherwise agreed. The buyer bears all costs and risks involved in taking the goods from the seller's premises to the desired destination. This term thus represents the minimum obligation for the seller. This term should not be used when the buyer cannot carry out directly or indirectly the export formalities. In such cases, the FCA term should be used. |
| Excess | Going over the prescribed amount or degree e.g. excess luggage is luggage of which the weight is over the weight for free carriage. |
| Excess Stock | That portion of stock on hand which is over and above desired stock level. |
| Exchange Rate | The rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another, usually expressed as the value of the one in terms of the other. |
| Exchanges | Two-sided marketplaces where buyers and suppliers negotiate prices, usually with a bid and ask system, and where prices move both up and down. Work best with easily definable products without complicated attributes--commodities, perishable items such as food, or intangibles such as electric power. Produce fluctuating, sometimes volatile prices. Particularly appropriate if a true market price is difficult to discover. Also work where brokers make high margins by buying low and selling high to purchasers who don't know the original sellers. Examples: Altra (energy), Paper Exchange (paper products), GoFish.com (frozen fish), Arbinet (telecommunications bandwidth). Synonyms: digital exchange, online exchange, dynamic exchange, dynamic trading exchange. |
| Excl. | Excluding |
| Execution | The actual act of carrying out a task. |
| Exempt Carrier | Company which transports commodities exempted from Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) economic regulation. |
| Exemption Clause | A clause in a contract, which relieves the carrier's responsibility for certain events. Synonym: Exceptions Clause. |
| Expected | Likely to occur or appear. |
| Expediting | The 'rushing' or 'chasing' of production or purchase orders which are needed in less than the normal lead time. |
| Expendable Pallet | See disposable pallet. Synonym: One Way Pallet. |
| Expenses | Costs paid out in connection with booking of cargo and arranging transport (e.g. commission). |
| Expiration | Termination of a certain period. |
| Exponential market | Where one party can be both a buyer and seller. Both buyers and sellers benefit when a new participant joins because fewer participants are needed to create higher volumes. Grow faster than linear markets. Require well-defined or commoditized products to make purchase and sale easy. Transaction costs must be low to keep the market liquid. Examples: Altra (energy), e-Steel, MetalSite. Synonym: circular market. Antonym: linear market. |
| Export | The process of carrying or sending goods to another country or countries, especially for purposes of use or sale in the country of destination. The sale of products to clients abroad. |
| Export Declaration | A document required by the U.S. Treasury Department and completed by a shipper indicating the contents, value, and destination of an export shipment. |
| Export Licence | Document granting permission to export as detailed within a specified time. |
| Export Packer | Company, packing goods for export. |
| Export Parts Consolidation | The unification process of shipments being exported and transported to locations throughout the world. |
| Exporter | The party responsible for the export of goods. |
| EXQ | Ex quai -costs and risks to be accepted ex (from) wharf at named port (port of destination discharge port) (Incoterms) |
| EXS | Ex ship (Incoterms) |
| External Storage | Buying of a storage service which includes renting cost and input/output of material. |
| External Transportation | Transportation between different companies, facilities etc. Often a description of transportation outside the gates of the company. Please compare with "internal transportation". |
| Extract | Summary or copy of something written, e.g. used in connection with the log book. |
| EXW | See Ex Works (...named place). |
| EZC | See European Zone Charge. |
| F&D | Freight and demurrage |
| F.A.C | Fast as can (loading or discharge) |
| F.I | Free in |
| FAA | Free of all average |
| FAB | Forwarder Air Bill |
| Fabrication | A term used to distinguish manufacturing operations for components as opposed to assembly operations. |
| FAC | Forwarding agents commission |
| Factory Delivery | The delivery of goods by a factory whereby the goods are put at the disposal of another (internal) party such as a commercial department. |
| FAF | Fuel Adjustment Factor |
| Fairway | A navigable channel for vessels, often the regular or prescribed track a vessel will follow in order to avoid dangerous circumstances. |
| FAK | See Freight All Kinds. |
| FAL | Facilitation Committee of the IMO. |
| FALPRO | Special Programme on Trade Facilitation (UNCTAD) |
| Family Group | A group of related products for which demand can be aggregated in order to assess overall demand for the material or parts which make up the family group products. |
| Fantainer | Identical to a GP but is fitted with an electric extraction fan for carriage of cargoes prone to condensation. 20' only |
| FAQ (1) | Frequently Asked Questions |
| FAQ (2) | Free along side quay or free at quay |
| FAQ?(3) | Free average quality |
| FAS | See Free Alongside Ship (...named port of shipment). |
| Fashion Transport | Transport of clothing and/or garments including shoes, belts and handbags in dedicated means of transport. FCA See Free Carrier (...named place). |
| Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) | FMCG are a product group of retail goods, such as food and drinks. |
| FBH | Free on board harbour |
| FBL | FlATA Negotiable Combined Transpon Bill of Lading |
| FCC | See Fully Cellular Containership. |
| FCL | See full container load. |
| Fco | Franco free |
| FCR | Forwarders Certificate of Receipt (FIATA Document) |
| FCSR & CC | Free of capture. seizure, riots and civil commotions |
| FCT | Forwarders Certificate of Transport (FIATA Document) |
| Feed Back | The flow of information back into the control system so that actual performance can be compared with planned performance. |
| Feeder | A vessel normally used for local or coastal transport (for carriage of cargo and/or containers) to and from ports not scheduled to be called by the main (ocean) vessel, directly connecting these ports to the main (ocean) vessel. |
| Fender | An appliance made of rubber, timber and/or rope or other materials normally attached to a dock or quay used to prevent damage to the hull of a vessel especially during mooring and un-mooring operations. |
| FEU | See Forty Foot Equivalent Unit. |
| FGA | Free of general average |
| FHEX | Friday and Holidays excepted |
| FIAS | Free in and stowed |
| FIB | Free into barge |
| FIC | Freight, insurance, carriage |
| FIFO | See First In First Out. |
| Fifth Wheel | Circular or wheel-shaped bearing mechanism, secured on the rear of the chassis of a truck-tractorm that engages the semi-trailer king pin with a spring lock device and supports the weight of the front end of the semi-trailer. |
| FIH | Free in harbour |
| FILL RATE | Describes the relationship between the volume of goods and available storage or transport space. |
| FILO | See Free In Liner Out. |
| Finished Goods | Inventory to which the final increments of value have been added through manufacturing. |
| Finished Goods Stock | Stock that is available for supply to an external consumer, including items that have been supplied but not invoiced to an external consumer. |
| FIO | See Free In and Out. |
| FIRAVV | First available vessel |
| First In First Out (FIFO) | The method whereby the goods which have been longest in stock (first in) are used, delivered (sold) and/or consumed first (first out). |
| First Pick Ratio | During order picking, the percentage of orders or lines for which 100% completion was achieved from the primary location or picking face. |
| FIS | Freight, insurance and shipping charges |
| FIW | Free into waggon |
| Fixed Assets | Resources for long-term ownership, e.g. machines, premises, subsidiaries. |
| Fixed Cost | A cost which will be unchanged even if the operation volume is changed. |
| Fixed Crane | A crane of which the principal structure is mounted on permanent or semi permanent foundations. |
| Fixed Height Load-carrying Truck | Truck carrying its load on a non-elevating platform. Synonym: Fixed platform truck. |
| Fixed Order Interval | An inventory control system for which a maximum stock level has been calculated based on usage during the lead time and order interval. Stock is reviewed at specified time periods and subsequent order size equates to the difference between the maximum stock level and the current inventory position. Thus, the order size will vary according to usage between reviews. |
| Fixed Order Quantity (Fixed Order Size) | An inventory control system where stock is reviewed continuously and, whenever the inventory falls to a predetermined point, an order for a fixed quantity of stock is generated. |
| Fixed Platform Truck | See Fixed Height Load-carrying Truck. |
| Fixed-T-System | This is an inventory control system which means that inventory volume is checked at regular dates and orders are placed systematically. The order quantity is equal to the capacity level, minus the volume of goods already in stock. |
| Flag | An indication of the country in which a means of transport is registered through a reference to the ensign of this country. |
| Flammable | Capable to be set on fire under given circumstances. (Amendment 25 IMO DGS). |
| Flash Point | The lowest temperature at which a good produces enough vapour to form a flammable mixture with air. |
| Flat | See Flat Rack. |
| Flat Bed Trailer | A wheeled trailer or a semi-trailer with a flat cargo carrying surface or deck and without any superstructure. |
| Flat Pack | Garments packed in cardboard boxes. |
| Flat Rack | A flat bed with fixed ends suitable for the carriage of cargo of excessive width and plated for carriage of heavy loads. 20' and 40' |
| Fleet | Any group of means of transport acting together or under one control. |
| Flexibility | The extent to which and the rate at which adjustments to changed circumstances are possible. |
| Flexible Computer Integrated Manufacturing (FCIM) | FCIM is the integration of equipment, software, communication, human resources, and business practices within an enterprise to rapidly manufacture, repair, and deliver items on demand with continuous improvements in the processes. The FCIM initiative is a Joint Service and Agency effort to establish and implement the procedures and processes needed. |
| Flexitanks | A large polythene liner which can be fitted inside a 20'GP for the transportation of non-hazardous liquids |
| Flight Member | A licensed crew member charged with duties essential to the operation of an aircraft during flight time. |
| Flight Number | A combination of two letters, indicating the airline, and three or four digits indicating the number of the voyage. Synonym: Line Number. |
| FLM | First Line Management |
| Floating | Freely suspending in water of an object. |
| Floating Crane | A crane mounted on a barge or pontoon, which can be towed or is self propelled. |
| Floating Dock | A floating structure that can be partially submerged to enable vessels to enter and to leave and which can be raised for use as a dry dock. |
| Floating Stock | See Pipeline Inventory. |
| Floor Ready Merchandise (FRM) | FRM - are goods prepared ready to go directly to the sales floor in a retail operation. Goods can be made floor-ready at any stage in the supply chain, because the process is not complex ? adding product labels, price labels, and security tags, and pre-assorting and packaging. |
| Flow Change Costs | Costs which occur when there is a change in the manufacturing rate, e.g. with seasonal fluctuations. |
| Flow Chart | A diagram, using symbols and depicting the sequence of events that should take place in a complex set of tasks. |
| Flow control | A term often used to describe a specific production control system. |
| Flow Cycle Time | Gives information about the time that is needed for production and distribution of products. Please also see "throughput time". |
| Flow Line | The direction of flow in which e.g. pallets have been positioned and stowed. |
| Flow of materials | The flow of materials and components which goes to and through the factory for the production process. |
| Flow Oriented Layout | Production equipment is placed in flow lines, so called manufacturing cells. A manufacturing cell consists of a primary machine operating at full capacity and a number of secondary machines. |
| Flow-Through Distribution | An inventory reduction strategy in which parts are received from multiple locations at one facility, consolidated by destination, and delivered within the same day. |
| FLT | Forklift truck |
| FMC | Federal Maritime Commission (Control of shipping acts USA) |
| FMC (2) | Fully Mission Capable |
| FMCG | Fast Moving Consumer Goods |
| Fo'c's'le | See Forecastle. |
| FOB | See Free On Board (...named port of shipment). |
| FOC | Flags of convenience |
| FOD | Free of damage |
| FOQ | Free on quay |
| FOR | Free on rail (lncoterms) |
| Force Majeure | Circumstance which is beyond the control of one of the parties to a contract and which may, according to the terms and conditions, relieve that party of liability for failing to execute the contract. Synonym: Act of God. |
| Fore and Aft Stowage | Stowage from the bow to the stern (lengthwise), as opposed to stowage athwartships. |
| Forecast | An estimation or calculation in advance - a prediction. The amount of cargo expected to be booked for a certain sailing of a vessel. The number of containers expected to be used in a certain area, for steering purposes. |
| Forecast Demand | The prediction, projection or estimation of expected demand over a specified future time period. |
| Forecastle | Abbreviation: Fo'c's'le. Forward part of a vessel where stores, ropes and anchor chains are located. |
| Fork Lift Pockets | See Fork Pockets. |
| Fork Lift Truck | A three or four wheeled mechanical truck with forks at the front designed for lifting, carrying and stowing cargo. |
| Fork Pockets | Openings or recesses in a side of a container for the entry of the forks of a fork lift truck. Synonym: Fork Lift Pockets. |
| Formula of Camp | A mathematical formula on behalf of inventory management for calculating the optimum order quantity. |
| Forty Foot Equivalent Unit | Abbreviation: FEU. Unit of measurement equivalent to one forty feet shipping container. |
| Forward | At, near or towards the bow or front of a vessel or an aircraft. |
| Forwarder | The party arranging the carriage of goods including connected services and/or associated formalities on behalf of a shipper or consignee. Synonym: Freight Forwarder. |
| Forwarding Instruction | Document issued to a freight forwarder, giving instructions to the forwarder for the forwarding of goods described therein. |
| FOS | Free on steamer or ship |
| FOT | Free on truck (rail) (lncoterms) |
| Four Way Pallet | A pallet of which the frame permits the entry of forks of e.g. a fork lift truck at all four sides. |
| FOW | Free on wharf |
| FOW?(2) | First open water |
| FPA | Free of particular average |
| FPAD | Freight payable at destination |
| FR | Flat rack (container) |
| Fragile | Easily breakable. Term denoting that goods should be handled with care. |
| Fragmentation | Market condition when there is no dominant group of buyers or suppliers, but where many buyers are chasing many suppliers, often inefficiently. |
| Franchise | Amount which in case of damage will have to be borne by the assured. |
| FRC | Free Carrier (named point) (lncoterms) |
| Free Airport | See Free Trade Zone. |
| Free Alongside Ship ... | Abbreviation: FAS |
| Free Carrier ... | Free Carrier" means that the seller fulfils his obligation to deliver when he has handed over the goods, cleared for export, into the charge of the carrier named by the buyer at the named place or point. If no precise point is indicated by the buyer, the seller may choose within the place or range stipulated where the carrier shall take the goods into his charge. When, according to commercial practice, the seller's assistance is required in making the contract with the carrier (such as in rail or air transport) the seller may act at the buyer's risk and expense.? This term may be used for any mode of transport, including multimodal transport.? "Carrier" means any person who, in a contract of carriage, undertakes to perform or to procure the performance of carriage by rail, road, sea, air, inland waterway or by a combination of such modes. If the buyer instructs the seller to deliver the cargo to a person, e.g. a freight forwarder who is not a "carrier", the seller is deemed to have fulfilled his obligation to |
| Free Circulation, Libre Circulation | The movement of goods within the European Community without the need to pay any duty. |
| Free House Unclear | Delivered at a certain destination without payment of certain duties or incurred costs. |
| Free In and Out (FIO) | Transport condition denoting that the freight rate excludes the costs of loading and discharging and, if appropriate, stowage and lashing. |
| Free In Liner Out (FILO) | Transport condition denoting that the freight rate is inclusive of the sea carriage and the cost of discharging, the latter as per the custom of the port. It excludes the cost of loading and, if appropriate, stowage and lashing. |
| Free Lift | The maximum elevation of the forks of a fork lift truck. |
| Free On Board ... | Free on Board means that the seller fulfils his obligation to deliver when the goods have passed over the ship's rail at the named port of shipment. This means that the buyer has to bear all costs and risks of loss of or damage to the goods from that point.? The FOB term requires the seller to clear the goods for export.? This term can only be used for sea or inland waterway transport. When the ship's rail serves no practical purpose, such as in the case of roll-on/roll-off transport, the FCA term is more appropriate to use |
| Free Port | An international port or an area within an international port at which, crew, passengers, baggage, cargo, mail and stores may be disembarked or unloaded, may remain and may be transhipped, without being subjected to any customs charges or duties. (Examination is possible for instance to meet security or narcotics control requirements.) Source: IMO. |
| Free Pratique | Permission granted by local medical authorities, denoting that the vessel has a clean Bill of Health so that people may embark and disembark. |
| Free Stock | See Available Stock. |
| Free Trade Zone | (FTZ) A part of the territory of a state where any goods introduced are generally regarded, in so far as import duties and taxes are concerned, as being exempted (Kyoto Convention). Synonym: Free Port, Free Airport. |
| Freeboard of a Vessel | Vertical distance from the main deck to the surface of the water measured at the middle of the vessel's length. |
| Freight | The amount of money due for the carriage of goods and payable either in advance or upon delivery. |
| Freight All Kinds (FAK) | Single freight which is charged irrespective of the commodity. |
| Freight Collect | Freight and charges be paid by the consignee. |
| Freight Container | See Container. |
| Freight Costs | Costs incurred by the merchant in moving goods, by whatever means, from one place to another under the terms of the contract of carriage. In addition to transport costs this may include such elements as packing, documentation, loading, unloading and transport insurance. |
| Freight Forwarder | Forwarders provide shipping, documentation, customs clearance and brokerage, consolidation, storage and insurance. |
| Freight Invoice | An itemized list of goods shipped and services rendered stating fees and charges. |
| Freight Manifest | A (cargo) manifest including all freight particulars. |
| Freight Prepaid | Freight and charges to be paid by the consignor. |
| Freight Ton | A unit for freighting cargo according to weight and/or cubic measurement. Synonyms: Revenue ton, Bill of Lading ton. |
| Freighter | A vessel or an aircraft used for the carriage of cargo. |
| Frequency Storage Location | In an inventory part numbers with high input/output frequency are located in such a way that the work cycle time in collecting and delivering these parts is kept to a minimum. |
| Frt. ton | freight ton |
| Frt.fwd. | Freight forward |
| FSC | Fuel Surcharge |
| Ft | Foot (feet) |
| Ft.ppd. | Freight prepaid |
| FTA | Freight Transport Association |
| FTL | Full Truck Load, an indication for a truck transporting cargo directly from supplier to receiver. |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocol |
| FTZ | See Free Trade Zone. |
| Full Container Load (FCL) | A container stuffed or stripped under risk and for account of the shipper and/or the consignee.? A general reference for identifying container loads of cargo loaded and/or discharged at merchants' premises. |
| Full Trailer | A truck trailer constructed in such way that its own weight and that of the cargo rest upon its own wheels, instead of being supported by e.g. a tractor. |
| Fully Cellular Containership (FCC) | A vessel specially designed to carry containers, with cell-guides under deck and necessary fittings and equipment on deck. |
| Fumigation | Treating of cargoes with gases to exterminate unwanted life forms. |
| Functional Layout | Machines of the same type are grouped together, e.g. lathes with lathes and milling machines with milling machines. |
