GLOSSARY

Artic (articulated lorry): a lorry made up of a tractor unit and a trailer, with a turntable device that allows it to turn sharply.

Added-value processes/services
Complementary processes or services applied to a product or service to increase its value to internal or external customers

Aftermarket
Activities completed after the sales process, such as the replacement and servicing of parts; particularly prevalent in the automotive industry

Airfreight
The transport of goods by air

Box trailer: a rigid unit that is loaded through rear doors. This is a secure option for haulage companies that need to transport valuable goods.
Backstage areas
Behind-the-scenes areas of stores and shops where stock is held and logistics support and services are managed

Bonded warehouse
A facility or consolidation centre that is authorised by customs to store goods. The payment of duties and taxes are only payable once the goods are removed

Box car
A closed freight car

Bulk container
A large container designed to carry bulk cargo

Campus
A site where multiple distribution centres share resources such as employees and transport to maximise time and cost efficiencies.
Consignment
One or more items that a carrier has accepted for shipment at a given time

Consolidation
The combination of two or more consignments to create a more economical freight solution

Consolidation Centre
A warehouse in which goods are packaged into larger units for onward distribution

Container
A sealed, reusable metal box for the shipping of goods by sea and rail

Contract logistics
The process of outsourcing product flow management, storage and related information transfer services, usually under long-term contract, with the objective of increasing efficiency and control

Control Tower
Bespoke packages of information services used to manage and control supply chain activities on behalf of customers and suppliers.

Cross-dock/docking
The direct flow of goods from receipt to shipping, bypassing storage. Used to reduce costs and lead-times for fast-moving and perishable goods

Customs broking
The handling of customs formalities around the import and export of goods on behalf of importers

Cut, make and trim (CMT)
Transport and customs management of fashion materials and products following a procedure that avoids customs payment

CPT (Carriage Paid To) is an Incoterm (see below). It means the seller is responsible for arranging and paying for the main carriage of the goods by the haulage company, but the risk of damage stays with the buyer.

CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To) is the same as CPT, except that the seller must take out insurance to cover the buyer's risk.
CMR note: the main document needed for transporting internationally by road. It confirms the haulage company has received the goods and that a contract of carriage exists between the trader and the haulage company.

Curtain-sider: the mainstay trailer of road haulage companies. It has a rigid roof and rear doors, with curtain sides that drawback for loading.

DAF (Delivered at Frontier): another Incoterm. It's where the seller puts the goods at the disposal of the buyer on the haulage company's vehicle, cleared for export but not for import, at a named point and place at the frontier.

Demand chain: The reverse of the supply chain, when the processes employed switch from push to. The demand chain is driven by the consumers rather than manufacturers of goods.

Dispatch
The release of a container to a carrier or amounts paid to a carrier to charter the transport of goods

Distribution
The process of storing and transporting finished goods between the end of the production line and the final customer

Distribution Centre (DC)
A facility that accepts inbound consignments of raw materials, components or finished goods, divides and then recombines them into outbound shipments. Many DCs also contain specialised handling/storage equipment and IT systems and serve as warehouses

Drop shipment
The direct shipment of goods from a manufacturer to a dealer or consumer, bypassing the wholesaler

Domestic Distribution Networks (DDN)
Warehousing and distribution to stores.

DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid): another Incoterm. The seller must deliver the goods to the buyer at the agreed destination. The goods are not cleared for import, and not unloaded from the haulage company's vehicle at the destination. The buyer is responsible for the cost and risks of duty and unloading.

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): another Incoterm.The seller must deliver the goods to the buyer, cleared for import but not unloaded, at the agreed destination.
Electronic data interchange (EDI)
Computer-to-computer transmission of information between two companies, including such documents as purchase orders and invoices

End-to-end: The complete cycle of logistics activity. End-to-end supply chain management comprises the sourcing and transport of goods from point of origin to final customer destination

End-of-life: Goods that have reached the end of their shelf life; can include obsolete items or items that cannot be repaired

European article number (EAN)
Coding to support Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) speeding up goods flow and reducing costs in the FMCG sector.

