Logistics and transport glossary

 

Aisle : A passageway between racks or blocks of inventory.Ambient area : Warehouse with normal room temperature ≦ 32oC & relative humidity ≦ 80%.

APS (Advanced Planning and Scheduling) : A subcomponent of supply chain planning, typically contextually describing manufacturing planning and scheduling.

B2B (Business-to-Business) : e-commerce term for communications between companies and their suppliers

B2C (Business-to-Consumer) : e-commerce term for communications between companies and their customers

Barge : a flat-bottomed vessel towed or pushed by another craft for transporting freight in rivers.

Batch Picking (Batch Selection) : a method of order selection in which several orders for different customers, or a “batch” of them, are picked together. Generally, a number of selectors work at the same time in different sections of the facility to pick the batch.

Bill of Lading : a document issued by a carrier that records the receipt of goods for shipment and the contract terms. It is not an invoice.

Block Stack : goods on a pallet and are stacked up one by one without racks.

Break-Bulk : the separation of consolidated bulk load into smaller individual shipments.

Cargo : the freight carried by a ship, aircraft, truck or other vessel or vehicle.

Cart : a manually pushed or pulled platform that has a handle and four wheels. It is used to move merchandise in the facility.

Case Cube : the cubic size (usually in cubic feet) of a case computed by multiply-ing the length times the width times the height of the case (L x W x H).

Case Lot : a complete, unopened case of goods. Case lot also refers to a group of cases of goods purchased at one price, instead of being priced by the case.

Case Pack : the number of selling units in a shipping case.

Consolidation : the act of assembling less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments into truck-load (TL) shipments.

Cross Docking : product (usually in pallet quantities) is designated for certain customers before or at the time of delivery. The product is taken directly from the inbound dock to the outbound dock. Note: The received quantity is not added into the inventory.

Customs Duties : taxes collected by states upon imports to their territory.

Date Code : a code attached to merchandise to show when it was packaged, placed on display, should be removed from display, or should be used. Codes facilitate rotation and help prevent the sale of off-quality items.

Deadhead : a truck returning empty to the distribution center.

Dedicated Carriage : a third-party service that dedicates equipment and drivers to a single customer for its exclusive use.

Detention Charge : a penalty charge against shippers or receivers for delaying trucks beyond an allotted time.

Devanning : goods are moved out of the container.

Distribution : the movement of products from where they are made to where they are used. There are four levels of food store distribution: manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, and consuming.

Dock : a collection of dock doors where trucks are loaded or unloaded.

Documentary Credit : many types of documents used between buyers and sellers and their respective banks to support payment and transfer title for goods shipped. May be in the form of letters of credit (LOC or L/C), bank guarantees, or forwarder cargo receipts (FCR).

Double-Deep Storage : a location with pallets placed two deep into a rack or floor slot.

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) : a computer system developed in 1982 that enables companies to communicate electronically using Uniform Communications Standards. EDI can be used for order entry, invoices, and correspondence which eliminates the need for typewritten documents.

Electronic Ordering : ordering merchandise from suppliers through a computer hook up.

4PL (Fourth Party Logistics) : a supply chain co-ordination and management by an entity that does not supply (operate) underlying logistical services.

FCL (Full-Container Load) : the merchandise loaded in the container is all from the same customer.

FIFO (First-In, First-Out) : using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method to stock and sell merchan-dise; the oldest is sold first to ensure quality and freshness. Rotation is often guided by code-dating.

FOB Destination : title passes at destination, seller has total responsibility until shipment is delivered.

FOB Origin : title passes at origin, buyer has total responsibility over the goods while in shipment.

Forklift : a mechanical device used to transport pallet loads to or from storage.

Handling Costs : the cost involved in moving, transferring, preparing, and otherwise handling inventory.

Hazardous Class : indicates whether the product is a hazard or source of danger. This prevents non-hazardous product from being mixed with hazardous products. The class indicates the category of hazardous material.

Inner Pack : a unit that is a multiple of a storage case. Normally this is some shrink-wrapped or bundled quantity of retail units within a case. The inner pack is made up of one or many retail units. This quantity is not required to equal the number of retail units in a shipping unit.

Integrated Logistics : a comprehensive supply chain as a single process, from raw materials supply to finished goods distribution.

Inventory : all stock on hand at any given time, either visibly displayed or in stockrooms and other secured areas. Inventory also refers to compiling an itemized list of all such items.

Kitting : light assembly of components or parts into defined units.

Label : a pressure-sensitive, adhesive-backed paper (containing product, pric-ing, and other information) affixed to cases or pallets to identify and track them through the distribution process.

LCL (Less-Than-Container Load) : the quantity of freight which is less than that required for the application of a container load rate.

Lead Time : total time from receipt of store order to the scheduled delivery time of the product at the store.

LIFO (Last-In-First-Out) : the newest goods are sold first to ensure quality and freshness.

Loading : the process of moving goods up or down the container or carrier.

Lot Number : the process of tracking production where units are produced in a batch.

Multi-Modal Transportation :the process of goods delivery involves more than one kind of transportation vehicle.