| FWC | Full loaded weight & capacity (container) |
| Fwdr. | Forwarder |
| FWR | FIATA Warehouse Receipt |
| GA | General average |
| GAA | General Average Agreement (bond) |
| GAC | General average contribution |
| GAM | Global Account Manager |
| Gantry Crane | A crane or hoisting machine mounted on a frame or structure spanning an intervening space, which often travels on rails. |
| GANTT-Chart | A planning chart which describes the sequence and time frame for the different stages in a project. |
| Gateway | A point at which cargo is interchanged between carriers or modes of transport. A means of access, an entry. |
| GATT | See General Agreement On Tariffs and Trade. |
| GBL | Government Bill of Lading |
| GC | General cargo |
| GCR | See General Cargo Rate and General Commodity Rate. |
| GDP | Gross domestic product |
| Gen-set | Motor generator set as power source for e.g. thermal containers. |
| General Agreement | An agreement between buyer and vendor includes, besides the agreement text, a delivery schedule which specifies the buyer's needs in relation to every detail included per unit of time (e.g. week) during a longer time period, normally 1-2 years ahead. In addition, a detailed specification is included which describes all parts included, the price per unit and the annual quantity from which the price is calculated. Finally, there is a "fixed time" notice given in weeks, which means that every blanket release in the delivery schedule within this time should be regarded as a fixed order. |
| General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade | Abbreviation: GATT. Major international agreement on trade and tariffs between many nations all over the world. |
| General Agreement with Schedule | In an agreement, besides the agreement text itself, there is also a part description included which contains price and the approximate quantity for which the price has been calculated, for all products included. The buyer's need for call off is specified in separate delivery schedules that are distributed to the supplier at regular intervals or when a major shift in demand occurs. The delivery schedules show the due dates and the quantity per part number during the period of the agreement. The forthcoming blanket order is a fixed order, the others are a forecast for the supplier's capacity reservation. The first and last validity dates should also be included in the agreement text.? |
| General Average (G/A) | Intentional act or sacrifice that is carried out to safeguard vessel and cargo. When a vessel is in danger, the master has the right to sacrifice property and/or to incur reasonable expenditure. Measures taken for the sole benefit of any particular interest are not considered general average. |
| General Average Act | (York-Antwerp Rules) There is a general average act when, and only when any extraordinary sacrifice or expenditure is intentionally and reasonably made or incurred for the common safety for the purpose of preserving from peril the property involved in a common maritime adventure. |
| General Average Statement | This shows in detail all general average costs and expenses and the contribution of each interest in the general average in proportion to its value. |
| General Cargo | Cargo, cosisting of goods, unpacked or packed, for example in cartons, crates, bags or bales, often palletized. General cargo can be shipped either in breakbulk or containerized.? Any consignment other than a consignment containing valuable cargo and charged for transport at general cargo rates (air cargo). |
| General Cargo Rate | Abbreviation: GCR.Synonym: General Commodity Rate. The rate for the carriage of cargo other than a class rate or specific commodity rate. |
| General Commodity Rate | See General Cargo Rate. |
| General Purpose Container | A container used for the carriage of general cargo without any special requirements for the transport and or the conditioning of the goods. |
| Germanischer Lloyd | German classification society. |
| GFA | General freight agent |
| Global Supply Chain Management Services | The management and integration of customized logistics solutions that enable customers to distribute products in global markets. |
| GM | General Maintenance |
| GMT | Greenwich Meantime |
| GNP | Gross national product |
| GNVQ | General National Vocational Qualification |
| Godown | A warehouse or cargo shed. This term is often used in the Far East. |
| Goods | Common term indicating movable property, merchandise or wares. All materials which can be used to satisfy demands.? Whole or part of the cargo received from the shipper, including any equipment supplied by the shipper. |
| Goods Control Certificate | Document issued by a competent body evidencing the quality of goods described therein, in accordance with national or international standards, or conforming to legislation in the importing country, or as specified in the contract. |
| Goods Flow | The direction and path of the movement of goods and sequence of placement of those goods in a supply chain. |
| Goods in Transit | The goods which have departed from the initial loading point and not yet arrived at the final unloading point. Synonyms: Stock in Transit, In Transit Inventory, Transportation Inventory. |
| Goods Item | A separate identifiable quantity of products or articles of a single type. |
| Goods Receipt | Document issued by a port, warehouse, shed, or terminal operator acknowledging receipt of goods specified therein on conditions stated or referred to in the document. |
| Gooseneck | Gooseneck shaped front end of a trailer or chassis.? Recess front bottom of a container to reduce the total height of the chassis plus container. |
| Graphical User Interface (GUI) | Graphical rather than text-based user interface to an application on a computer. The term came into existence because the first interactive user interfaces to computers were not graphical - they were text-and-keyboard oriented and usually consisted of commands you had to remember and computer responses that were very brief. Elements of a GUI include windows, pull-down menus, pushbuttons, scroll bars, icons, wizards and more. |
| Grid Number | An indication of the position of a container in a bay plan by means of a combination of page number, column and line. The page number often represents the bay number. |
| Gross Manifest | A manifest containing freight details without any appropriate disbursements. |
| Gross Tonnage | Abbreviation: GRT. The measure of the overall size of a vessel determined in accordance with the provisions of the international convention on measurement of vessels usually expressed in register ton. |
| Gross Weight | Weight (mass) of goods including packing, but excluding the carrier's equipment expressed in whole kilograms.? The weight of a shipment including materials necessary for blocking etc. |
| Gross Weight of Container | Total weight of container including cargo (in kilograms). |
| Groupage | The collection of several small consignments and the formation of one large shipment thereof (road cargo). |
| Groupage Agent, Groupeur (Fr) | One who consolidates LCL consignments to offer to a carrier as an FCL |
| Groupage Centre | A location where groupage takes place (roadcargo). |
| GRT | Gross registered tonnage |
| GSA | General Sales Agent |
| GST | General Systems Theory |
| GUI | See: Graphical User Interface |
| GUS Classification | A classification of products into three categories for the benefit of goods flow control and stock control, based on a products area of application within a product division. G = General products that may be required in several main article groups or operations centers and are administered centrally in the division U = Unique products that are used uniquely in one main article group or operations centre but in several of its products, and administered locally in the division. S = Specific products that are used exclusively in one higher level product, and whose procurement is effected per individual order. |
| GW | Gross weight |
| I-TV | In-transit Visibility |
| I.E. | That is |
| I.O.U | I owe you |
| IACS | See International Association of Classification Societies. |
| IATA | See International Air Transport Association. |
| IATA Cargo Agent | An agent approved by IATA and registered in the IATA Cargo Agency List. This enables the agent, upon authorization of the IATA carrier, to receive shipments, to execute Air Waybills and to collect charges (air cargo). |
| IATA Member | An airline which is a member of IATA (air cargo). |
| IAW | In accordance with |
| ICAO | See International Civil Aviation Organization. |
| ICC | Institute Cargo Clauses |
| Jettison | The act of intentionally throwing cargo overboard e.g. with the objective of lightening a vessel, which has run aground, such for the common good of all interests: vessel, crew and remaining cargo (see GA). |
| Jetty | A mole or breakwater, running out into the sea to protect harbour or coast. It is sometimes used as a landing-pier. |
| Jib | Projecting arm of a crane. Attachment connected to the top of a crane boom. |
| JIG | An outline to confirm an aircraft interior contour when building up pallet loads. |
| JIT | See Just In Time. |
| Job | That work which is undertaken to meet a customer or production order and, for production control purposes, has a unique identification. |
| Job Production | Planning in production based upon customer order production. Job production is often used in conjunction with customer order control. |
| Job Status | Is a means of describing how far an order has progressed from order reception through the production process and shipment, up to and including receipt by the customer. |
| Joint Venture | A joint activity of two or more companies, usually performed under a common name. |
| Jurisprudence | Juridical decisions used for explanation and meaning of law. |
| Just In Time | Abbreviation: JIT. The movement of material/goods at the necessary place at the necessary time. The implication is that each operation is closely synchronized with the subsequent ones to make that possible. A method of inventory control that brings stock into the production process, warehouse or to the customer just in time to be used, thus reducing stock piling. |
| Just-in-Case? (JIC) | Stocks held in quantities to guarantee continuous production. As opposed to JIT production technique. |
| Just-in-Sequence? (JIS) | A derivative of JIT, with components picked and packed in the appropriate order in which they are to be assembled, thus saving time and improving on-line efficiency. |
| Just-In-Time (JIT) | Scheduled, sequenced delivery of parts and products designed to create a smooth flow of in-bound materials received at assembly and manufacturing plants. |
| KAM | Key Account Manager |
| Kanban | An order system whereby an order is put into effect by means of a card which is attached to an empty box or pallet returned from the buyer to the stock warehouse. From there, the filled box or pallet is returned to the buyer. The Kanban system is often used together with JIT-transportation. "Kanban" is a Japanese word which means "visible proof". |
| Keel | Longitudinal girder at the lowest point of a vessel from which the framework is built. |
| Key Data | Economic key data are comparative figures which provide a measure of the economic situation in a company, indicating the company's efficiency, financial status, liquidity, solidity and rate of return. |
| Kg(s) | Kilogram(s) |
| Kind of Packing | Description of the packaging material used for goods to be transported. |
| King pin | The coupling pin, welded or bolted in the centre of the front underside of a semi-trailer chassis, which couples to the fifth wheel of the towing tractor or dolly convertor. |
| Kit | A number of separate Stock Keeping Units that are supplied or used as one item under its own Part Number. |
| Kitting | The selecting, packaging and delivery of unassembled parts, with the goal of minimizing production/installation time. |
| Km | Kilometer |
| Km.p.h. | Kilometers per hour |
| Kn | Knot(s) |
| Knot | Unit of measurement for the speed (of a vessel) equal to a nautical mile (= 1852 meters) per hour. |
| Knowledge Management | Enterprises consciously and comprehensively gathers, organizes, shares, and analyze their knowledge with Knowledge Management tools to further its aims. |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicators |
| KW | Kilowatt |
| kWh | Kilowatt-hour |
| Kyoto Convention | The convention for the International Customs Cooperation Council held in Kyoto in 1973 for the simplification and harmonization of national customs procedures. |
| L&D | Loss and damage |
| L&U | Loading and unloading |
| L/C | See Letter of Credit. |
| L/T | Liner terms |
| Label | A slip of e.g. paper or metal attached to an object to indicate the nature, ownership, destination, contents and/or other particulars of the object. |
| Labour Costs | The costs associated with having employees. |
| Laden Vessel | See Loaden Vessel. |
| Land Bridge | Overland transport between following and/or preceding sea transport of goods and/or containers. |
| Lash | See Lighter Aboard Ship. |
| Lashing Point | Point on a means of transport to which wires, chains, ropes or straps, which are used to hold goods in position, are attached. |
| Last In First Out | Abbreviation: LIFO. A method of which the assumption is that the most recently received (last in) is the first to be used or sold (first out). |
| Lateral and Front Stacking Truck | High-lift stacking truck capable of stacking and retrieving loads ahead and on either or both sides of the driving direction. |
| Latitude | The angular distance of a position on its meridian north or south from the equator, measured in degrees ('a vessel at 25 degrees north latitude'). |
| Lattice vortex network | Term coined by Mohanbir Sawhney and Steven Kaplan to describe how vertical and functional markets intersect and partner. |
| Lay Days | The number of days allowed in a charter party for the loading and discharging of cargo. Lay days may be indicated in different ways e.g. consecutive days, working days, weather working days. |
| Lay Up a Vessel | Temporary cessation of trading of a vessel by the shipowner. |
| Layout Key | See United Nations Layout Key. |
| Lb(s) | Pound(s) |
| LCL | See Less than Container Load. |
| LDG | leading |
| Lead generation | Typically seller-driven, they derive revenue from ads, commissions on sales, or fees for delivering qualified leads to suppliers. Also may generate RFPs (requests for proposals) and RFQs (requests for quotes) for buyers. Provide value by understanding information needs of their users and integrating and aggregating content, information and transactions for buyers and sellers. Most lead generation markets seek to migrate to transaction-oriented catalog aggregation model. Examples: PhotonicsOnline.com (lasers), SolidwasteOnline.com (sewage treatment systems), PlasticsNet.com, Questlink.com (electronic components). |
| Lead Logistics Provider | A logistics service provider that provides a wide range of logistics services often, though not exclusively, through the use of subcontracted logistics providers. |
| Lead Logistics Provider (LLP) | The LLP concept is based upon the principle of the total management of the logistics supply chain utilised in the movement of products from source of supply to the customer. The LLP manages the whole process, using a mixture of service providers. |
| Lead Time | The length of time between the placing of an order and the completion of the delivery in full. Please also compare with delivery time and order cycle time. |
| Lead Time Variation | Variation between real and estimated lead time. It can be measured statistically. |
| Leakage | See Shrinkage |
| Lease | A contract by which one party gives to another party the use of property or equipment, e.g. containers, for a specified time against fixed payments. |
| Leasing Company | The company from which property or equipment is taken on lease. |
| Leasing Contract | A contract for the leasing of property or equipment. |
| LEL | Lower explosive limit |
| Less than Container Load | Abbreviation: LCL. A general reference for identifying cargo in any quantity intended for carriage in a container, where the Carrier is responsible for packing and/or unpacking the container. For operational purposes a LCL (Less than full container load) container is considered a container in which multiple consignments or parts thereof are shipped. |
| Less than Truck Load | Abbreviation: LTL. A term used if the quantity or volume of one or more consignment(s) does not fill a standard truck. |
| Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) Carriers | Transportation providers that use a network of terminals to process and transport small shipments. |
| Lessee | The party to whom the possession of specified property has been conveyed for a period of time in return for rental payments. |
| Lessor | The party who conveys specified property to another for a period of time in return for the receipt of rent. |
| Letter of Credit | Abbreviation: L/C. A written undertaking by a bank (issuing bank) given to the seller (beneficiary) at the request, and on the instructions of the buyer (applicant) to pay at sight or at a determinable future date up to a stated sum of money, within a prescribed time limit and against stipulated documents. |
| LFL | Lower flammable limit |
| LGT | Long ton(s) |
| Lien | A legal claim upon real or personal property to pay a debt or duty. |
| Life Cycle Cost | Encompasses all costs associated with the product's life cycle. These include all costs involved in acquisition (research & development, design, production & construction, and phase-in), operation, support and disposal of the product. |
| Lifed Item | A consumable or repairable product for which the manufacturer has specified a finite life in either some form of time period or in a number of cycles or activities. |
| Lifetime value of the customer | The amount a customer spends over time with a supplier minus the cost of acquiring the customer. Both vertical and horizontal Net markets have promised investors they will "own" the b2b customer, become the default buying option, and thus have customers with a higher lifetime value than consumer e-commerce businesses. That promise has slowed development of partnerships between vertical and horizontal markets. |
| LIFO | See Last In First Out. See Liner In Free Out. |
| Lift-On Lift-Off Vessel | Abbreviation: LOLO. Vessel of which the loading and discharging operations are carried out by cranes and derricks. |
| Lighter | See Barge. |
| Lighter Aboard Ship | To hold goods in position by the use of e.g. wires, ropes, chains and straps. Abbreviation: Lash. A vessel which carries barges. |
| Lighterage | The carriage of goods within a port area by a barge, e.g. from a vessel to a quay. |
| Lightweight | Weight of an empty vessel including equipment and outfit, spare parts required by the regulatory bodies, machinery in working condition and liquids in the systems, but excluding liquids in the storage tanks, stores and crew. |
| Line Item | See order line. |
| Line Number | See Flight Number. |
| Linear market | When products move from one end of the supply chain to the other, typical of traditional markets and manufactured goods. Adding a seller primarily benefits buyers, and adding a buyer mainly benefits sellers. Antonym: exponential market. |
| Linear Programming | A mathematical optimization method whereby target function as well as restrictions are expressed as linear mathematical connections. The method is appropriate when risk-free decisions must be made leading towards clear-cut solutions. Problems with product selection, investment, raw materials and product mix are examples of those which can be solved by this method. |
| Linehaul | See Trunking. |
| Liner Conference | A group of two or more vessel-operating carriers, which provides international liner services for the carriage of cargo on a particular trade route and which has an agreement or arrangement to operate under uniform or common freight rates and any other agreed conditions (e.g. FEFC = Far Eastern Freight Conference). |
| Liner In Free Out | Abbreviation: LIFO. Transport condition denoting that the freight rate is inclusive of the sea carriage and the cost of loading, the latter as per the custom of the port. It excludes the cost of discharging. |
| Liner Service | The connection through vessels between ports within a trade. |
| Liner Shipping Company | A company transporting goods over sea in a regular service. |
| Liner Terms | Condition of carriage denoting that costs for loading and unloading are borne by the carrier subject the custom of the port concerned. |
| Lineside Warehouse | A supplier warehouse positioned as close as possible to the production location to facilitate Just In Time manufacture. |
| Liquidity | Volume of transactions. With enough buyers and sellers, a market has continuous bidding, offers, and consummated transactions, and market liquidity is achieved. (See critical mass, network effect.) |
| Live Stock | Cargo consisting of live animals, such as horses, cows, sheep and chickens. |
| Lkg/Bkg | Leakage & breakage |
| LL/LL2 | Lean Logistics |
| LNG | liquified natural gas |
| LOA | Length over all |
| Load | Quantity or nature of what is being carried. This term normally refers to transport by truck. |
| Load Factor Management | The process of maximising the utilization of the (slot) capacity of vessels and or other means of transport. |
| Loaden Vessel | Vessel where cargo has been put on board. Synonym: Laden Vessel. |