FCA (Free Carrier): another Incoterm (see below). The seller must deliver the goods, cleared for export, to the haulage company nominated by the buyer at the named place.

FCR (Forwarders' Certificate of Receipt): a document proving that a freight forwarder has accepted goods with irrevocable instructions to deliver them to the consignee indicated. This is designed for use in international road haulage.

Fourth-party logistics provider (4PL)
A supplier of supply chain co-ordination and management services that generally does not own or operate the underlying assets and resources. When acting as a lead logistics provider (LLP), it may also co-ordinate and integrate the services of others with complementary or supporting capabilities

Free Trade Zone (FTZ)
A commercial or industrial area near a port of entry where merchandise and raw material imports are not subject to customs charges or duties

Freight forwarder
A company involved in the collection, consolidation, shipping and distribution of goods from overseas countries. Typically, freight forwarders clear freight through customs, prepare documents and arrange shipping, warehousing and delivery

Freight management
The management of third-party carriers to ensure the swift, safe and cost-efficient delivery of shipments, often involving the integration of a range of services

Freight Transport Association (FTA)
UK trade association serving the transport interests of companies moving goods by air, rail, road and sea

Full-truck-load (FTL)
Where the goods being shipped occupy a complete truck

FCT (Forwarders' Certificate of Transport): similar to an FCR, but this is negotiable. Here the freight forwarder accepts responsibility to organize delivery by the haulage company to a destination specified by the seller.
Garments on hangers (GOH)
Standard containers fitted with bars and ropes to keep the clothes neatly so they can be put straight onto shop shelves

Globalisation
The internationalisation of trade, by which domestic economies become inter-dependent

HGV: goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes are formally termed large goods vehicles but are commonly known by haulage companies as heavy goods vehicles.

International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Trade association serving airlines, governments, passengers, shippers and travel agents

Inbound logistics
The movement of raw materials and components from suppliers/vendors to production processes and storage facilities. International inbound logistics is the management of the international inbound supply chain on behalf of retailers

Inbound-to-manufacturing
The sourcing and transport of goods from their point of origin/manufacture through to the manufacturing facility

In-store logistics
The provision of pre-retailing services within shops, often in backstage areas. Services can include stock replenishment, storage and packaging

Integrated logistics/supply chain
The management of multiple supply chain components as a single entity on a global or regional scale. This practice can result in a more efficient supply chain and lower costs

Intermodal
The co-ordinated movement of freight using different methods of transport which is often a combination of truck and rail
International inbound logistics/supply chain:

Inventory
Stocks of raw materials, components, work in progress, finished goods and other supplies

Incoterms (international commercial terms): a set of international rules that haulage companies, importers, exporters and freight forwarders use to interpret trade terms relating to the transportation of freight.

Just-in-time
Activities, including deliveries, completed at the right time in order to meet production and client schedules. These techniques help companies improve their return on investment by reducing in-process inventory and its associated cost.

Low-loader: a trailer often used by haulage companies for transporting heavy machinery and other outsize goods.

Last 50 yards/final mile
The location for the transfer of goods from the rear of the delivery vehicle to the store shelf or home

Lead logistics provider/partner (LLP)

Less-than-truckload (LTL)
A shipment that does not fill a standard truck

Linehaul
Overland transportation, by road or by rail, and applying particularly to transportation from origin depot to port of shipment or from port of arrival to destination depot

Logistics
The process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient and cost-effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process stocks, finished goods and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption for customers. Put more simply, it is the science and art of ensuring that the right products reach the right place in the right quantity at the right time in order to satisfy customer demand. Logistics encompasses warehousing, transport, added-value/pre-retailing services and IT solutions and covers inbound, outbound, internal, international and reverse product flows