 

Optimization : the process of making something as effective as possible with given resources and constraints.

Order Picking : one of the basic operating functions of any distribution center. Products are selected (or picked) from warehouse inventory to fill retail store orders.

Order Tracking : the action that order status is keep tracked along the process.

Out-Of-Stock : product not in supply in a warehouse or store. Warehouse “outs” are expressed as detail items of an order placed that cannot be filled.

Packaging : the wrapping, dunnage, or container in which something is packed for storage or shipment

Pallet : a wooden platform used for stacking unit loads of merchandise. Stan-dard size is 40″ x 48.”

Pallet Cube : the amount of cubic feet of product that is allowed to be shipped or stored on a pallet.

Pallet Facings : the side of the pallet facing the aisle from which the stock is picked or the pallet is handled by a forklift.

Pallet Jack : a multipurpose handling machine that can move unit loads. There are two basic designs: the single pallet jack, capable of selecting or moving one pallet per trip, and the double pallet jack, which can accommodate two pallets per trip.

Palletizing : the loading and securing of products in pallet loads.

Pick & Pack : picking of product from inventory and packing into shipment containers.

Pick Label : a document used for selection that is applied to the product.

Pick List : an itemized list of products used in order selection.

POD (Proof of Delivery) : information supplied by carrier containing detail shipment related information.

POS (Point of Sales) : the retail locations where sales transactions occur.

Prepaid : a freight term which indicates charges are to be paid by the shipper.

Product ID : a unique code identifying a specific product.

Rack : a structure used for the optimum storage of palletized loads. A drive-in rack has horizontal beams running perpendicular to the aisle (so the rack can be driven partway into). A drive-through rack is similar to a drive-in rack, except that it can be driven through.

Rack Bay : a section of rack separated by the upright supports, usually two pallets in width.

Reach Truck : a mechanical device used to transport pallet loads to or from storage.

Reefer : refrigeration equipment for transporting frozen or perishable products.

Re-packing : the action that goods are un-wrapped the packaging material then packed again in a required way.

Replenishment : the moving of inventory from reserve storage to the active picking slots below.

RF Unit : a radio frequency communications device that is mounted on a forklift, carried, or worn on a selector.

Scan Gun : this is used with an RF unit or terminal to scan (read) bar codes.

Seal : small metal or plastic strip and lead fastener used for locking totes, freight car, or truck doors. Seals are numbered for record purposes.

Selection Line : the arrangement of warehouse inventory in an orderly system to facilitate selecting (picking) units to fill orders.

Staging Area : a space on which the receiving and shipping docks used to gather and check inbound and outbound loads.

Standard Pallet Rack : a one-deep, self-style rack originally designed for pallets, but also used for shelf storage of large units (usually one or two of a kind). It consists of uprights and beams that may be fixed or adjustable. Racks are secured to the floor, or rows are positioned back to back and secured to each other.

Stretch Pallet Wrap : bands of plastic film applied by an associate used to encase palletized loads prior to shipment. Depending on fragility or shape of the merchandise, the number of bands can be varied to protect against product damage.

3PL (Third Party Logistics Service Provider) : the company provide Logistics related services that were previously performed in-house by the client.

Tracking and Tracing : monitoring and recording shipment movements from origin to destination.

Transit Time : the total time that elapses between a shipment’s pickup and delivery.

Transshipment : the transfer of cargo from one conveyance to another.

Truckload Carriers (TL) : Trucking companies which move full truckloads of freight directly from point of origin to destination.

Turret Truck : a type of lift truck that is counterbalanced with a long wheel base to stabilize it when heavy loads are lifted to high levels. It can lift and rotate loads left or right, and move loads sideways for storing and retrieving merchandise in pallet racks.

Unit Cost : the cost associated with a single unit of product.

Unloading : the action that goods are move out of the vehicle / container.

UOM (Unit Of Measurement) : a pre-defined and mutually agreed unit of measurement.

UPC (Universal Product Code) : a computer code identifying a product. An electronic scanner reads the code and sends the information to a central computer. Also known as bar code.

U-Pick Selection (Perimeter, Horseshoe, or Quad Selection) : a selecting (picking) pattern in which selectors move up one side of the aisle and down the other, returning to the point where the selection cart or truck is placed.

Warehouse : a physical facility in which the primary purpose is storage of merchandise.

WMS (Warehouse Management System) : a software application that manages the operations of a warehouse or distribution center. Application functionality includes receiving, putaway, inventory management, cycle counting, task interleaving, wave planning, order allocation, order picking, replenishment, packing, shipping, labor management and automated material-handling equipment interfaces. The use of radio frequency technology in conjunction with bar codes provides the foundation of a WMS, delivering accurate information in real time.

Zone Picking : a system in which the facility is divided into areas that are determined by physical characteristics of the products, order types, or balancing of volume. Order selectors pick only in their assigned zone and move the merchandise to a staging area for assembly prior to loading for ship-ment.

Z-Pick Selection (Zigzag or Pivot Selection) : a selection pattern in which selectors pick back and forth on alternate sides of the aisle.