| Loading | The process of bringing cargo into a means of transport or equipment. |
| Loading Platform | A flat surface to facilitate loading usually alongside a warehouse. |
| Loadmaster | A loadcalculator designed for a vessel approved by a classification bureau for the calculation of the vessels stability. |
| Locating Pin | See Cones. |
| Location | Any named geographical place, recognized by a competent national body, with permanent facilities used for goods movements associated with international trade, and used frequently for these purposes.? Geographical place such as a port, an airport, an inland freight terminal, a container freight station, a container yard, a container depot, a terminal or any other place where customs clearance and/or regular receipt or delivery of goods can take place.? An area (e.g.in a warehouse) marked off or designated for a specific purpose. |
| Location Checking | The systematic physical checking of warehouse stock against location records to ensure location accuracy. |
| Location Evaluation | Evaluation in order to locate breakpoints for production, storing and reloading. In these evaluations input, inventory and output costs are considered. |
| Lock | For marine purposes: A space, enclosed at the sides by walls and at each end by gates, by which a vessel can be floated up or down to a different level. |
| Locker | A compartment, in a shed or on board of a vessel, used as a safekeeping place to stow valuable goods, which can be secured by means of a lock. |
| Log Book | The daily report of all events and other relevant particulars of a vessel and attested by the proper authorities as a true record. |
| Logistics | Is often regarded as a concept synonymous with materials management but is just as often regarded as a description for analytical techniques and methods connected with materials management. The planning, execution and control: 1. of the movement and placement of people and/or goods. 2. and of the supporting activities related to such movement and placement within a system organized to achieve specific objectives |
| Logistics chain | All successive links involved in the logistic process. |
| Logistics Channel | A system-wide network of the supply chain with components that create a seamless flow of materials. |
| Logistics Consulting | An extensive review and partnership with customers focused on the development of innovative solutions aimed at customers' targeted logistics requirements. |
| LOLO | See Lift-On Lift-Off Vessel. |
| Longitude | The angular distance of a position on the equator east or west of the standard Greenwich meridian up to 180o east or west. |
| Lorry | Motor truck used for transport of goods. Note: Motor truck is an American term. British synonym for motor truck is Heavy Goods Vehicle. This British term means any vehicle exceeding 7.5 metric tons maximum laden weight. |
| Lost Sales | A customer demand for which no stock is available and where the customer is not prepared to wait for the item to arrive in stock but goes to another supplier. |
| Lost Sales | A customer demand for which no stock is available and where the customer is not prepared to wait for the item to arrive in stock but goes to another supplier. |
| Lot Number | The allocation of a unique number, to one or more of a product during manufacture or assembly, to provide traceability |
| LPG | Liquified petrochemical gas |
| LSD | Landing. storage and delivery charges |
| LT | Letter telegram |
| LT (2) | Local time |
| LTA | Lighter than air system (airships) |
| Ltge | Lighterage |
| LTL | See Less than truck load. |
| Luffing Crane | A crane with which the load can be moved to or from the crane horizontally. |
| Luggage | Travellers' baggage, suitcases, boxes etc., normally accompanied by a passenger. |
| Lump-sum | An agreed sum of money, which is paid in full settlement at one time. This term is often used in connection with charter parties. |
| Lump-sum Charter | A voyage charter whereby the shipowner agrees to place the whole or a part of the vessel's capacity at the charterer's disposal for which a lump-sum freight is being paid. |
| M | Meter(s) |
| M+R | Maintenance and repair (center) |
| M/R | Mate's receipt |
| M/S | Motor Ship |
| M/V | Motor Merchant Vessel |
| MACH | Modular automated container handling |
| MAD | Mean absolute deviation - a scatter chart which demonstrates how well the forecasting line corresponds to real outcomes. |
| Mafi Trailer | German brand name of a roll trailer used for RoRo purposes. |
| Maiden Trip | First voyage of a vessel or aircraft after delivery from new-building to her owner(s). |
| Main-line Operator (MLO) | A carrier employing vessel(s) in the main or principal routes in a trade but not participating within a consortium. |
| Maintenance Chain | A sequence of events in a goods flow which preserves and/or restores the value of a specific good. This may include: Repair. |
| Make or Buy | Defining core business, organisations are driven to determine their key objectives. This will then determine the extent to which non-core services are bought in. |
| Make to Order | A manufacturing or assembly process established to satisfy customer demand only after an order has been placed. |
| Manifest | Document which lists the specifications of goods loaded in a means of transport or equipment for transportation purposes. As a rule cargo manifests are drawn up by the agents in the place of loading. Note: For shipping a manifest represents a cumulation of Bills of Lading for official and administrative purposes. |
| Manufacturers Plate | A plate indicating the name and address of the container manufacturer and particulars of the container. |
| Manufacturing Process | The producing of goods or wares by manual labour or machinery, often on a large scale and with division of labour. |
| Manufacturing Resource Planning | MRP 2 - A method for the effective planning of all the resources of a manufacturing company. Ideally it addresses operational planning in units, financial planning in money and has a simulation capability to answer 'what if' questions. It is made up of a variety of functions, each linked together : business planning, master (or production) planning, master production scheduling, material requirements planning, capacity requirements planning and the execution systems for capacity and priority. Outputs from these systems would be integrated with financial reports such as the business plan, purchase commitment report, shipping budget, stock projections in money, etc. Manufacturing resource planning is a direct out-growth and extension of material requirements planning (MRP 1). |
| Marine Insurance Policy | An insurance policy protecting the insured against loss or damage to his goods occurred during ocean transport. |
| Market Analysis | Systematic investigation of the growth and the composition of a market. |
| Market Maker | In a stock exchange, market makers take ownership of shares, allowing people to buy and sell those goods from them. They also can make or lose money from price movements. Outside the financial community, market makers help match buyers and sellers, regardless of whether or not they take possession or own goods. (See Net market maker.) |
| Marketing | The process of organizing and directing all the company activities which relate to determining the market demand and converting the customers buying power into an effective demand for a service and bringing that service to the customer. |
| Marketing Strategy | Description of that part of the company's strategy which is directed towards the market. It consists e.g. of product range, target group, marketing, sales and distribution. |
| Marks | See Shipping Marks. |
| Master Production Schedule (MPS) | Involves all tasks which in different ways have an influence on the company's production flow: from arranging for construction drawings through the purchasing, manufacturing and tool procurement functions etc. to the delivery of finished products. |
| Master Production Scheduling | Is a means of defining whether the company has the scope to accept new orders. Consists of the calculation of total capacity, load, (i.e. the capacity which is used), predicting when new orders can be accepted and finalized, and ensuring that the plans are followed. |
| Mate's Receipt | A document signed by the chief officer of a vessel acknowledging the receipt of a certain consignment on board of that vessel. On this document, remarks can be made as to the order and condition of the consignment. |
| Material Requirements Planning | Abbreviation: MRP-I. An inventory and purchasing planning system that integrates product components, lead times and deadlines. |
| Material Supply | A comprehensive description of all activities in the company designed to take care of its material supply from the suppliers, including purchasing, transportation, inventory, inventory assets, materials handling equipment, etc. |
| Material Supply Systems | A comprehensive description of all activities, relations between different activities, resources, management and objectives in a company which are connected with material supply from the suppliers. An important objective for the company's material supply system is to secure the necessary raw materials and assembly parts at the lowest possible overall cost. |
| Materials Handling | The activities of loading, unloading, placing and manipulating material and of in-process movement. |
| Materials Management | The planning and control of the activities related to the materials flow from the suppliers up to the end of the conversion/production process. |
| MAWB | Master Air WaYbill |
| Maximum Order Quantity | An order quantity which, in principle, must not be exceeded. |
| Maximum Stock | The upper limit, expressed in quantitative, financial or time-based terms, to which the stock of an item should normally be allowed to rise. |
| MCO | See Miscellaneous Charge Order. |
| Mdse | Merchandise |
| Means of Transport | Type of vehicle used for the transport of goods (e.g. aircraft, barge, truck, vessel or train). |
| Measurement Ton | A ton of one cubic meter water. |
| Mechanics Lien | The legal enforceable claim which a person who has performed work or provided materials is permitted to make against title to the property or as a preferential person in the event the estate or business is liquidated. |
| Medical First Aid Guide | Abbreviation: MFAG. Instructions to be consulted in case of accidents involving dangerous goods. |
| Memo Bill | See Service Bill of Lading. |
| Merchant | For cargo carried under the terms and conditions of the Carrier's Bill of Lading and of a tariff, it means any trader or persons (e.g. Shipper, Consignee) and including anyone acting on their behalf, owning or entitled to possession of the goods. |
| Merchant Haulage | Inland transport of cargo in shipping containers arranged by the Merchant. It includes empty container-moves to and from hand-over points in respect of containers released by the Carrier to Merchants. Note: Carrier's responsibility under the Bill of Lading does not include the inland transport stretch under Merchant Haulage. |
| Merchant Inspired Carrier Haulage | Carrier haulage by a carrier, which is nominated by the shipper or receiver of the goods, but paid by the carrier. |
| Meta-centric Height | The distance between the centre of gravity of a vessel and a fictitious point. If the metra-centric height is zero or negative, the vessel will heel or capsize. |
| Metamediary | Besides providing a multi-vendor, multi-product marketplace, the metamediary provides additional services for market participants. These services can be offered directly by the metamediary, or the metamediary can invite third party service providers into its marketplace. Services provided could include quality assurance, procurement management, fulfillment, or payment settlement. |
| MFAG | See Medical First Aid Guide. |
| MFN | Most Favoured Nation |
| MH | Merchants Haulage |
| MIC | Mature industrialized country |
| Minimum Charge | The lowest amount which applies to the transport of a consignment, irrespective of weight or volume (air cargo, shipping). |
| Minimum Inventory | The planned minimum allowable inventory for an independent demand item. |
| Minimum Order | The smallest order quantity which, in principle, is allowed. |
| Minimum Stock | A control limit within a stock control system which could indicate the point at which an order should be placed, or indicate if stocks are too low, for a specific item. |
| Minor Unit | Unit of recorded value (i.e. as recorded by banks) which is a division of the respective unit of currency. Examples are the cent being a one hundredth part of the US Dollar. Note: Some countries have minor units that are used in low-value coinage within a country or locality, but which are not used by the international banking system in making formal records of value. Examples: Belgium, Greece and Spain. |
| Miscellaneous Charge Order | Abbreviation: MCO. A document issued by a carrier or his agent requesting the issue of an appropriate passenger ticket and baggage cheque or revision of services to the person named in such document. |
| Mixed Consignment | A consignment of different commodities, articles or goods, packed or tied together or contained in separate packages (air cargo). |
| Mixed System | A system for placing goods in stock whereby a number of goods are stored at fixed picking places. A buffer stock is kept in a random stock system. The system demands more handling work than the system for floating placement. This means that the inventory volume in the buffer stock is used well but not as well in the picking stock, which requires simple administration and lot wise FIFO. Please see also "permanent storage location" and "random storage location". |
| MNC | Mulit National Corporation |
| Mode | The method by which goods and materials are moved through the supply chain, e.g. road, rail, air, sea, etc. |
| Mode of Transport | Method of transport used for the conveyance of goods, (e.g. by rail, by road, by sea). |
| Model | A representation of a process or system that attempts to relate the most important variables in the system in such a way that analysis of the model leads to insights into the system. |
| Module | A separate and distinct unit of hardware or software that may be used as a component in a system. |
| Movement | The act or process of changing the position of an object and or people. |
| Movement Inventory | The inventory during a production process caused by the time required to move goods from one place to another. |
| MPC | See Multi Purpose Carrier. |
| MPS | Master Production Schedule |
| MRO | (Maintenance, repair, and operating equipment) Routine purchases such as office supplies, travel services, or computers needed to run a business but not central to the business's output. Ariba and CommerceOne sell buy-side procurement software for MRO. (See horizontal market.) |
| MRP-I | See Material Requirements Planning. |
| MRP-II | See Manufacturing Resource Planning. |
| MSBL | Missing bill of lading |
| MSCA | Missing cargo |
| MT | Motor tanker |
| MTD | Multimodal transport document |
| MTO/Carrier | See Multimodal Transport Operator/Carrier. |
| Multi Purpose Carrier | See Multi Purpose Vessel. |
| Multi Purpose Vessel | Vessel designed for the carriage of different types of cargo: general, bulk, heavy and/or containerized cargo. Synonym: Multi Purpose Carrier (MPC). |
| Multimodal Transport | The carriage of goods (containers) by at least two different modes of transport. |
| Multimodal Transport Document | See Combined Transport Document. |
| Multimodal Transport Operator/Carrier | Abbreviation: MTO/Carrier. The person on whose behalf the transport document or any document evidencing a contract of multimodal carriage of goods is issued and who is responsible for the carriage of goods pursuant to the contract of carriage. |
| Multiple Sourcing | Selecting of and working with more than two equivalent suppliers for a certain product. |
| n.e.s. | Not elsewhere specified |
| n.l.t. | Not later than |
| n.o.e. | Not otherwise enumerated |
| n.o.p. | Not otherwise provided |
| n.o.r. | Not otherwise rated |
| n.o.s | Not otherwise specified |
| n.v.d. | No value declared |
| n/n | Non-negotiable |
| n/o | No orders |
| n/r | Note of readiness |
| NAABSA | Not always afloat but safely aground |
| Name | Description |
| NAOCC | Non Aircraft Operating Common Carrier |
| National Distribution Centre (NDC) | Term usually applied to a Supplier's sole warehouse which is strategically placed to deliver product to customers. (Often these will be RDC's). |
| Navigation | The act of determining position, location and course to the destination of an aircraft or a vessel. |
| ncv | Non customs/commercial value |
| Negative Inventory | Order queue, i.e. back ordering. In some cases one does not want negative inventories, but in other cases they are used deliberately in order to reduce the inventory cost. |
| Negligence | Imprudent action or omission which may cause injury, damage or loss. |
| Negotiable | In terms of documents, 'negotiable' means that e.g. a Bill of Lading is handed over/transferred in the right manner (viz. proper endorsement) to another person either endorsed in blank or endorsed to a person and that person acquires, by this transfer certain rights vis-a-vis the goods e.g. is entitled to take possession of the goods. |
| Net Manifest | A manifest containing all freight details including negotiated disbursements. |
| Net Market | An online intermediary that connects fragmented buyers and sellers. Net markets eliminate inefficiencies by aggregating offerings from many sellers or by matching buyers and sellers in an exchange or auction. For buyers, they lower purchasing costs while reaching new suppliers. For suppliers, they lower sales cost and reach new customers. A central hub where a trusted intermediary integrates both procedures and technology can save costs. Synonyms: infomediary, metamediary, electronic markets, e-markets, Internet markets, I-markets, vertical hubs, e-hubs, butterfly markets, vortex businesses, digital exchanges, online exchanges, fat butterfly. |
| Net Market Maker | A company creating an Internet market to match buyers and sellers. Doesn't necessarily own goods. (See market maker.) |
| Net Tonnage | The measure of the useful capacity of a vessel determined in accordance with the provisions of the international convention on tonnage measurement of vessels. |
| Net Weight | The weight of the goods, excluding all packing. |
| Network | The structure of the total of the distribution channels between factories and distribution centers along which the goods flow takes place. |
| Network Effect | Describes how all buyers and sellers benefit when a new market participant is added. The network effect produces a cycle with more buyers attracting more sellers and more sellers attracting more buyers. Robert Metcalfe created the notion that the value of a network grows by the square of the number of participants. Synonym: Metcalfe's Law. (See liquidity, critical mass.) |
| Network Planning System | A technique for making a time schedule for the implementation of a project. |
| NFO | Not free out |
| NGO | Non governmental organization |
| NMC | Not Mission Capable |
| No Show | A?person who reserves space on an aircraft but neither uses or cancels the reservation |
| Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier | Abbreviation: NVOCC. A party who undertakes to carry goods and issues in his own name a Bill of Lading for such carriage, without having the availability of any own means of transport. |
| Non-sked | Non-scheduled airline or flight |
| Normal Charge | The specified general cargo rate without any quantity discount (air cargo). |
| Normal Distribution | Symmetrical division of measuring values around an average value. The number of measuring values is at a maximum around the average value and decreases away from the average value. The division can be presented in a so-called normal distribution curve. |
| Normal General Cargo Rate | The under 45 kgs rate or, if no under 45 kgs rate exists, the under 100 kgs rate (air cargo). Synonym: Normal Rate. |
| Normal Inventory | The inventory level which is needed in order to meet the customers' normal demands. |
| Normalise | To create a consistent set of terms and product descriptions, often using industry-specific translation software. Primarily used by catalog aggregators, normalization technology requires translating schema or structures in product databases. (See ontology.) |
| Notice of Readiness | Written document or telex issued by the master of a vessel to the charterers advising them the moment when a vessel is ready to load or discharge.? Document advising a consignee or his agent that cargo has arrived and is ready for delivery. |
| Notify Address | Address of the party other than the consignee to be advised of the arrival of the goods. |
| Notify Party | The party to be notified of arrival of goods. |
| Nouvelles Fronti?res | A 1986 ruling by the Court of Justice which ruled that air transport was not exempt from EC competition policy. |
| Nr (N) | Number |
| NRT | Net registered ton |
| NSM | National Sales Manager |
| Nt. | Net weight |
| NVOCC | See Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier. |
| NVQ | National Vocational Qualifications |
| O/P | On deck |
| Objective Fulfilment | A productivity measure which assesses the real result of an activity in relation to the defined objectives for that activity. |
| OBO | Ore Bulk Oil Carriers |
| OBS | Oil Bunker Surcharge |
| Obsolescence | A situation in which a product has for various reasons, become unsalable or unusable for its original purpose. |
