Term or Acronyms

Definition

3PL

Third-Party Logistics Provider

4PL

Fourth-Party Logistics Provider. A company that coordinates the activity of one or more 3PL’s on behalf of a customer.

ABM

Activity-Based Management: application of ABC (Activity-Based Costing) to business performance.

ABP

Asset-Based Provider

ACR

All-Commodity Rate

ADP

Automatic Data Processing

ADR

Regulations for international movements of hazardous goods by road (see also IMDG, RID).

AEA

Association of European Airlines

AFH

Away From Home: FMCG-type products used away from home - e.g. those found in industrial, hotel or institutional applications.

AGV

Automated Guided Vehicle: also AGVS ("Automated Guided Vehicle System").

aka

also known as

ANA

Article Numbering Association: see also EAN.

ANSI

American National Standards Institute: US standards organization (see also BSI, ISO).

AOC

Agent of Change

APS

Advanced Planning & Scheduling: manufacturers' approach to planning and scheduling which deals directly with the constraints of production capacity and materials availability.

AQR

Any Quantity Rate: a fixed rate for transport, with no discount available for larger shipments.

AR

Automatic Replenishment: an extension of QR and CR where suppliers assume responsibility for retail inventories and replenishment (aka "Profile Replenishment").

ASN

Advanced Shipping Notification: electronic pre-notification of an upcoming shipment to the next stage in the supply chain.

ASP

Application Service Provider: application hosting and online network infrastructure for software vendors and end-users.

ASRS

Automated Storage and Retrieval System: automated warehousing.

ATA

Admission Temporaire: or temporary admission (Customs Warehousing term). Also "American Trucking Associations.”

ATS

Automatic Transportation System.

AVI

Automatic Vehicle Identification: applications of this new technology include detecting stolen vehicles and collecting tolls via electronic road pricing.

AVL

Automatic Vehicle Location: electronic location of vehicles using satellite or ground-based tracking. See also AVI, IVHS.

AWB

Air Way Bill

B/L

Bill of Lading. Also: SBOL, TBOL.

B2B

Business-to-Business

BACS

Bankers' Automated Clearing System

BAF

Bunker Adjustment Factor

BBC

Bumper to Back of Cab: distance between the front bumper of a commercial vehicle and the back of its cab.

BBP

Business-to-Business Procurement

bhp

brake horsepower: unit of engine power.

BI

Business Intelligence

BOL

Bill of Lading. Usually B/L.

BOM

Bill of Material

BPI

Business Process Improvement: business improvement practice using performance measurement to reduce or eliminate non-value added activities or costs, while at least maintaining quality, productivity, etc.

BPO

Business Process Optimization (see also eBPO)

BPR

Business Process Re-engineering

Buddy

A new employee co-worker, selected by HR and by employee manager, who will offer advice and guide a new colleague on all work related and company related matters in order to provide additional source of information and security on first days of employment.

BWS

Beers, Wines and Spirits

C

C-Type Warehouse: A physical Customs Warehouse (i.e. where goods are not subject to excise duty) in which the warehouse keeper takes on full responsibility for the goods stored, or owns them. See also A, D, E.

C&F

Cost and Freight: price includes goods and transport.

C21

Customs Clearance Request using form C21.

CAD

Cash Against Documents or "Computer-Aided Design.”

CAF

Currency Adjustment Factor or "Cost And Freight"

CALS

CALS

Continuous Acquisition & Life-cycle Support: strategy for streamlining business processes information exchange within an organization (formerly known as "Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistics Support").

CAO

Computer-Assisted Ordering: computerized generation of store replenishment orders from POS, PI and shelf-stock data.

CAST-DPM

Computer-Aided Strategy and Tactics - Distribution Planning Model: proprietary software package designed to optimize vehicle fleets, depot locations, warehouse layouts, etc.

CBD

Cash Before Delivery

CC

Cubic Centimeters (e.g. engine size). Or "Cubic Capacity" (e.g. volume of truck body). Also "Carbon Copy.”