Logistics re-engineering
The study and re-design of logistics processes to achieve a significant improvement in performance

Logistics service provider (LSP)
An organisation that offers 3PL or 4PL services

Origin services
Support/added-value functions offered at the point of origin of merchandise or materials. Can include buying, purchase order management, vendor compliance, quality inspection, document management, container optimisation, pick-and-pack, pallet loading, customs processing and consolidation

Outsourcing
The sub-contracting to external companies of tasks considered to be outside an organisation's core competence. Logistics outsourcing is one of the most popular forms

Outward Processing Relief (OPR)
Transport and customs management of materials and product following a procedure that avoids customs payment

Railfreight
The transport of goods by rail

Roadfreight
The transport of goods by road

Real-time
In the present. A real-time system that enables an immediate response to external events. Often used in relation to tracking.

Reverse logistics
The process of collecting, handling and transporting used, damaged, unwanted or end-of-life goods and/or packaging for disposal, recycling or recovery. Can also refer to the return of reusable transit equipment (pallets, containers etc.) to a point further up the supply chain (i.e., upstream)

RFID/smart labels
RFID is radio frequency identification, a system that uses radio signals to locate and identify merchandise, batched products or transportation assets fitted with special electronic tags. The tags ? also known as smart labels or intelligent tags ? enable the automatic track- and-trace of merchandise/assets throughout the supply chain. RFID can help to reduce administration, improve productivity, optimise the use of warehousing space and increase accuracy and control

Routing
The process for arranging the course of direction of goods for transport

Re-working/Re-packing
The Repacking of goods for a specific customer can include repalletisation. Reworking is the modification of products to suit a local market.

Regional Distribution Networks (RDN)
Warehousing and distribution to stores.

Seafreight
The transport of goods by sea

Service logistics
Logistics activities relating to the management of parts to and from customers

Shared-user
See multi-user

Sourcing
The practice of locating and procuring goods and products

Sub-assembly
The processes for putting together individual units to fit with other components to make a finished product

Supply chain
A linked set of resources and processes that begins with the sourcing of raw materials and ends with the delivery of merchandise to the final customer. It covers vendors, manufacturing facilities, logistics service providers, internal distribution centres, distributors, wholesalers and other intermediaries. See also demand chain

Supply chain management
The co-ordinated control of the supply chain, from the acquisition of raw materials from vendors through their transformation into finished goods to the delivery of merchandise to the final customer. It involves end-to-end information sharing, planning, resource synchronisation and performance measurement

Supply chain re-engineering
A review of supply chain efficiencies. One of the main tasks is to evaluate cost efficiency to ensure that costs are being driven down through the contract duration

Strategic parts centres
Strategic Part Centres (SPCs) are in-country facilities offering:
 1, 2 and 4 hour order fulfillment
 stock optimisation across the complete network of SPCs
 guaranteed performance against agreed business rules

TEU
20-foot equivalent container; the standard size of a seafreight container

Temperature-controlled
The storage of goods within a certain temperature range as required by the product type, eg, chilled and frozen

Third party logistics provider (3PL)
A supplier of logistics services that primarily uses its own assets and resources

Time-definite
A freight or delivery service that specifies or guarantees a day or time

Track-and-trace
The process for recording the progress of a consignment through the supply chain, usually in or near real-time, in order to track its status or trace its movements. Sophisticated Control Tower systems function as a single point of control, delivering centralised command of the supply chain with full visibility

Transload
The transfer of 40ft container loads into truck-driven 53ft containers to reduce costs per unit and achieve faster and more accurate deliveries
TIR system (Transports Internationaux Routiers): this system allows haulage companies' vehicles to cross borders without repeated customs checks outside the EU.

Vendor consolidation
The process for managing various vendors in order to consolidate multiple LTL shipments within a consignment to reduce costs and improve delivery efficiency

Vendors
The sellers of products and services

Visibility
The ability to view detailed information about supply chain management processes, typically in real or near real-time