| Obsolete Inventory | Parts stored which are no longer in demand. |
| Obsolete Stock | The products or materials that cannot be or is unlikely to be used in future processes and which is to be sold or disposed of through the usual outlets. |
| Oc. B/L | Ocean Bill of Lading |
| OCR | Optical Character Recognition |
| ODETTE | Organization for Data Exchange by Tele Transmission in Europe. |
| ODS | Operating differential subsidy |
| OECD | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| OEM | Original Equipment Manufacturer |
| OFA | Ocean freight agreement |
| Off the Shelf Satisfaction | See Fill Rate |
| Offshore | Contracting work carried out at sea (e.g. drilling for oil). |
| OFTP | Odette File Transfer Protocol |
| Oil Bulk Ore Vessel | Abbreviation: OBO-Vessel. A vessel, designed for the carriage of either dry or liquid bulk cargo. |
| OM | Organisational Maintenance |
| On Time In Full (OTIF) | A criterion by which customers measure suppliers? performance with reference to the delivery of goods. |
| On-Board Computer | Cab-mounted device which electronically or mechanically records data such as truck speed, engine rpm, idle time and other information useful to trucking management. |
| On-hand Balance | The quantity of an item shown in the inventory records as being physically in stock. |
| Oncarriage | The carriage of goods (containers) by any mode of transport to the place of delivery after discharge from the ocean vessel (main means of transport) at the port (place) of discharge. |
| One Way Pallet | See disposable pallet. Note: The addition 'One Way' has nothing to do with the number of pallet sides in which the forks of e.g. a fork lift can enter, as opposed to the two and four way pallets. |
| Ontology | A Yahoo-like hierarchy of relationships and a glossary used as a standardization device to describe goods and services and to facilitate commerce in a Net market. (See normalize.) |
| Open Order | See Backlog. |
| Open Sided Container | Shipping container with frames with wire-mesh at the sides covered by means of a tarpaulin which can be dropped down to give unrestricted access to the sides of the container for loading or discharging. |
| Open Top Container | A freight container similar in all respects to a general purpose container except that it has no rigid roof but may have a flexible and movable or removable cover, for example one made of canvas or plastic or reinforced plastic material normally supported on movable or removable roof bows. |
| Opening Stock | The stock of an item at the beginning of an inventory accounting period of time. |
| Operating Efficiency | A ratio of the actual output of a piece of equipment, department, or plant as compared to the planned or standard output. |
| Operations Research | The development and application of quantitative techniques to the solution of problems. More specifically, theory and methodology in mathematics, statistics, and computing are adapted and applied to the identification, formulation, solution, validation, implementation, and control of decision making problems. |
| Operator | The party responsible for the day to day operational management of certain premises such as ware-houses, terminals and vessels. |
| Opportunity Cost | Measures the potential revenues lost when using a resource for one particular purpose instead of another. |
| Optimal Trim | The best calculated TRIM related to speed engine capacity, fuel consumption for a specific sailing condition. |
| Optimisation | Achieving the best possible solution to a problem in terms of a specified objective function. |
| Option | One of a limited range of choices or features that is offered to a customer when purchasing an otherwise basic standard product and that has to be an integral part of the product (used in commercial trading). |
| Option Agreement | This means that the buyer has the right to increase the quantity of an order at a previously determined price for a quantity that is agreed upon in the option. |
| Optional Cargo | Cargo of which the final destination is not known at the moment of booking but will be indicated during the transport. |
| Optional Port | A port of which it is not known whether or not it will be called by a vessel during a voyage. |
| OR | Owner's risk |
| ORB | Owner's risk of breakage |
| ORD | Owner's risk of damage |
| Order | A request to deliver specified quantities of goods or to render specific services. |
| Order Accumulation | A process of adding orders to each other for the purpose of achieving a certain shipping quantity, joint cargo system, quantity discount etc. |
| Order Cycle | The time which passes between two orders. The concept appears in connection with cyclic planning. |
| Order Cycle Time | The time which passes from identification of the order need until the delivery has been fully received. It consists of the time for requirement identification, order accumulation, order placing and order transfer, order reception and order processing, further ordering (or back ordering), loading, transportation to customer and arrival in the customer's goods received department. |
| Order Line | Each line on a customer's purchase order. An order line always contains one Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) only, but the number may vary. |
| Order Monitoring | A means of ensuring that orders given are effected in accordance with the agreement. Order monitoring consists of following up to ensure that the delivery agreements have been effected, providing information to the functions involved about delays in deliveries which cannot be avoided, ensuring co-operation within the company and with the suppliers in order to keep delays as short as possible and to mitigate the related consequences. |
| Order Picking | Collecting items from storage location to satisfy a shop or customer order. |
| Order Point | Critical level in storage and stock-keeping. A replenishment order should be placed when this level is reached. |
| Order Point Inventory System | An inventory control system for independent demand items where a reorder requirement is generated and sent to a supplier when the on-hand inventory balance reaches a specified level. |
| Order Point System | This is a type of inventory control system which ensures that every time inventory has fallen to a specified level (the order point), a new order will be placed for a fixed quantity. |
| Order Queue | Please see "negative inventory". |
| Order Sequencing | The process whereby the different order positions within an order are arranged in such a way that the picker can collect the goods within the shortest possible walling distance. He will then have to pick the order positions in the same sequence as they are presented in the picking list which has been produced. |
| Order Structure | Describes the relative position of a company's customer orders. This takes account of e.g. order quantity, the number of order lines per order, division of the order size regarding number of parts or value, division of number of orders in time or per customer or per customer category. |
| ORF | Owner's risk of fire |
| Organisation | An identifiable social unit with a particular responsibility which endeavour to achieve multiple goals by coordinated activities and relationships between members and objects. |
| OT | Open top (container) |
| OTOR | On truck or railway |
| Out of Gauge Cargo | Cargo which dimensions are exceeding the normal dimensions of a 20 or 40 feet container, e.g. overlength, overwidth, overheight, or combinations thereof. |
| Outsider | A carrier, which operates on a route served by a liner conference but which is not a member of that conference. |
| Outsourcing | An arrangement where a service provider offers services for another company that may have been provided in-house. |
| Outward Handling | The operations to be performed on outgoing goods from a production unit, both administrative and physical, starting at the moment forwarding orders can be executed to the moment of actual departure of the goods. |
| Overcarrier | A carrier within a consortium who carries cargo beyond the allotment distributed to him. |
| Overhaul | To extensively inspect and repair a system or component. |
| Overheight Cargo | Cargo, exceeding the standard height. |
| Overpack | A unit used by a single shipper to contain one or more packages and to form one handling unit for convenience of handling and stowage. Dangerous goods packages contained in the overpack must be properly packed, marked, labelled and in proper condition as required by the Regulations regarding dangerous goods (air cargo). |
| Oversold | Either origin or destination agent revenue amount included in the sell rate for sea/air cargo. Origin Oversold or Destination Oversold |
| Overtime | Work beyond normal established working hours that usually requires a premium to be paid to the employees concerned. |
| Overwidth Cargo | Cargo, exceeding the standard width. |
| Owner | The legal owner of cargo, equipment or means of transport. |
| Owner's Container Code | See Container Prefix. |
| Owner-Operator | Trucker who owns and operates his own truck(s). |
| P&D | Pick up and delivery |
| P&I | Protection and Indemnity Association |
| P&I clause | Protection and Indemnity clause |
| P&I Club | Protection and Indemnity Club |
| P&L | Profit and loss |
| P+L | Profit and Loss |
| P.A. | Per annum - per year |
| P.D. | Partial delivery |
| P.O.B. | Post-office-box |
| P.T. | Per ton |
| P.T.W. | Per ton weight |
| P/C | Paramount Clause |
| P/N | Promissory note |
| PA | Particular average |
| Package | Any physical piece of cargo in relation to transport consisting of the contents and its packing for the purpose of ease of handling by manual or mechanical means. The final product of the packing operation consisting of the packing and its contents to facilitate manual or mechanical handling.? Synonym: Parcel. |
| Packaging | Materials used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and presentation of goods and the activities of placing and securing goods in those materials. |
| Packaging and Design | Managing the process of designing and manufacturing packaging and containers which help improve the method of transporting parts and products to final destinations. |
| Packing | Any container or other covering in which goods are packed. |
| Packing Instruction | Document issued within an enterprise giving instructions on how goods are to be packed. |
| Packing List | Document specifying the contents of each individual package. |
| Packing Unit | A type of package where a standard quantity of products of a specific product type can be packed and that requires no additional packaging for storage and shipment. |
| Pallet | A platform on which goods can be stacked in order to facilitate the movement by a fork lift or sling. |
| Pallet Convertor | Superstructure which can be applied to a pallet to convert it into either a box or post pallet. |
| Pallet Rack | A skeleton framework, of fixed or adjustable design, to support a number of individual pallet loads. |
| Pallet Truck | Pedestrian- or rider-controlled non-stacking lift truck fitted with forks. |
| Panamax Size | The maximum measurements and dimensions of a vessel capable to pass the Panama Canal. |
| Para | Paragraph |
| Parcel | See Package. |
| Parent Part | Any finished goods, end item, or part that is mixed, fabricated, assembled, stirred, or blended from one or more other components. |
| Pareto Principle | The heuristic rule which states that where there is a large number of contributors to a result, the majority of the result is due to a minority of the contributors.. Sometimes known as the 80/20 rule) which states that, in many cases, approximately 80% of the turnover (stock etc.) can be ascribed to approximately 20% of the customers, articles or orders. The actual ratio in a particular case can be determined by ranking the customers and products etc. in order of magnitude and then calculating what percentage of the turnover (stock etc.) corresponds to 10%, 20% 30% etc. of the customer and products etc. The basis of ABC analysis. |
| Part Number | A unique identification number allocated to a specific part either by the manufacturer or user of the part. |
| Particular Average | A fortuitous partial loss to the subject matter insured, proximately caused by an insured peril but which is not a general average loss. Particular average only relates to damage and/or expenses which are exclusively borne by the owners of a vessel which has sustained damage as a result of e.g. heavy weather or by the owners of the cargo, which has been damaged in transit. |
| Partition | See Divider. |
| Partnership | A joint approach by organisations to identifying and addressing mutual supply chain issues to bring long term business benefit to all involved. |
| Payee | A party to whom a payment is made or owed. |
| Payer | A party who pays or is to pay. |
| Payload | The revenue-producing load carried by a means of transport. |
| Payment | That which discharges a debt. |
| Payment Against Documents | Instructions given by a seller to a bank to the effect that the buyer may collect the documents necessary to obtain delivery of the goods only upon actual payment of the invoice. |
| Payt. | Payment |
| PBA | Paid by agent |
| Pd. | Paid |
| PDP | Product Delivery Process |
| Percentage?of Order Fulfilment | Indicates the probability that the requested product is in stock. It can e.g. be defined as the number of orders or order lines (parts) which can be delivered from stock as a percentage of the total number of orders or order lines (parts). It can also be the time taken to deliver from stock as a percentage of the total time. |
| Performance Indicator | A variable indicating the effectiveness and/or efficiency of a process. |
| Performance Measurement | The comparison of the results of business processes with each other or with standards in order to know the effectiveness of these processes and/or the supportive actions. |
| Periodic Inventory | An inventory control system classification for independent demand items where the number of items held is reviewed at a fixed time interval and the size of any resultant order depends on the stock on hand at the time of the review. |
| Permanent Storage Location | Means that every part number has a fixed place reserved in stock. This place must be big enough to store the maximum quantity of goods of all the actual part numbers simultaneously. What typifies the system is that it needs minimum administration, large volume, and that it cannot operate FIFO. Please also see "Random Storage Location". |
| Perpetual Inventory System | An inventory control system where a running record is kept of the amount of stock held for each item. Whenever an issue is made, the withdrawal is logged and the result compared with the re-order point for any necessary re-order action. |
| Phd | Per hatch / per day |
| Physical Distribution | All activities, both physical and administrative, which are connected with the transportation of products from the producer to the end customer. The concept includes word processing, transportation, packing, handling, storing and related administrative activities. |
| Physical Distribution Management | The planning execution and control of those activities which are related to the flow of goods from the end of conversion to the customer. |
| Physical Distribution System | A composite term for all activities, relations between different activities, resources, management and objectives of a company which are connected with transferring products from the company to the end customer. An important objective for the physical distribution system is to secure a customer service level that satisfies the customers. |
| Physical Transportation | Physical movement of goods from point A to point B. |
| Pick and Pack | Taking goods out of a stock and packing them according to customer conditions. |
| Pick by Branch | Assembly of customer orders (usually for Retailer RDC's) by branch outlet. This reduces the work required at RDC's to prepare and deliver branch orders and will also reduce lead times. |
| Pick by Line | Assembly of Retailer RDC orders in individual product format by a supplier. This operation will facilitate Retailer Warehousing activity and on-shipment to branch outlets. |
| Pick Face | The primary location in a warehouse at which order picking, of less than pallet loads, is undertaken. |
| Pick Order | An order to pick certain quantities of goods out of a stock. |
| Pick Up and Delivery | A service concerning the collection of cargo from the premises of the consignor and the delivery to the premises of the consignee. |
| Picking | Taking products or components out of a stock. |
| Picking List | A list used to collect items from stores needed to fulfill an order. Synonym: Material issue list, Kitting list. |
| Pier | See quay. |
| Piggyback | The carriage of road vehicles and trailers on railway wagons. Synonym: Huckepack Carriage. |
| Pilferage | Petty stealing of goods from a ship's hold, cargo shed or warehouse. |
| PIM | International prescription for handling of rail consignments (CIT) |
| PIP | Product Introduction Process |
| Pipeline | A line of pipes for conveying liquids and gasses. The physical goods flow from a supplying organization to a receiving organization. |
| Pipeline Inventory | The amount of goods in a pipeline: the sum of loading stock, goods in transit and receiving stock. Synonym: Floating Stock. |
| Pipeline Management System (PLMS) | The integration of supply chain management involves tightening the linkages, among production and logistics functions and include purchasing, finance and other elements. To accomplish integration in the order cycle, tightly linked ?pipelines? of information flows. The pipeline for managing the materials flows is supported by an information systems pipeline, or pipeline management system (PLMS). The PLMS utilises electronic data interchange and other forms of computer-to-computer interconnections. |
| Pipeline Stocks | The products which are currently being moved from one location to another. |
| Pkge | Package |
| PL | Partial loss |
| Place of Acceptance | See place of receipt. |
| Place of Delivery | The location where a consignment (shipment) is delivered to the consignee viz. the place where the carrier's liability ends for the transport venture. |
| Place of Receipt | The location where a consignment (shipment) is received by the carrier from the shipper viz. the place where the carrier's liability for transport venture commences. Synonym: Place of Acceptance. |
| Planning | The setting of goals over a certain time and the determination of how to achieve these goals and with what resource. |
| Planning Horizon | The period of time to which a certain particular plan relates. |
| Platform | The bare floor of a container, suitable for the carriage of uncontainerable cargo, as several platforms can be placed together to provide a larger base. Plated for the carriage of heavy goods. 20' and 40'. |
| Platform (2) | The area on an airport where aircrafts are parked for embarkation and/or loading and discharging purposes (air cargo). Synonym: Apron, Ramp. |
| Platform Body | A truck or trailer without ends, sides or top but with only a floor. |
| Plimsoll Mark | A mark, welded on both sides of the vessel, which gives the limit to which a vessel may be loaded, depending on the specific gravity of the water in which the vessel is situated. |
| PLP | Parcel post |
| PLTC | Port liners term charges |
| Pmt | Prompt |
| POD (1) | Payment on delivery - paid on delivery |
| POD (2) | Port of debarkation (or disembarkation) |
| POD (3) | Proof of delivery |
| POE | Port of embarkation |
| Point Value | The point value can be seen as the relative value of an empty container of a certain size type in a depot location. The system serves to quantify the imbalance costs resulting from a full container move and are the result of empty optimization calculations. Point values are created on forecasted container flows between depot locations. They are calculated taking into account a.o. the forecasted imbalances plus repositioning, storage and container costs for empty moves and expressed in USD. Note: In the various computer systems point values are used to calculate the imbalance charge or credit for a particular container flow. This charge or credit is the difference in point values between start and end depot location. |
| Pontoon | A vessel with flat deck and a shallow draft. |
| Pool | The shared use of e.g. equipment by a number of companies, which make together the investments in the equipment mentioned. |
| Poop | Aft part of a vessel where the steering engine is located. |
| POR | Port of refuge |
| Port | Harbour having facilities for vessels to moor and load or discharge. Left side of a vessel when facing towards the front or forward end. |
| Port of Call | Place where a vessel actually drops anchor or moors during a certain voyage. |
| Port of Discharge | The port where the cargo is actually discharged (unloaded) from the sea (ocean) going vessel. |
| Port of Loading | The port where the cargo is actually loaded on board the sea (ocean) going vessel. |
| Portal Crane | A type of gantry crane with vertical legs of sufficient height and width to permit vehicles or railroad equipment to pass between the legs. |
| Portlog | A statement concerning a vessel containing the actual arrival and departure time used tugs, draft, deadweight, quantity of discharged and loaded goods/containers and any other important particulars. |
| Positioning | The transport of empty equipment from a depot to shipper's premises or from consignee's premises back to a depot as the empty leg of a carrier haulage transport |