CCR

Capacity Constraining Resource: a bottleneck.

CCTV

Closed Circuit Television: often used in security.

CDG

Carriage of Dangerous Goods: usually expressed as either "CDG Road" or "CDG Rail.”

CDL

Commercial Driving License

CFBR

Customs Freight Business Review

CFCs

Chlorofluorocarbons: range of chemicals at one time widely used in packaging, propellants and refrigerants but now believed to be responsible for the destruction of ozone in the upper atmosphere and consequently global warming.

CFD

Continuous Flow Distribution

CFR

Cost and Freight: also "CAF."

CFSP

Customs Freight Simplified Procedures: rapid release of imports by customs via EDI.

CFT

Cross-Functional Team: a multi-skilled team.

CHIEF

Customs Handling of Import & Export Freight. See also IES and MSS.

CIE

Customs Input of Entries

CIES

The Food Business Forum (Paris)

CIF

Cost, Insurance & Freight: i.e. price includes cost (of goods), insurance and transport.

CIM

International convention on the movement of freight by rail.

CKD

Complete Knock-Down: e.g. deconstruction of vehicles (etc.) for subsequent re-assembly at destination. See also SKD.

CL

Carload: a rail freight term.

CLM

Council of Logistics Management.

CLO

Chief Logistics Officer

CLR

Competitive Line Rate: a rail freight term.

CMR

International convention for the carriage of goods by road.

CNG

Compressed Natural Gas: used as motor fuel (see also LNG, LPG).

COA

Cab Over Engine: truck design where cab unit is positioned directly over the engine.

COD

Cash On Delivery: see also CWO.

COFC

Container On a Flatcar: see also TOFC.

CofI

Certificate of Inspection

CofM

Certificate of Manufacture. Also COM.

CofO

Certificate of Origin

CofS

Certificate of Shipment

COGSA

Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (USA).

COM

Certificate of Manufacture. Also CofM.

Company Information

Company Profile, includes Mission Statement and Corporate Objectives, Our Products, Founders & Key Executives and Organizational Chart.

COO

Chief Operating Officer: see also CEO.

Corrective Action Request (CAR)

The Corrective Action Request Form is a report issued to a specific person or department indicating a situation that is nonconforming that must be corrected. The CAR provides an area for the person or department to document the cause of the nonconformity and to describe any actions that will be taken to correct and prevent a similar nonconformity in the future. The CAR form is used in an internal audit to request corrective and/or preventative actions as a result of an internal audit.

CPC

Certificate of Professional Competence: a professional standard for UK road haulage operators, administered by the DETR. Also "Customs Procedure Code.”

CPFR

Collaborative Planning, Forecasting & Replenishment

CPG

Consumer Packaged Goods: see also FMCG.

CPT

Carriage Paid To

CR

Continuous Replenishment: a modification of QR which eliminates the need for replenishment orders individual customer's purchases trigger manufacturing and distribution. See also AR and VMI.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management: management concept founded on the discovery that a 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company's profitability by 25—125%.

CRP

Capacity Requirements Planning: the process of establishing, measuring and adjusting limits or levels of capacity - e.g. to determine the human and machine resources required for production.

CRT

Continuously Regenerating Trap: vehicle exhaust system claimed to substantially reduce potentially harmful emissions when used with ULSD.

CS

Customer Service

CSRGT

Continuing Survey of Road Goods Transport: UK government survey.

CT

Channel Tunnel: the 22-mile rail tunnel linking the UK and France.

CUSDEC

Customs Declaration message.

CUSRES

Customs Response message.

Customer Complaint

Is a nonconformity that was not discovered in house,  but was discovered and reported by the customer. This is a very serious condition!

Customer Satisfaction

The measurement of the quality of product  or service as identified by statistical return and defect criteria, as well as annual Customer Satisfaction surveys for non-hardware related products.

