Logistics Terminology
Logistics is a term used to describe all aspects of the movement of goods within an organization or supply chain. This includes the processes and procedures involved in, but not limited to, purchase, order fulfillment, shipping, storage, inventory management and even the eventual disposal of goods. It’s a complex process that must be managed in order to ensure the most efficient use of resources and cost containment. To manage such a process, there is a large variety of terms and acronyms associated with it. The following list offers a comprehensive overview of the most commonly used terms & acronyms in the world of logistics.
Air Express: A for-fee, fast transport option offered by many carriers, primarily for domestic shipments.
Backhaul: The return trip a trucker takes after delivering cargo. Empty or loaded.
Bill of Lading (BOL): A document from a carrier to a shipper that serves as a contract for carriage of goods.
Carrier: The operator of the conveyance used to transport cargo. A carrier can be a certain airline, freight forwarder, or truck operator, for example.
Certificate of Origin (CO): A document attesting to the origin of goods being shipped.
Consignee: A person or company named by the shipper as the recipient of a shipment.
Consolidation: The combining of several different shipments into one standard-sized load.
Cube Out: Refers to a truck, trailer, container, van, or box that has been filled up with the maximum amount of freight.
Cross-Docking: The process in which finished goods are loaded onto outbound trucks while incoming product is unloaded and sorted.
Deadhead: A trailer or truck that is moved without cargo.
Delivery: Refers to the process of bringing goods to a customer or consignee.
Demand Planning: The process of predicting future demand for a product or service.
Door-to-Door Service: A service offering a shipper and consignee the ability to transport goods from the shippers address to the consignees address without the need for pick-up or delivery.
FOB Destination: Refers to the shipment of goods where title passes to the buyer at the time of delivery to the named destination.
Freight Forwarder: A person or company that acts as an intermediary between a shipper and a carrier, usually arranging all aspects of a shipment.
Inbound Logistics: The processes associated with bringing material into an organization, such as receiving, storage, materials handling and more.
Invoice: A document issued to a customer by a company, detailing the price and quantity of goods or services sold.
Inventory: The stock available for sale, usually of finished goods.
Just-In-Time: Refers to the practice of having materials and components arrive at a production facility just in time for assembly to begin.
Landed Cost: The total cost of goods at the point of final destination, including all taxes, duties, transport fees, insurance and other associated costs.
Less-than-Truckload (LTL): A shipment that does not require the use of a full truckload.
Manufacturers Representative: A business or individual that represents manufacturers and makes sales calls to promote their products.
Mode: Refers to the type of transport used for a shipment. For example air, sea, road or rail.
On-Board Courier (OBC): An individual that accompanies a package for the entire journey and is entrusted with the security and delivery of the item.
Outbound Logistics: Refers to all the processes and activities related to purchasing, receiving, shipping and storing products.
Packing List: A document that is included with a shipment, providing a list of the contents.
Perishables: Products with a limited shelf life, such as food, plants and medicines.
Reverse Logistics: The process of recovering or disposing of materials and products from consumers, retailers or distribution channels.
Seal: A tamper-proof device that is placed on a shipping container, trailer or pallet for security and tracking.
Shipping Container: An intermodal, rigid box designed to contain a cargo shipment and be moved by multiple modes of transport, including road, rail and sea.
Traceability: The capability of a product to be tracked from factory to customer.
Third Party Logistics: Refers to services provided by an outside organization that specializes in handling all logistics activities. (3PL)
Transshipment: The process of sending cargo from one point to another via a third party vendor.
Unit Load Device (ULD): A pallet or container designed to fit the standard spaces of a cargo aircraft.
Warehousing: The process of physically storing inventory until its needed.
Weight Break: The point at which a rate for a specific item or service increases due to the weight of the shipment.