| Positive Inventory | Existing in a positive sense, e.g. finished products inventory. The opposite of negative inventory. |
| Postal Code | A national code maintained by the Postal Authorities designed to indicate areas and accumulated addresses to facilitate sorting and the delivery of mail and other goods. Note: The coding system is different in the various countries throughout the world. In the Netherlands the code consists of 4 figures and 2 characters. |
| Ppd. | Prepaid |
| Practice | That what has become customary as a result of repeated acts. |
| Pre-Merchandising | An example of an added value service. Suppliers prepare products for retailer outlets, for example by price- tagging or on-shelf tray preparation. |
| Pre-slinging | The act of placing goods in slings which are left in position and used for loading into and discharging from a conventional vessel. |
| Pre-trip Inspection | Abbreviation: PTI. A technical inspection of Reefer containers prior to positioning for stuffing. |
| Prealert | Message advising complete shipping information |
| Precarriage | The carriage of goods (containers) by any mode of transport from the place of receipt to the port (place) of loading into the ocean vessel (main means of transport). |
| Precarrier | The carrier by which the goods are moved prior to the main transport. |
| Present Value | The discounted value of future surplus payment for an investment. |
| Preshipment Inspection | Abbreviation: PSI. The checking of goods before shipment for the purpose of determining the quantity and/or quality of said goods by an independent surveyor (inspection company) for phytosanitary, sanitary and veterinary controls. Presently there is a tendency by developing countries to use the inspection also for the purpose of determining whether the price charged for certain goods is correct. |
| Price transparency | When both buyer and seller know pricing. Net markets can eliminate arbitrage situations when only a broker knows the price. Net markets can result in sellers making more money and buyers paying a lower price, since broker margins are reduced. |
| Primary Supplier | Indicates that a company is the major supplier of one or more products which are used in another company's production. Companies which are primary suppliers often develop strong ties through a high degree of integration with a small number of important customers. |
| Principal | Person for whom another acts as agent. |
| Principal Carrier | See Responsible Carrier. |
| Principal Corporate Body | The company that owns the various subsidiary companies or branches acting as customers on their own and is registered as the corporate customer for statistical purposes. |
| Priority Order | An order which is identified as taking precedence over other orders to ensure its completion in the minimum time. Synonym: Urgent order, Rush order. |
| Private Carrier | Business which operates trucks primarily for the purpose of transporting its own products and raw materials. The principle business activity of a private carrier is not transportation. |
| Private Warehouse | A warehouse operated by the owner of the goods stored there. |
| Privatization | The private management of public services developed to assist in the cost and service efficiencies of the public sector. |
| PRN | Packaging Recovery Notes |
| Pro Forma Invoice | Draft invoice sent to an importer by the exporter prior to order confirmation and shipment to assist in matters relating to obtaining import licences or foreign exchange allocations, or simply to advise the value of a consignment so that letters of credit can be opened. |
| Probabilistic (or Stochastic) Inventory Control Mo | An inventory control system where all the variables and parameters used are treated as random variables. It is assumed that the average demand for items is approximately constant over time and that it is possible to state the probability distribution of the demand, particularly during the lead time for replenishment. |
| Process Re-engineering | A management improvement of processes and operations developed from an analysis of existing procedures. |
| Procurement | The activities which ensure the availability of the material and or services in the desired quantity, quality, place and time from the supplier. |
| Procurement hub | An MRO procurement marketplace for routine purchases such as office supplies, travel services, or computers needed to run a business but not central to the business's output. A type of horizontal or functional market. Examples: Ariba, Commerce One. (Related terms: MRO, horizontal market) |
| Procurement Logistics | Control of the flow of materials up to the manufacturing process. |
| Product | A result, end item or output from a certain process. |
| Product Chain | All phases in the transformation- or production process of one product. |
| Product Group | See Family Group |
| Product Life Cycle | The period of time between the introduction date and end date of a product in the market. Note: Phases are introduction, growth, maturity, saturation, decline & end. |
| Product Structure | The inter-relationship of a company's products. The product structure can be described partly from a design and engineering viewpoint and partly from a manufacturing viewpoint. The description from a design and engineering viewpoint relates to the product's functional construction and design. The description from a manufacturing viewpoint demonstrates the physical construction of the product and thus helps to provide information for those on the shop floor about the most suitable manufacturing method. This is called the manufacturing oriented viewpoint. |
| Production | The conversion of materials and or assembly of components to manufacture goods, products or services.? The total quantity of goods manufactured or to be manufactured in a particular period of time expressed in quantitative or financial terms. (The term manufacturing is often used specifically for physical operations resulting in a product). |
| Production Avalability | Indicates the probability that the required product can be produced in such a way that the agreed delivery time can be fulfilled. It can e.g. be defined as the number of orders or order lines completed on time as a percentage of the total number of orders or order lines. |
| Production Control | Tactical and operational control activities undertaken in order to use production resources more efficiently (machines, personnel, work-in-progress etc.). |
| Production Engineering | Preparation of the technical documents such as work operation description, tool requirements, operation times etc. which are needed in the production process. |
| Production Planning | The function within a company that controls the production process and at the same time collects basic data for making evaluations of long-term production prospects. |
| Production?with Reduced Number?of Operat | Production achieved using a smaller labour force. |
| Productivity | Relative measure of output of labour hour or machine hour. |
| Profit Centre | An organizational unit which will be held responsible for its own profits and losses. |
| Project Cargo | Quantity of goods connected to the same project and often carried on different moments and from various places. |
| Proof of Delivery | The receipt signed by the consignee upon delivery. |
| Proper Shipping Name | A name to be used to describe particular goods on all shipping documents and notifications and, if appropriate, on the goods. |
| Propriety Standard | A standard which has been endorsed by industry or government as the accepted international standard, but not officially approved by an accredited standards body such as ISO. |
| Protection and Indemnity Club | Abbreviation: P & I club. A mutual association of shipowners who provide protection against liabilities by means of contributions. |
| Protocol | A statement drawn up to attest certain events. |
| PSTN | Public Switched Telephone Network |
| Pt/dest | Port of destination |
| Pt/disch | Port of discharge |
| PTL | Partial total loss |
| Ptly pld | Partly plaid |
| Public Authorities | The agencies or officials in a state responsible for the application and enforcement of the laws and regulations of that state. Source: IMO. |
| Public Warehouse | A warehouse which is available to all companies and persons who wish to make use of the services offered. |
| Pull Distribution System | A system to provide warehouses with new stock on request of the warehouse management. |
| Pull System | A system where orders for an end item are pulled through the facility to satisfy demand for the end item. An example of pull system is the JIT Kanban process. |
| Purchase Order | A definite order for one or more deliveries by the supplier to the customer of a specific quantity of goods, materials, services or products under agreed terms of delivery and prices. |
| Purchase Requisition | A form which is used internally by a department to request the purchasing department to supply goods or services. |
| Purchasing Hub | Buyer-centric mediators that aggregate demand from small buyers to negotiate better terms with large sellers. Can be horizontal (operating supplies) or vertical manufacturing. Used for spot purchasing (using exchange or auction) or systematic purchasing (catalog mechanism). The horizontal purchasing hubs use horizontal logistics (UPS, for example), while the vertical purchasing hubs generally need vertical logistics (for hazardous chemicals, for example) work with existing distributors. |
| Purchasing Lead Time (PLT) | The length of time between the decision to purchase an item and its actual addition to stock. |
| Push Distribution System | A system to provide warehouses with new stock upon decision of the supplier of the goods. |
| Push System | A system where orders are issued for completion by specified due dates, based on estimated lead times, or where the flow of material in a product structure is controlled and determined by the lower levels. |
| Put Away Rules | The internal rules and procedures for positioning stock in a warehouse or store after goods inward processing. |
| Q | Quantity (rate classification) |
| Q.V. | Quod vide (which see) |
| Q/E | Quality and Environment |
| Qco. | Quantiy at captain's option |
| Qn | Quotation |
| QR | Quick Response |
| Qualifier | A data element whose value shall be expressed as a code that gives specific meaning to the function of another data element or a segment. |
| Quality (ISO8402) | The totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. Note: The ISO9000 standards on quality management and quality assurance consists of 4 standards: 9000 guidelines for selection and use, 9001 model for quality assurance in design/development 9002 model for quality assurance in production and installation, 9003 model for quality assurance in final inspection and test, and 9004 guidelines for quality management and quality system elements, part 2 are guidelines for services. |
| Quality Assurance (ISO8402) | All those planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy given requirements for quality. |
| Quality Circles | A description of a concept designed to improve companies' quality and quality control. The concept has been developed in Japan and includes: product quality, product development, cost management, intercompany communication, delivery reliability and safety. The basic idea is that those who are close to a certain task have an important skill within this area and are best suited to identify and solve the problems within it. Quality circles normally consist of 5-6 persons and there are some fundamental criteria which have to be fulfilled if they are to work, such as emphasis on self-development, a willingness to be involved, total commitment, application of techniques for problem identification and problem solving. |
| Quality Control (ISO8402) | The operational techniques and activities that are used to fulfill requirements for quality. |
| Quantity Charge | The unit rate which is lower than the normal rate and applies to shipments meeting specific weight requirements (air cargo). |
| Quantity Discount | A proportional reduction of a rate based on quantity (air cargo). |
| Quarantine | The period during which an arriving vessel, including its equipment, cargo, crew or passengers, suspected to carry or carrying a contagious disease is detained in strict isolation to prevent the spread of such a disease. |
| Quarantine Stock | On-hand stock which has been segregated and is not available to meet customer requirements. |
| Quay | That part of a wharf which is intended for the mooring of vessels. Synonym: pier. |
| Queue | A stored arrangement of computer data, programs or messages, waiting to be processed in the order in which they were submitted. |
| Quick Response | A concept aimed at enabling producers to meet customer (primarily retailers) needs quickly. It relies on fast and accurate information at the point of sale to 'trigger' quick response replenishment from manufacturers. |
| Quick Response (QR) Delivery | An information technology system that generates rapid response for customer's immediate delivery demands. |
| Quoin | Timber wedge used to secure drums against movement. |
| Quota Agreements | Under quota agreements, the buyer reserves capacity with a supplier without specifying which products he/she will buy. The capacity may be given in tons, machine hours, man hours etc. |
| Quota Restrictions | Restraints upon trade which limit the volume of exports into a country, abolished within the EC by 1968, and removed in many of the international agreements to which the EC is party. |
| Quotas | A system of controlling imports, exports or production by specifying a certain limitation. |
| Quotation | Amount stated as the price according to tariff for certain services to be provided or issued to a customer with specification on conditions for carriage. |
| Quotation expiration date | The date as from which a quotation price is no longer valid. |
| R | Reduced class rate (rate classification) |
| R/C | Return cargo |
| R/O | Routing order |
| Rail Car | A wheeled wagon used for the carriage of cargo by rail. |
| Rail Consignment Note | A document evidencing a contract for the transport of goods by rail. |
| Rail Support Service | The logistics support of operational and manufacturing requirements for the rail industry. |
| Ramp | An artificial inclined path, road or track along which wheeled vehicles, cargo and trailers may pass for the purpose of changing their elevation and facilitating the loading and unloading operation (e.g. an entrance way into a Roll-on Roll-off vessel). For air cargo see Platform. |
| Random Sample Cycle Counting | A method in which the particular parts to be counted is selected from the population of part numbers in a manner that has no inherent bias. In this selection process, each part number has equal chance of being selected. |
| Random Storage Location | This means that goods delivered will be unloaded at the first available place for delivery. The location is described together with the part number in the administrative system. The system requires sophisticated administration. The advantages of the system are that inventory volume is better utilized and there is minimum inventory maintenance. It automatically gives a zero-physical inventory, a safer frequency placing and FIFO on lots. Please also see "permanent storage location". |
| Rapid Acquisition of Manufactured Parts (RAMP) | A make to order process to reduce the purchasing lead time for long lead time manufactured parts whereby Product Data is held in STEP (the international standard for exchange of manufacturing product data) by the customer and exchanged, in electronic format, when an order is placed. |
| Rate | Price of a transport service. Quantity/amount/degree measured or applied. |
| Rate of Calculation | A factor for the calculation of an amount. |
| Rate of Return | A key ratio which shows the relationship between returns (surplus, profit) and total capital. It is given as a percentage and is calculated by dividing surplus by own or total capital. Please also see "return on investment". |
| Rate of Turn | The figure indicating the speed of a change of course of a means of transport expressed in degrees per minute. |
| Rating | A class to which an article is assigned. |
| Raw Material | Stock/items purchased from suppliers, to be input to a production process, and which will subsequently modified or transformed into finished goods. |
| Rcd. | Received |
| RCU | Rate construction unit |
| RDC | Regional Distribution Centre |
| RDT | Radio Data Terminal |
| Re-invoicing | The procedure whereby goods shipped directly from a supplier to the customer are invoiced in two stages: at first by the supplier to an intermediary and subsequently by the intermediary to the customer. |
| Re-Order Level (ROL) (or Re-Order Point - ROP) | The calculated level of stock within an inventory control system to which the quantity of a specific item is allowed to fall before replenishment order action is generated. |
| Re-Order Quantity, Replenishment Order Quantity | The calculated order quantity necessary to replenish stocks at a given point in time. The method of calculation, and the timing of the order, will vary depending on the type of inventory control system in use. Quantity based systems are checked continually to determine if an order should be placed - time based systems only have a count of stock at predetermined intervals and orders placed as required - a distribution system plans orders to meet distribution needs - and production based systems only order stock to meet manufacturing requirements. |
| Real-Time | The description for an operating system that responds to an external event within a short and predictable time frame. Unlike a batch or time-sharing operating system, a real-time operating system provides services or control to independent ongoing physical processes |
| Rebate | That part of a transport charge which the carrier agrees to return. |
| Receipt | A written acknowledgement, that something has been received. |
| Receiving Carrier | The carrier receiving a consignment on behalf of a carrier, agent or shipper for onward transport (air cargo). |
| Receiving Inspection | The inspection process relating to received materials, dealing with quality, colour, quantity etc. |
| Receiving Stock | The stock comprising all the goods that have arrived at the door of the receiving organization and which is not yet available in the stock of that organization. |
| Receiving?Report | Written report containing information about consignments received which often is printed out from the supplier's packing slip. |
| Reconditioning | All activities connected with restoring and or adjusting the packaging of a product. In such manner that it can be presented to the customer in the requested form. |
| Reconditioning of Garments | The act of bringing garments after transport in shop's condition. |
| Redelivery | Return of a shipment to the party who originally delivered it to the carrier (air cargo). Return of a charter vessel to the owners. |
| Reduction?of Variety | Reduction of the number of parts, part versions and sizes in a range of purchases designed to reduce tied-up capital and administrative costs. |
| Reefer | Refrigerated trailer with insulated walls and a self-powered refrigeration unit. Most commonly used for transporting food. |
| Reefer Cargo | Cargo requiring temperature control. |
| Reefer Container | A thermal container with refrigerating appliances (mechanical compressor unit, absorption unit etc.) to control the temperature of cargo. |
| Reforwarding Charge | Charges paid or to be paid for subsequent surface or air transport from the airport of destination by a forwarder, but not by a carrier under the Air Waybill (air cargo). |
| Refund | The repayment to the purchaser of the total charge or a portion of that charge for unused carriage. |
| Region | Specified geographical area for operational purposes. |
| Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) | Term usually applied to Retailer Warehouses which are strategically placed around the UK. Their purpose is to facilitate delivery of product to branch outlets within their catchment areas. |
| Register Ton | The unit of measurement for the internal capacity of a vessel whereby one register ton equals 100 cubic feet (2.83 cubic meter). The gross (bruto) tonnage comprises all spaces below the main (tonnage) deck and the enclosed spaces above the main (tonnage) deck less exempted spaces. The net tonnage consists of the gross tonnage less exemptions like ballast tanks, engine room, living quarters etc. The register tonnages are mentioned on the tonnage certificate. |
| Regroupage | The process of splitting up shipments into various consignments (degroupage) and combining these small consignments into other shipments (groupage). |
| Rejection | Non-acceptance of e.g. cargo. |
| Relay | Common practice in the less-than-truckload industry, in which one driver takes a truck for 8 to 10 hours, then turns the truck over to another driver, pony express style. |
| Reliability of Delivery | The reliability of a supplier concerning the agreed terms of delivery with regard to the quality, quantity, delivery time, conditions and price. |
| REMCE | Remittance |
| Rentcon | Rent-a-Container |
| Reorder Costs | The total cost of placing a repeat order for an item either externally on a supplier or for internal manufacture. The costs may include elements to cover: order preparation, administration, IT overheads, correspondence, telephone, transportation, goods inward processing, inspection and for manufacture, batch et up costs and other production overheads. |
| Repairable Item | An inventory item that is not normally consumed in use but one which will be repaired and re-used as part of the normal stock policy for that item. Such items have a repair lead time as well as a procurement lead time. |
| Replacement | Indicating that a subject is interchangeable with another subject, but which differs physically from the original subject in that the installation of the replacement subject requires extra machining or provisions in addition to the normal application and methods of attachment. |
| Replenish to Demand | See Make to Order. |
| Replenishment | Completion of stock. |
| Replenishment Order | An order placed with the manufacturing department for renewing or increasing the inventory. |
| Request for Information (RFI) | A document received from a potential client or consultant, which requests the service provider to provide detailed information regarding the services provided and a Company profile. This information is then used to make a short list selection of service providers. |
| Request for Proposals (RFP) | Invitation to suppliers to bid on supplying products or services that are difficult to describe for a company or public agency. |
| Request for Quotation (RFQ) | Invitation to suppliers to bid on supplying easily described products or services needed by a company or public agency. |
| Reservation | Allotment in advance of space or weight capacity. Also referred to as 'booking'. |
| Reserve Inventory | See Safety Stock. |
| Responsible Carrier | The carrier liable under the terms of a consortium Bill of Lading. Carrier responsible for the transport of goods as indicated in the transport document (air cargo). Synonym: Principal Carrier. |
| Rest. | Restricted |
| Retd. | Returned or retired |
| Return?on Investment | A measure of the profitability of the company. The calculation formula is profit divided by capital invested. See also "rate of return". |
| Returnable Container Management | The management of packaging materials moved from suppliers to facilities and returned to original locations. |
| Returns | Goods returned to their place of acceptance. |
| Revenue | Amounts of income stemming from the provision of transport services. |
| Reverse auctions | Buyers post their need for a product or service, then suppliers bid to fulfill that need. Unlike an auction, prices only move down. FreeMarkets (industrial parts, raw materials) uses reverse auctions as its primary market mechanism, serving large buyers. Since buyer power is key to reverse auctions, they work either for large enterprises or when practiced by intermediaries like KillerBiz and BizBuyer, which aggregate demand of many small buyers. Reverse auctions also are becoming common features of many Net markets. |
| Reverse Distribution | The collection of used, damaged, or outdated products and/or packaging from end-users. |
| Reverse Logistics | The recycling, and disposal of finished products, with the goal of conserving raw materials. |
| Review Interval | The time between assessing order requirements in a fixed order interval system. |
| RF | Radio Frequency |
| RFDC | Radio Frequency Data Communication |
| RFID | Radio Frequency Identification |
| RFP | See: Request for Proposals |
| RFQ | Se: Request for Quotation |
| RHA | Road Haulage Association |
| RI | Reinsurance |
| RID | International regulations concerning the international carriage of dangerous goods by rail |
| Rinacertificate | Certificate issued by the Italian Government for carrying dangerous goods in Italian Waters. |
| RMD | Rhine-Main-Danube Navigation System |
| RNR | Rate not reported |
| Road Carrier | Party undertaking transport by road of goods from one point to another such as indicated in the contract. Synonym: Haulier. |
| Road Vehicle | A means of transport capable and allowed to move over public roads and other landways. |
| RoadRailer | Semitrailer specially designed to travel both on highway and on rails. Manufactured by Wabash Corp. |
| ROG | Receipt of goods |
| ROI | See: RETURN ON INVESTMENT |
| Roll Trailer | Special trailer for terminal haulage and stowage on board of Roll-on Roll-off vessels. Also referred to as Mafi Trailer. |
| Roll-on Roll-off | Abbreviation: RoRo. System of loading and discharging a vessel whereby the cargo is driven on and off by means of a ramp. |
| Rolling Resistance | The total frictional force that a tyre, a set of tyres or all the tyres on a vehicle is developing with the road. |
| RoRo (RO/RO) | See Roll-on Roll-off. |
| ROT | Reference our telex |
| Rotable | See Repairable Item |
| Rotation | Sequence in which a vessel calls at the ports on her itinerary. |
| Round C/P | round charter party |
| Round Trip | A voyage, a journey etc. to a certain place, port or country and back again. |
| Rounding Order Quantity | That element of an order that has been added to the basic order quantity to meet a constraint imposed by the manufacturer or to optimise overall supply chain costs. |
| Route | The track along which goods are (to be) transported. |
| Routing | The determination of the most efficient route(s) that people, goods, materials and or means of transport have to follow. The process of determining how a shipment will be moved between consignor and consignee or between place of acceptance by the carrier and place of delivery to the consignee.? The process of aiding a vessel's navigation by supplying long range weather forecasts and indicating the most economic and save sailing route. |
| Row | A vertical division of a vessel from starboard to portside, used as a part of the indication of a stowage place for containers. The numbers run from midships to both sides. |
| RP | Reply paid |
| RTBA | Rate to be arranged |
| RTFM | Acronym for "Read The Fine Manual". |
| Rush Order | An order which is handled and forwarded more quickly than normal. |
| Ry. | Railway |
| S | Surcharge (rate classification) |
| S&C | Shipper and carrier |
| S&FA | Shipping and forwarding agent |
| S-s-SYSTEM | This is a type of inventory control system which means that for every part two limits are set, namely S and s. If the part in physical inventory has a balance greater than s, no order is made. If the balance is less than s, a new order corresponding to S minus the balance is placed. |
| S.D. | Small damage |
| S/C | Surcharge |
| S/D | Sailing date |
| S/d | Sight draft |
| S/S | Steamship |
| SAD | See Single Administrative Document. |
| Safe Working Load | Abbreviation: SWL The maximum load any lifting appliance may handle. |
| Safety Stock | In general, a quantity of stock planned to be in inventory to protect against fluctuations in demand and/or supply. In the context of master production scheduling, safety stock can refer to additional inventory and/or capacity planned as protection against forecast errors and/or short terms changes in the backlog. Also referred to as 'overplanning' or a 'market hedge'.? Synonym: Reserve Inventory. |
| Said to Contain | Abbreviation: STC. Term in a Bill of Lading signifying that the master and the carrier are unaware of the nature or quantity of the contents of e.g. a carton, crate, container or bundle and are relying on the description furnished by the shipper. |
| Sales Forecast | The prediction, projection or estimation of expected sales over a specified future time period. |
| Salvage | The saving or rescue of a vessel and/or the cargo from loss and/or damage at sea. |
| Sample Stability | If a sample produces a particular result, and by increasing the sample size it continues to produce the same result, the sample has stability and can be assumed to be representative of the population. This is an important characteristic when the population size is unknown or extremely large. |
| Sample, Random | Spot checking of production. Different kinds of random sample methods may be used. |
| Scale Ton | Freighting measurement used in certain trades for various commodities. |
| Schedule | A timetable including arrival/departure times of ocean- and feeder vessels and also inland transportation. It refers to named ports in a specific voyage (journey) within a certain trade indicating the voyage number(s). In general: The plan of times for starting and/or finishing activities. |
| SCM | Supply Chain Management. Strategies and operations aimed at optimising productivity and efficiency along the supply chain, reducing lead times and cost. |
| SCOMA | Supply-Chain Optimisation Modelling Architecture |
| SCP Simplified Clearance Procedure | A procedure covering non-restricted goods which enables approved exporters or agents to export goods on presentation of minimum information. The full statistical information is supplied within 14 days of shipment. |
| SCR | See Specific Commodity Rate. |
| SDR | See Special Drawing Rights. |
| SDT | Shippers Declaration for the Transport of Dangerous Goods (FIATA approved) |
| Seal | A device used for containers, lockers, trucks or lorries to proof relevant parties that they have remained closed during transport. |
| Seal Log | A document used to record seal numbers. |
| Seasonal Fluctuation | Fluctuation in demand according to different seasons, e.g. great demand for skis during the winter season. |
| Seasonal Inventory | A kind of cycle stock. Usually occurs when levelled production builds up the inventory during the low season for use during the high season. |
| Seasonal Stock | See Anticipation Stock. |
| Seaworthiness | Fitness of a vessel to travel in open sea mostly related to a particular voyage with a particular cargo. |
| Sectional Rate | The rate established by scheduled air carrier(s) for a section of a through route (air cargo). |
| SED | See Shipper's Export Declaration. |
| Segregation | Distance required by the rules of IMDG or BC codes between the various commodities of dangerous and or bulk cargoes. |
| Selective inventory Control | The application of varying levels of control to the total inventory to enable managers to concentrate on significant matters (see ABC analysis and ABC classification). |
| Selective Stock Keeping | The situation in which only certain warehouses maintain the full inventory range. |
| Seller's Market | A 'seller's market' is considered to exist when goods cannot easily be secured and when the economic forces of business tend to be priced at the vendor's estimate of value. In other words, a state of trade favourable to the seller, with relatively great demand and high prices of something for sale. |
| Semi Finished Goods | A part or a product which is intended to be included in a finished product. |
| Semi Fixed Cost | Cost which is fixed within certain limits of volume changes. |
| Semi Trailer | A vehicle without motive power and with one or more axles designed to be drawn by a truck tractor and constructed in such way that a portion of its weight and that of its load rest upon e.g. the fifth wheel of the towing vehicle. |
| Sender | See Shipper. |
| Service Bill | A service Bill (of Lading) is a contract of carriage issued by one carrier to another for documentary and internal control purposes. For internal documentary and control purposes a so-called participating agent in a consortium uses some kind of document which, depending on the trade, is referred to as 'Memo Bill' which will among others state: 1. Name of Carrier on whose behalf the original document (Way Bill, Bill of Lading, etc.) was issued. 2. The original document number. 3. The agent who issued the original document and his opponent at the discharging side. 4. The number of packages, weight and measurement, marks and numbers and goods description. 5. Further mandatory details in case of special cargo. 6. No freight details will be mentioned and the Memo Bill is not a contract of carriage.? See Bill of Lading. |
| Service Cost | The cost that arises as a result of a poor service level. It is thus synonymous with shortage cost. Please also see "shortage cost". |
| Service Differentiation | Different service levels set for different customers, products, markets etc. based on a conscious choice of priorities. |
| Service Elements | Items included in customer service, e.g. delivery time, order status information, percentage of orders met from stock. |
| Service Level | Measures the extent to which the right product is shipped and received undamaged. Can be presented as a percentage of the number of orders forwarded, e.g. 99% or better in general. Please also see percentage of order fulfillment. |
| Service Level | The desired probability that a demand can be met from stock (for an individual item, group of items or a system) which can be expressed in a number of ways: Percentage of orders completely satisfied from stock. Percentage of units demanded which are met from stock. Percentage of units demanded which are delivered on time. Percentage of time there is stock available. Percentage of stock cycles without shortages. Percentage of item-months there is stock available. |
| Setting/Air Delivery Temperature | An indication in the documents (B/L) stating the air supply temperature to the container. Note: No other details than this temperature shall be included in the Bill of Lading. |
| Setup Cost | The costs which occur when production machines have to be setup or reset for a new job operation, including, of among other things the working hours needed to set up the machines and the downtime costs incurred during the setup time. There can also be setup costs for tools, adjustment of a machine etc. for a job operation. Includes e.g. the working hours cost for adjustment and lower production efficiency until normal production efficiency is achieved. |
| Setup Time | The time needed to prepare a machine or a machine group. |
| Shed | See Warehouse. |
| Shelf Life | The specified length of time prior to use for which items which are inherently subject to deterioration are deemed to remain fit for use under prescribed conditions. Synonym: Storage life. |
| SHEX | Sundays and Holidays excepted |
| Shift | Part of the work-program of a stevedoring company (a working day can have up to 3 shifts {24 hours}). |
| Ship | See Vessel. |
| Ship Broker | Acts as intermediary between shipowners or carriers by sea on the one hand and cargo interests on the other. The functions are to act as forwarding agent or custom broker, fixing of charters, and acting as chartering agent. |
| Ship's Protest | Statement of the master of a vessel before (in the presence of) competent authorities, concerning exceptional events which occurred during a voyage. |
| Shipment | A separately identifiable collection of goods to be carried. See Consignment. Note: In the United States of America the word shipment is used instead of the word consignment. |
| Shipment Structure | Arrangements for the shipment of different products, raw materials, semifinished goods or finished products between different places in a company's material flow. These relationships can include e.g. the shipment structure to customers, the number of shipments, the size division of the shipment according to volume or weight, the type of goods etc. |
| Shipoperator | A ship operator is either the shipowner or the (legal) person responsible for the actual management of the vessel and its crew. |
| Shipowner | The (legal) person officially registered as such in the certificate of registry where the following particulars are contained. Name of vessel and port of registry. Details contained in surveyors certificate. The particulars respecting the origin stated in the declaration of ownership. The name and description of the registered owner, if more than one owner the proportionate share of each. |
| Shipper | The merchant (person) by whom, in whose name or on whose behalf a contract of carriage of goods has been concluded with a carrier or any party by whom, in whose name or on whose behalf the goods are actually delivered to the carrier in relation to the contract of carriage. Synonym: Consignor, Sender. |
| Shipper's Export Declaration | Abbreviation: SED. A United States customs form to be completed for all exports to assist the government in compiling export statistics. |
| Shipper's Letter of Instruction | Abbreviation: SLI. A document containing instructions given by the shipper or the shipper's agent for preparing documents and forwarding (air cargo). |
| Shipping | The professional activity whereby one receives and ships goods on other companies' behalf and, when appropriate, is responsible for a joint cargo system, reloading, customs clearance, insurance, storage etc. |
| Shipping Container | Standard-sized rectangular box used to transport freight by ship, rail and highway. International shipping containers are 20 or 40 feet long, conform to International Standards Organization (ISO) standards and are designed to fit in ships' holds. Containers are transported on public roads atop a container chassis towed by a tractor. |
| Shipping Documents | Documents required for the carriage of goods. Synonym: Transport Documents. |
| Shipping Instruction | Document advising details of cargo and exporter's requirements of its physical movement. |
| Shipping Label | A label attached to a shipping unit, containing certain data. |
| Shipping Marks | The identification shown on individual packages in order to help in moving it without delay or confusion to its final destination and to enable the checking of cargo against documents. Synonym: Marks. |
| Shipping Note | Document provided by the shipper or his agent to the carrier, multimodal transport operator, terminal or other receiving authority, giving information about export consignments offered for transport, and providing for the necessary receipts and declarations of liability. |
| Shipping Weight | Dry weight of a truck including all standard equipment, but excluding fuel and coolant. |
| Shop Floor Control | Planning of the production process in detail. Includes among other things specification of materials needed, the capacity different operations will need, the time at which different job operations should be undertaken. Provides information about production results etc. |
| Shop Floor Stock | That part of the stock which consists of parts in frequent use and which are not normally recorded when handed out (normally additional material). |
| Shortage | The negative difference between actual available or delivered quantity and the required quantity. |
| Shortage (or Stockout Costs) | The economic consequences of an external or internal inability to meet a demand from stock. External impacts can include backorder costs, present profit loss from lost sales and future profit loss from loss of goodwill and reputation. Internal impacts can include lost production, production rescheduling and delays in completion dates. |
| Shortage Cost | Arises when a requested part cannot be delivered. It can be a notional cost related to loss of custom and the resulting reduction in revenues. It can also be a question of real cost, for example for a shut-down in one's own production or penalties to be met according to contract for delays in deliveries to a customer, shipment, backorder booking etc. Also includes additional costs in order to avoid shortage as e.g. extra administration costs for backorder handling, increased transportation costs etc. |
| Shrink Wrapping | Heat treatment that shrinks an envelope of poly-ethylene or similar substance around several units, thus forming one unit. It is used e.g. to secure packages on a pallet. |
| Shrinkage | The decrease in inventory quantities over time from loss or theft. |
| Shut-out | Containers not carried on intended vessel. |
| Shuttle Service | The carriage back and forth over an often short route between two points. |
| SIC | See Standard Industrial Classification. |
| Siding | A short railroad track connected with a main track by a switch to serve a warehouse or an industrial area. |
| Simulation | The imitation of the reality for studying the effect of changing parameters in a model as a means of preparing a decision. |
| Simulation?Model | Calculation model intended to assist in the evaluation of alternative solutions. Simulation models are used for sensitivity analysis before a system's change is carried through. |
| Single Administrative Document | Abbreviation: SAD. A set of documents, replacing the various (national) forms for customs declaration within European Community, implemented on January 1st, 1988. The introduction of the SAD constitutes an intermediate stage in the abolition of all administrative documentation in intra European Community trade in goods between member states. |
| Single Market | In which the twelve member states of the European Community form a Single Market in which there is free movement of goods, persons, services and capital. Came into being 01 01 1993, when export and import Custom entries were abolished for intra-community trade. |
| SITC | Standard International Trade Classification |
| SITPRO | National organization for the Simplification of International Trade PROcedures in the United Kingdom (e.g. in The Netherlands SITPRO is called 'Sitproneth', in France 'Simprofrance' and in Japan 'Jastpro'). |
| Skeleton Trailer | Road trailer consisting of a frame and wheels, specially designed to carry containers. See chassis. |
| Skids | Battens fitted underneath frames, boxes or packages to raise them off the floor and allow easy access for fork lift trucks, slings or other handling equipment. |
| SKU | Stock Keeping Unit |
| SL&C | Shippers load and count |
| SL/NL | Ship lost or not lost |
| SLA | Service Level Agreement |
| Sleeper | Sleeping compartment mounted behind a truck cab, sometimes attached to the cab or even designed to be an integral part of it. |
| Sleeper Team | Team of two drivers who alternative driving and resting. |
| SLI | See Shipper's Letter of Instruction. |
| Sliding Tandem | An undercarriage with a subframe having provision for convenient fore and aft adjustment of its position on the chassis/semi-trailer. The purpose being to be able to shift part of the load to either the king pin or the suspension to maximize legally permitted axle loads (road cargo). |
| Sling | Special chain, wire rope, synthetic fibre strap or ropes used for cargo handling purposes. |
| Slot | The space on board a vessel, required by one TEU, mainly used for administrative purposes |
| Slot Charter | A voyage charter whereby the shipowner agrees to place a certain number of container slots (TEU and/or FEU) at the charterer's disposal. |
| SM | Selling Manager |
| SMED (Single Minute Exchange?of Dies) | General description of an approach which aims to minimize the time for replacing machine tools by e.g. preparing a tool change as far as possible without stopping the machine and by keeping the tools in close proximity to the machine in order to minimize the time for the change. |
| SOB - Shipped on board | An endorsment on a B/L confirming loading of goods on the vessel. See also Cell Position. |
| SOL | Shipowner?s liability |
| SOLAS | International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea |
| SPA | Subject to particular average |
| Space Charter | A voyage charter whereby the shipowner agrees to place part of the vessels capacity at the charterers disposal. |
| Spares (Spare Parts) | Components or parts, either consumable or repairable, from the associated bill of material used to maintain or repair machinery or equipment. |
| Special Drawing Rights | Abbreviation: SDR. Unit of account from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), i.a. used to express the amount of the limitations of a carrier's liability. |
| Special Rate | A rate other than a normal rate (air cargo). |
| Specific Commodity Rate | Abbreviation: SCR. A rate applicable to carriage of specifically designated commodities (air cargo). |
| Specified Rate | A rate specified in an IATA Cargo Tariff Coordination Conference resolution (air cargo). |
| Speculation Inventory | Relates to the storage of material which for some reason can be bought or produced particularly profitably at a certain time. |
| Speedability | Top speed a vehicle can attain as determined by engine power, engine governed speed, gross weight, driveline efficiency, air resistance, grade and load. |
| Spoke | The stretch between a hub and one of the group of consignees and/or consignors being served by the hub. |
| Spontaneous Ignition Temperature | The lowest temperature at which a substance will start burning spontaneously without an external source of ignition. |
| Spot market | A market for unplanned purchases not made under contract terms. Transactions usually made on a one-time basis. Related terms: spot buy, spot demand. |
| Spreader | Device used for lifting containers and unitized cargo. Beam or frame that holds the slings vertical when hoisting a load, to prevent damage to cargo. |
| Sq.cm(s) | Square centimeter |
| Sq.ins{s) | Square inch(s) |
| Square Root Formula | A formula that is used for calculating the optimal purchasing quantity. This is done by balancing the additional purchasing costs and carrying costs. It can also be used for calculation of optimal lot size. In its most simple form the formula is the root of: twice the annual consumption times additional purchasing costs, divided by the additional carrying cost per unit and year. The square root formula is also described as the EOQ-formula or the Wilson-formula. |
| SRCC | Strike, riots, civil commotions |
| SSCC | Serial Shipping Container Code |
| Stability | The capacity of a vessel to return to its original position after having been displaced by external forces. The stability of a vessel depends on the meta-centric height. |
| Stack | An identifiable amount of containers stowed in an orderly way in one specified place on an (ocean) terminal, container freight station, container yard or depot (see container stack). |
| Stacking | To pile boxes, bags, containers etc. on top of each other. |
| Stackweight | The total weight of the containers and cargo in a certain row. |
| Standard Costs | A carefully prepared estimate of the cost of performing a given operation under specified conditions. Note: A standard work order describes a standard operation for which a standard cost is to be established. |
| Standard Industrial Classification | Abbreviation: SIC. A method, used in the United States, to categorize companies into different industrial groupings. |
| Standard Product Module | Abbreviation: SPM. The building blocks used by business management to define services (shipment products) which can be offered to customers. They describe a more or less isolated set of activities with a standard cost attached to it. For operations management each module defines a combination of standard operations that needs to be carried out for a customer. Note: SPM's can be regarded as the interface between business and operations management. |
| Standards | Efforts to create wide use of specific protocols so software from different vendors can interoperate more easily, particularly within a vertical industry. Standards bodies or efforts often work more slowly than entrepreneurial companies in setting up interoperable terms of trade. Many e-commerce standards today are based on XML (eXtensible Markup Language), which provides a flexible way to describe product specifications or business terms. Relevant b2b e-commerce standards efforts include BizTalk, promoted by Microsoft so different industries can communicate online with each other - Open Buying on the Internet (OBI), overseen by trade group CommerceNet - and RosettaNet, an effort within the computer manufacturing industry. |
| Standards Testing | Determines whether the national, international, or military standards and specifications) are viable and implementable. |
| Starboard | Right side of a vessel when facing towards the front or forward end. |
| STC | See Said To Contain. |
| Steering of Containers | The function, with the aid of specific software for tracking and forecasting (IRMA, MINKA), to direct empty containers to demanding areas at minimum costs. |
| Stem | The foremost part of a vessel. |
| Sticky, stickiness | The ability to retain participants. (See switching costs, lifetime value of the customer.) |
| Stock | Products for sale or raw material, material, equipment, semifinished goods or goods intended for own use. The concept can also mean the place/location where products are stored. The concept is often synonymous with stock keeping. |
| Stock Analysis | The process of analysing the stock position and the stock pattern as well as signaling differences with regard to the stock norms. |
| Stock Control | The systematic administration of stocklevels with respect to quantity at all times. |
| Stock Cover | The current stock divided by the average weekly demand (weekly demand can be based on either past history or forward forecast). |
| Stock Difference (or Stock Discrepancy) | The difference between the actual stock held and the calculated stock or registered stock. |
| Stock Hotel | Building where storage services are offered for several companies. |
| Stock in Transit/ Clearing | All materials, components or finished products in transit from one point in a supply chain to another supply chain destination, expressed in quantitative or financial terms. |
| Stock Investment | The amount of money that invested in all levels of stock at any given point in time. |
| Stock Keeping | A goods reserve kept in the company in order to meet irregularities in consumption, procurement disturbances or to make cost savings through purchasing larger quantities on one occasion. It can consist of raw material (raw material stock), semi-finished goods (semi-finished goods stock) or several finished products (finished products stock). Please also compare with stock. |
| Stock Keeping Cost | Investment- and risk costs related to the material stored, i.e. capital costs and waste costs, insurance, destruction. |
| Stock Keeping Unit | The description of the unit of measurement by which the stock items are recorded on the stock record. |
| Stock Location System | A system where all places within a warehouse are identified in some way to facilitate storage and retrieval of stock. |
| Stock Locator System | A system in which all places within a warehouse are named or numbered. |
| Stock Management | The planning and control of the quantities, qualities and location of stocks. |
| Stock Norm | A ratio of stock to e.g. sales, set as a standard and expressed as a percentage, or as a factor or as a number' of days, weeks or months. The stock norm is determined by taking into account the: |
| Stock on Order | The quantity represented by the total of all out-standing orders for a particular item. The on order balance increases when a new order is released and decreases when an order is received or cancelled. |
| Stock Out Percentage | A measure of the effectiveness with which a company responds to actual demand. The stock-out percentage can be a measurement of total stock-outs to total orders, or of line items incurring stock-outs during a period of total line items ordered. |
| Stock Point | A point in the supply chain meant to keep materials available. |
| Stock Policy | The policy with regard to the level and location of stock to be held and where and how this should be done. |
| Stock Position | The situation of a particular product, at a particular time, with regard to the relationship between the expected demand and/or requirement, the physical stock and the outstanding procurement orders. |
| Stock Record | A record of the quantity of stock of a single item, often containing a history of recent transactions and information for controlling the replenishment of stock. |
| Stock Site | A location at which stock is held. |
| Stock Turn | The number of times that an inventory turns over during the year and normally obtained by dividing the average inventory value into the annual cost of sales. |
| Stock Turnover (or Stock Turn) | A widely used measure of inventory performance expressed as the ratio of the cost of units sold to the average value of stock |
| Stock Types | The products which are determined for delivery from stock. |
| Stock-Out | The situation when demand for a stock item is received but there is insufficient stock to satisfy the demand. |
| Stock-Out Costs | The economic consequences of an internal or external stockout such as missed sales, delayed deliveries, anticipated lower sales in the future because of loss of goodwill, costs resulting from production stoppages and all kinds of associated costs. |
| Stock-Out Risk | The accepted risk of having a shortage of stock of an item which is used in calculating the required level of safety stock. |
| Stockroom?Cost | Costs related to physical handling, i.e. costs for stock personnel, stock equipment, stock buildings etc. Also known as stock-keeping cost. |
| Stocktaking | A physical count of products actually held in stock as a basis for verification of the stock records and accounts. |
| Storage | The activity of placing goods into a store or the state of being in store (e.g. a warehouse). |
| Storage Charge | The fee for keeping goods in a warehouse. |
| Stores | Provisions and supplies on board required for running a vessel. |
| Stowage | The placing and securing of cargo or containers on board a vessel or an aircraft or of cargo in a container. |
| Stowage Factor | Ratio of a cargo's cubic measurement to its weight, expressed in cubic feet to the ton or cubic meters to the tonne, used in order to determine the total quantity of cargo which can be loaded in a certain space. |
| Stowage Instructions | Imperative details about the way certain cargo is to be stowed, given by the shipper or his agent. |
| Stowage Plan | A plan indicating the locations on the vessel of all the consignments for the benefit of stevedores and vessel's officers. |
| Stowaway | An unwanted person who hides on board of a vessel or an aircraft to get free passage, to evade port officials etc. |
| Straddle Carrier | Wheeled vehicle designed to lift and carry shipping containers within its own framework. It is used for moving, and sometimes stacking, shipping containers at a container terminal. |
| Straddle Crane | A crane usually running on rails and spanning an open area such as rail-tracks or roadways. |
| Straight Truck | Vehicle which carries cargo in a body mounted to its chassis, rather than on a trailer towed by the vehicle. |
| Strange attractor | A key feature that causes buyers and sellers to use a Net market, often eliminating a transaction cost in a specific industry. Examples: CarStation (locating, then obtaining auto body parts), e-Chemical (distributing industrial chemicals), Chemdex (comparing chemical reagents from different vendors), Floraplex (paying sellers in seven days, not 45). |
| Strap | A band of metal, plastic or other flexible material used to hold cargo or cases together. |
| Strategic Stock | The stock of goods of essential importance for the continuation of the production process and which is built up in order to compensate for long hold-ups of incoming goods (caused by strikes and political difficulties etc. in a particular country or region). |
| Strategy | Line of action prepared in order to achieve and maintain an agreed business concept. |
| Stretch | The leg between two points. |
| Stripping | The unloading of cargo out of a container. Synonym: Devanning, Unstuffing, Unpacking. |
| Structure | A stable pattern of physical relations or actions in a process. In a materials management connection the concept is used to describe a company's customer structure, order structure, supplier structure, part structure, shipment structure, distribution structure, purchasing structure, supplying structure. |
| Stuffing | The loading of cargo into a container. Synonym: Vanning, Packing. |
| Stvdrs | Stevedores |
| Sub L/C | Subject to letter of credit being opened |
| Sub licence | Subject to licence being granted |
| Subassembly and Manufacturing | The building and assembling of component parts designed to aid in the manufacturing process of finished goods. |
| Subcontracting | Production by a subcontractor according to a buying company's product specification. Includes both machining and finished product. |
| Subcontractor | Independent company which has undertaken to manufacture parts (assembly parts etc.) on another company's behalf to be used in that company's range of goods/ production. |
| Suboptimisation | Optimisation of a problem by optimizing its parts. The concept is often used in relation to wrongful suboptimisation, which means optimization of parts of a problem which is producing negative effects on other parts of the problem and thus prevents the overall problem being optimised. Please compare with "total optimisation". |
| Substretch | Part of a stretch. This term is used if it is necessary to distinguish between a stretch and a part thereof. |
| Supercargo | Experienced officer assigned by the charterer of a vessel to advise the management of the vessel and protect the interests of the charterer. |
| Supplier Follow-up | The real performances of the supplier are measured and compared with the previously agreed objectives. Examples of such performances can be delivery time, delivery reliability, service level and quality. |
| Supplier Instructions | Written instructions provided to the supplier. The instructions can be in the form of quality specifications, freight instructions, packing instructions, control instructions etc. |
| Supplier Rating | Evaluating of different suppliers in order to select those most suitable for the company. Factors which should be considered for the rating are price, product quality, customer service, company history, size, location, organization, finance, manufacturing capacity, factory facilities, workshop equipment, store and inventory. Special qualities such as the willingness and possibility to develop with the customer are also important. |
| Supply Chain | A sequence of events in a goods flow which adds to the value of a specific good. These events may include: 1. conversion. 2. assembling and/or disassembling. 3. movements and placements |
| Supply chain management | An attempt to coordinate processes involved in producing, shipping and distributing products, generally with large suppliers. Net markets can extend supply chain management to all trading partners regardless of size because they provide a central hub to integrate information from buyers and sellers. |
| Supply Vessel | Vessel which carries stock and stores to offshore drilling rigs, platforms. |
| Surcharge | An additional charge added to the usual or customary freight. |
| Survey | An inspection of a certain item or object by a recognized specialist. |
| Surveyor | A specialist who carries out surveys. Note: A surveyor is quite representing a classification bureau or a governmental body. |
| Switching Costs | Costs incurred in changing suppliers or marketplaces. Net markets often seek to re-architect procurement, search, and other processes so buyers stay put, a key reason switching costs are higher in business-to-business than consumer e-commerce. (See lifetime value of the customer, churn). |
| SWL | See Safe Working Load. |
| Swop Body | Separate unit without wheels to carry cargo via road sometimes equipped with legs to be used to carry cargo intermodal within Europe. The advantage being that this unit can be left behind to load or discharge whilst the driver with the truck/chassis can change to another unit. These units are not used for sea transport. |
| SWOT | Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats |
| Synergy | The simultaneous joint action of separate parties which, together, have greater total effect than the sum of their individual effects. |
| System | A comprehensive description of a number of components which form a unit. Relations between the components, resources, management and objectives are also included in the concept. |
| System | A whole body of connected elements which influence each other and have specific relations with the environment. |
| T/C | Time charter |
| T1 | Goods that are not in free circulation are assigned the EC Customs code T1. |
| T2 | Goods that are in free circulation are assigned the EC Customs code T2. |
| TA | Telegraphic address |
| TACT | The air cargo tariff |
| Tallyman | A person who records the number of cargo items together with the condition thereof at the time it is loaded into or discharged from a vessel. |
| Tank Container | A tank, surrounded by a framework with the overall dimensions of a container for the transport of liquids or gasses in bulk. |
| Tanker | A vessel designed for the carriage of liquid cargo in bulk. |
| Tare Mass of Container | See Tare Weight of Container. |
| Tare Weight of Container | Mass of an empty container including all fittings and appliances associated with that particular type of container on its normal operating condition. Synonym: Tare Mass of Container. |
| Tariff | The schedule of rates, charges and related transport conditions. |
| Tarpaulin | Waterproof material, e.g. canvas, to spread over cargo to protect it from getting wet. |
| Taxonomy | A classification system for items based on their relationship to one another. Related terms: ontology, normalize. |
| TBL | Through bill of lading |
| TBN | To be named (ship) |
| TC | Traffic conference area (IATA) |
| TC (2) | Transcontainer |
| TD | Time of departure |
| TDI | Trade Data Interchange (EDP) |
| TDO | Telegraph delivery order |
| TEC | Trans-European Combined rail service |
| TECE | Trans-Europe-Container Express rail service |
| TEEM | Trans-Europe-Express Marchandises rail service |
| TEN | Trans-European Network |
| Terminal | A place where goods may be reloaded or where passengers may change mode of transportation. |
| Terms of delivery | Provisions in a purchasing agreement which regulate the seller's and the buyer's obligations and rights in connection with delivery/transportation of goods. The terms of delivery mainly regulate who is responsible for paying transportation costs, who will bear the risks for the goods during delivery and who is responsible for insurance. The definitions of different terms of delivery can be seen in Incoterms or Combiterms. |
| Terms of Freight | All the conditions agreed upon between a carrier and a merchant about the type of freight and charges due to the carrier and whether these are prepaid or are to be collected. Note: The so-called Combi terms based on the INCO terms do make a distinction what of the freight and related costs is to be paid by the seller and what by the buyer. In the UN recommendation 23 a coding system is recommended to recognize the various items. |
| TEU | See Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit. |
| Thermal Container | A container built with insulating walls, doors, floor and roof by which heat exchange with the environment is minimized thus limiting temperature variations of the cargo. |
| Third Party Logistics | See: 3PL |
| Third-Party Provider | An organization selected to provide logistics management services. |
| Through Charge | The total rate from point of departure to point of destination. It may be a joint rate or a combination of rates (air cargo). Synonym: Through Rate. |
| Through Rate | See Through Charge. |
| Throughput Time | Is the time which is needed to manufacture a detail or a product from the first to the last job operation in the overall time-frame. The throughput time for an order is the time period which is needed to produce the products included in the order, i.e. the time from receiving the order until delivery has been effected. |
| Tied-up Capital | The total of capital tied up i.e. invested in the company, e.g. capital, fixed assets, inventory and customer claims. It can also include work in progress, premises, machines, etc. |
| Tied-up Capital Chart | A chart showing how much capital is tied up in stores, manufacturing, inventory during the whole material flow in a company. It is also divided into different types of cost. |
| Tier | A horizontal division of a vessel from bottom to top. The numbers run from bottom to deck and from deck upwards and are used as a part of the indication of a stowage place for containers. |
| TIF | International transit by rail |
| Tilt Transport | Roadtransport whereby the cargo area is protected against the elements by means of a tilt made of canvas or other pliable material. |
| Time and Place Use | A part has this characteristic only when it is in the place where it is needed at the right time. The part normally does not have this capacity when held in stock. |
| Time Charter | A contract whereby a vessel is let to a charterer for a stipulated period of time or voyage, for a remuneration known as hire, generally a monthly rate per ton deadweight or a daily rate. The charterer is free to employ the vessel as he thinks fit within the terms as agreed, but the shipowner continues to manage his own vessel through the master and crew who remain his servants. |
| Time Compression | The reduction of the time consumed by business processes through elimination of non value-adding process time. |
| Time Sheet | Statement, drawn-up by the ship's agent at the loading and discharging ports, which details the time worked in loading and discharging the cargo together with the amount of laytime used. |
| TIR | Transport International by Road. Customs Convention on the international transport of goods under cover of TIR carnets |
| TIS | International declaration of goods carried by rail |
| TL | Total loss |
| TLF | Tariff level factor |
| Tnge | Tonnage |
| TNT | Thomas Nationwide Transport |
| TOD | Time of dispatch |
| TOFC | See Trailer on Flat Car. |
| Ton | Unit of weight measurement: 1000 kilograms (metric ton) or 2,240 lbs (long ton). Unit of cubic measurement, mainly used to express the cubic capacity of a vessel. Unit of weight or measurement used as a basis for the calculation of freights (freight ton). |
| Tonnage | Cubic capacity of a merchant vessel. Total weight or amount of cargo expressed in tons. The displacement of a vessel in tons of water - or a duty charged per ton of cargo at a port, pier, dock or canal. |
| TOR | Time of receipt |
| TOT | Time of transmission |
| Total Cost Analysis | Is a balance of the sub-costs, aimed at reducing the total cost. This analysis is built on the thesis that an activity which causes an increase in a certain sub-cost still can be valuable if the total cost can be reduced. |
| Total Optimisation | Optimisation of a problem by balancing between the parts of the problem. This means that an activity that does not lead to an optimisation of a part of a problem can still be valuable. |
| TOW | Tier on weight (container stacking according to weight) |
| TPAC | Short form for Transpacific route as in: Sea/Air TPAC route |
| TPND | Theft, pilferage, non delivery |
| TQM | Total Quality Management |
| Traceability | The identification of goods or material used in manufacturing or processing to enable the relevant production batch and material source to be traced in case of subsequent defects. |
| Tracing | The action of retrieving information concerning the whereabouts of cargo, cargo items, consignments or equipment. |
| Traction | The power to grip or hold to a surface while moving without slipping. |
| Tractor | A powered vehicle designed and used for towing other vehicles. |
| Trade | a)The exchange of goods, funds, services or information with value to the parties involved. This value is either previously agreed or established during business. b)A commercial connection between two or more individual markets. |
| Trade-Off | A benefit obtained within the supply chain through the balanced evaluation of actions which will bring an overall business benefit, in terms of reduced cost and/or increased customer service. This benefit can accrue both within an organisation and between organisations. |
| Trade-off Analysis | A balancing analysis achieved by using a total cost estimate of different alternatives in order to reach an optimal solution. |
| Traffic | The number of passengers, quantity of cargo etc. carried over a certain route. |
| Trailer | A vehicle without motive power, designed for the carriage of cargo and to be towed by a motor vehicle. |
| Trailer on Flat Car | Abbreviation: TOFC. Carriage of piggyback highway trailers on specially equipped railway wagons. |
| Tramp Vessel | A vessel not operating under a regular schedule. |
| Trans Siberian Landbridge | Overland route from Europe to the Far East via the Trans Siberian Railway (TSR). |
| Transaction | Recording of a material movement or an adjustment event that impacts on a stock position. |
| Transfer Cargo | Cargo arriving at a point by one flight and continuing there-from by another flight (air cargo). |
| Transferring Carrier | A participating carrier who delivers the consignment to another carrier at a transfer point (air cargo). |
| Transit Cargo | Cargo between outwards customs clearance and inwards customs clearance. Cargo arriving at a point and departing there-from by the same through flight (air cargo). |
| Transit Shipment | A shipment passing between one port and another, or between a port and a final destination. |
| Transit Time | The total time taken from the point when the supplier makes the material ready for delivery to the time when the same material arrives at the customer's premises. |
| Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol | A compilation of network and transport level protocols that allow a PC to speak the same language as other PCs on the Internet or other networks. Acronym: TCP/IP |
| Transponder | A device (chip) used for identification, which automatically transmits certain coded data when actuated by a special signal from an interrogator. |
| Transport | The assisted movement of people and or goods. Synonym: Carriage. Note: Transport is often used as a generic term for various means of transport, and is distinguished from 'movement' in that it requires such means. |
| Transport Documents | See Shipping Documents. |
| Transport International by Road | Abbreviation: TIR. A set of rules following a customs convention to facilitate the international, European transport of goods by road with minimal interference under cover of TIR-carnets. |
| Transport Policy | The subject of several legislative decisions since 1983, but while regulations apply to several different transport sectors, there is as yet no common transport policy. |
| Transportation Inventory | Inventory held during transportation. Transportation inventories are often necessary as it takes time to transport. |
| Transportation Management | The management of customers' logistics requirements. |
| Transportation System | A comprehensive description of all activities, relations between the different activities, resources, management and objectives in a system for internal and external transportation. |
| Trip | See Voyage. |
| Trip Leasing | Leasing a company's vehicle to another transportation provider for a single trip. |
| Trip Recorder | Cab-mounted device which electronically or mechanically records data such as truck speed, engine rpm, idle time and other information useful to trucking management. |
| Truck | Class of automotive vehicles of various sizes and designs for transporting goods. |
| Truckload | The quantity of freight required to fill a trailer - usually more than 10,000 pounds. Acronym: TL |
| Truly Productive Organisation (TPO) | To guide strategy, one way is to build a ?truly productive organisation? (TPO). This is an organisation which utilises its resources effectively over the long term and is able to deal with new and novel situations efficiently. |
| Trunk | The stretch between two hubs mutually. |
| Trunking | Movement of containers between terminal and carrier's inland facilities. |
| TT | Terms of trade |
| Tugmaster | Brand name of tractor unit used in ports to pull trailers. They are equipped with a fifth wheel or a gooseneck type of coupling. |
| TUPE | Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment |
| Tweendeck | Cargo carrying surface below the main deck dividing a hold horizontally in an upper and a lower compartment. |
| Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit | Abbreviation: TEU. Unit of measurement equivalent to one twenty foot shipping container. |
| Twenty-Eighty Rule | See Pareto Principle. |
| Twistlock | Device which has to be inserted into the corner fittings of a shipping container and is turned or twisted, thus locking the container for the purpose of securing or lifting. |
| Two Way Pallet | A pallet of which the frame permits the entry of forks of (e.g. a fork lift at two opposite sides). |
| Type of Cargo | An indication of the sort of cargo to be transported, (e.g. Break Bulk, Containerized, RoRo). |
| Type of Equipment | The type of material used, e.g. 40 feet container, four way pallet or mafi trailer. |
| Type of Load indicator | A general reference or a classification of loads of cargo like 'FCL', 'LCL', 'unpacked' and even ship's convenience container, though this is rarely used nowadays. |
| Type of Means of Transport | The type of vehicle used in the transport process, e.g. wide-body aircraft, tank truck or passenger vessel. |
| Type of Movement | Description of the service for movement of containers. Note: The following type of movement can be indicated on B/L and Manifest all combinations of FCL and LCL and break bulk and RoRo. Whilst only on the manifest combinations of House, Yard and CFS can be mentioned. |
| Type of Packing | Description of the packaging material used to wrap, contain and protect goods to be transported. Synonym: Kind of Packing, Package Type. |
| Type of Transport | The indication whether the carrier or the merchant effects and bears the responsibility for inland transport of cargo in containers i.e. a differentiation between the logistical and legal responsibility. Note: Values are Carrier haulage and Merchant haulage, whilst in this context special cases are carrier-nominated merchant haulage, and merchant nominated carrier haulage. |
| Type of Vessel | The sort of vessel used in the transport process e.g. Container, RoRo, or Multi Purpose. |
| U.D | Under deck |
| U.Dk. | Upper deck |
| U/w | Underwriter |
| UC | Usual conditions |
| UCP 500 | See Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits. |
| UIC | See Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer. |
| ULCC | See Ultra Large Crude Carrier. |
| ULD | See Unit Load Device. |
| Ullage | Free space above a liquid contained in a tank, drum or tank-container, expressed as a percentage of the total capacity. Ullage is often used to leave room for possible expansion of the liquid. |
| Ultra Large Crude Carrier | Abbreviation: ULCC. A vessel designed for the carriage of liquid cargo in bulk with a loading capacity from 250.000 till 500.000 DWT. |
| UNCTAD | See United Nations Conference on Trade And Development. |
| Undercarriage | A supporting frame or structure of a wheeled vehicle. The landing gear of an aircraft. |
| Undercarrier | A carrier in a conference or consortium who carries less cargo than the allotment distributed to him. |
| UNDG Number | See United Nations Dangerous Goods Number. |
| UNECE | See United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. |
| Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credi | The in 1993 revised rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) governing a letter of credit issued in respect of goods shipped applicable as from 1-1-1994. |
| Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer | Abbreviation: UIC. International railway union, in which most of the European national railway companies are united. |
| Unit | The standard size or quantity of a stock item. |
| Unit Load | A number of individual packages bonded, palletized or strapped together to form a single unit for more efficient handling by mechanical equipment. |
| Unit Load Device | Abbreviation: ULD. Any type of container or pallet, in which a consignment can be transported by air whether or not such a container is considered aircraft equipment. Any type of air freight container, aircraft container, aircraft pallet with a net, or aircraft pallet with a net over an igloo. |
| Unit of Measure | The standard unit of an item used in the stock account and to construct order quantities. |
| United Nations Conference on Trade and Development | Abbreviation: UNCTAD. A United Nations agency whose work in shipping includes the liner code involving the sharing of cargoes between the shipping lines of the importing and exporting countries and third countries in the ratio 40:40:20. |
| United Nations Dangerous Goods Number | Abbreviation: UNDG Number. The four-digit number assigned by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods to classify a substance or a particular groups of substances. Note: The prefix 'UN' must always be used in conjunction with these numbers. |
| United Nations Economic Commission for Europe | Abbreviation: UN/ECE. The UN/ECE is one of a number of Economic and Social Commissions established by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Despite its name it embraces both Europe and North America. The UN/ECE comprises twenty nine core member states, as well as any country which is a member of the United Nations and which applies under Article 11 of the United Nations constitution for delegate status. The aim is to advance the economic development of Europe and associated countries through trade facilitation and common agreements. |
| United Nations Layout Key | Abbreviation: UNLK. A standard (ISO6422) which lays down the basic principles for the design of the image area on documents for use in international trade. Synonym: Layout Key. |
| United Nations Standard Message | Abbreviation: UNSM. A collection of structured data that is exchanged to convey information related to a specific transaction between partners engaged in electronic data interchange. Messages are composed of logically grouped segments required for the type of message transaction covered. Note: A set of segments in the order specified in a message directory starting with the message header and ending with the message trailer (ISO9735). |
| UNLK | See United Nations Layout Key. |
| UNSM | See United Nations Standard Message. |
| USC | United States Currency |
| User Network | A public network made up of thousands of newsgroups and organized by topic. Acronym: USENET |
| Utilisation | A measure of productivity which is defined as: Used input/available input. |
| Utilisation Period | Describes the time (period) and the extent to which the capacity within the factory or a part of this, such as the machinery or the production (group), has been used or reserved. |
| Utilization Rate | The quotient of used capacity and available capacity. |
| Val. | value |
| Valuable Cargo | A consignment which contains one or more valuable articles (air cargo). |
| Valuation | A clause in a marine policy that fixes the insured value. |
| Valuation Charge | Transport charges for certain goods, based on the value declared for the carriage of such goods (air cargo). |
| Value Added Logistics (VAL) | Adding value means incorporating our operational skills into a contract and utilising them to the best of our ability. This may involve providing additional services and or improving the lead times and stock reduction. |
| Value Added Tax | Abbreviation: VAT. A form of indirect sales tax paid on products and services at each stage of production or distribution, based on the value added at that stage and included in the cost to the ultimate customer. |
| Value Surcharge | A surcharge for the carriage of cargo having a value in excess of a specified amount per kilogram (air cargo). |
| Value-Added Services | A range of additional services that a provider can offer their client. Usually offered as an attractive and cost effective alternative to in-house or competitor equivalents. |
| Vanning | See Stuffing. |
| Variability Accounting | An accounting system which contains a new dimension for registering objectives as well as type of cost and cost centre. The objective explains why resource consumption occurs. This accounting form is suitable for use in following up BL-costs. |
| Variable Cost | A cost which is continuously changing with the activity volume during a certain period. |
| VAT | See Value Added Tax. |
| VC | Vessels convenience |
| W.A | With average (Institute Cargo Clause) |
| W.E.F. | With effect from |
| W.P.A. | With particular average |
| W/B | Waybill |
| W/D | Working day(s) |
| W/T | Weight tons |
| W/V | Weight/volume |
| Waiting Time | The period of time between the moment at which one is ready for an activity to start and the moment at which this activity can actually begin. See also queue time. |
| Waiver Clause | Clause in a marine insurance policy stating that no acts of the insurer or insured in recovering, saving or preserving the property insured, shall be considered a dismissal from or acceptance of abandonment. |
| Warehouse | A building specially designed for receipt, storage and handling of goods. Synonyms: Shed, Store. |
| Warehouse Keeper | Party who takes responsibility for goods entered into a warehouse. |
| Warehouse Receipt | Receipt for products deposited in a warehouse. |
| Warehousing | Those activities of holding and handling goods in a warehouse (store). |
| Warsaw Convention | The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air, signed at Warsaw, 12 October 1929, or that Convention as amended by the Hague Protocol, 1955, stipulating obligations or parties and limitations and/or exonerations of carriers (air cargo). |
| Waste Disposal | Processing and or removal to final resting place or transfer to a place for re-use or recovering of waste. |
| Waste Logistics | The collection of used, damaged, or outdated products and or packaging from designated users. Synonym: Reverse Distribution. |
| Waybill | Non-negotiable document evidencing the contract for the transport of cargo. |
| Wccon. | Whether cleared customs or not |
| Wdt/wth | Width |
| X-ray | High frequency electromagnetic ray of short wave-length, capable of penetrating most solid substances. |
| X.25 | International standard of the CCITT for packet switching. |
| X.400 | A CCITT recommendation designed to facilitate international message and information exchange between subscribers of computer based store-and-forward services and office information systems in association with public and private data networks. |
| X.500 | The CCITT now ITU recommendations (ISO9594) for the structure of directories for the maintenance of addresses used in electronic mail. |
| XL & UL | Exclusive of loading and unloading |
| XML | Extensible Markup Language. A way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the Internet or an intranet. "The EDI of the Internet era" allows companies to share information consistently. XML can be used to present information directly to a web page. |
| XP | Express paid |
| XPRL | Without privileges |
| Y/C | Your cable |
| Y/L | Your letter |
| Y/O | Your order |
| Yard | Fenced off, outdoor storage and repair area. |
| Yawl | A vessel's small boat moved by one oar. Synonym: a jolly-boat. A small sailboat rigged fore-and-aft, with a short mizzenmast astern of the cockpit - distinguished from ketch. |
| Yday | Yesterday |
| Yield Bucket | The remaining slot capacity for a trade/voyage in a certain port of loading after deduction of the allowance for specific contracts. |
| Yield Management | The process of maximising the contribution of every slot, vessel, trade and network. Basically it should be seen as the process of allocating the right type of capacity to the right kind of customer at the right price as to maximise revenue or yield. The concept should be used in combination with load factor management. |
| York-Antwerp Rules | See General Average Act. |
| Zero Inventories | Part of the principles of just-in-time which relates the elimination of waste by having only required materials when needed. |
| Zero Point | Describes the sales size when the contribution exactly covers the fixed costs. There will be neither a surplus nor a loss. |
| Zodiac | A rubber dinghy. An inflatable craft for the transport of people. |
| Zone | Area, belt or district extending about a certain point defined for transport and/or charge purpose. |
| Zone Haulage Rate | The rate for which the carrier will undertake the haulage of goods or containers between either the place of delivery and the carrier's appropriate terminal. Such haulage will be undertaken only subject to the terms and conditions of the tariff and of the carrier's Combined Transport Bill of Lading. |
| Zone Improvement Plan | Abbreviation: ZIP. System to simplify sorting and delivery of mail, consisting of a number of five digits (the so-called ZIP-code) for identification of the state, city or district, and the postal zone in the U.S.A. delivery areas. |
Glossary
Find here the GEODIS glossary and the logistics and transport language specificities.