Customer Supplied Product (CSP)

Material, product, fixtures, software, hardware, intellectual property or other items supplied by the customer to be used in the manufacturing, development or testing of product at the company and/or to be incorporated into the manufacturing process's.

Customer

Organization that purchases products or services from the company.

CV

Commercial Vehicle: a truck.

CVO

Commercial Vehicle Operations

CWO

Cash With Order: see also COD.

D

D-Type Warehouse: A Customs Warehouse (i.e. where goods are not subject to excise duty) where the value, nature and quantity of goods stored are established when the goods arrive (but not when they leave). See also A, C, E.

DAF

Delivered At Frontier

DC

Distribution Center. Also RDC, NDC, EDC, IDC.

DCC

Dedicated Contract Carriage: dedicated contract transport service.

DCM

Distribution Channel Management: strategic management of direct and indirect supply channels.

DDE

Direct Data Entry

DDP

Delivery with Duty Paid: see also "DDU.”

DDR

Driver's Daily Report

DDU

Delivery with Duty Unpaid: see also "DDP.”

Departmental Review Meeting

A meeting held each month within each department. This meeting is chaired by the Department Manager and attended by all of the employees in the department.

DEQ

Delivery Ex-Quay

DES

Delivery Ex-Ship

DI

Direct Input

Disposition of Nonconformity

Action to be taken to deal with an existing activity, process, product, organization or any combination thereof in order to resolve the nonconformity.

DIY

Do-it-Yourself: home-improvement merchandise.

DM

Depot Manager or "Depot Maintenance."

DOA

Dead On Arrival: imperfect delivery.

DOG

Daily Order Generation

DOT

US Department of Transportation (e.g. US): full title in UK is "Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions" (DETR).

DPO

Documentary Proof of Origin

DRP

Distribution Requirements Planning: sophisticated planning technique where consumer demand sets inventory levels. See also MRP.

DSD

Direct to Store Delivery: a retail delivery which has not passed through an RDC.

DTD

Door-to-Door delivery service.

DUP

Duty Unpaid

DWT

Dead Weight Tonnage: ship's cargo capacity.

E

E-Type Warehouse: A public Customs Warehouse (i.e. where goods are not subject to excise duty) where trader and trader's system are authorized for warehousing, with goods stored at notified storage facilities. See also A, C, D.

E&IC

Excise & Inland Customs

EAI

Enterprise Application Integration

EAN

European Article Numbering: bar code system used primarily in the retail industry and controlled by the European Article Numbering Association.

EAS

Electronic Article Surveillance: popular item security system used by retailers, based on magnetic tags.

eBPO

Electronic Business Process Optimization

ECA

Electronic Commerce Association

ECR

Efficient Consumer Response: logistics discipline involving the synchronization of suppliers' and retailers' supply chains to reduce stocks. If stocks are cut then supply chains must be able to respond more efficiently to changes in consumer demand - i.e. they must make an "efficient consumer response.” (See also AR, CR, ER, QR, etc.)

ECU

European Currency Unit: early name for the Euro.

EDC

European Distribution Centre: see also RDC, NDC, IDC. Also "Electronic Data Capture.”

EDI

Electronic Data Interchange: electronic transfer of data - especially sales volumes, stocks, orders, etc. See also FEDI, TEDIS.

EDIFACT

Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce & Transport: a UN initiative.

EFR

Efficient Foodservice Response: ECR for the catering trade.

EFT

Electronic Funds Transfer

EFTPoS

Electronic Fund Transfer Point of Sale: EPoS for financial data.

EHS

Electronic Home Shopping: shopping via the Internet.

ELC

Export Letter of Credit: see also L/C, ILC.

EOQ

Economic Order Quantity

EPoS

Electronic Point of Sale: system for capturing sales data at the checkout.

EPS

Earnings Per Share

EPU

Entry Processing Unit

ER

Efficient Replenishment or Effective Replenishment: a facet of ECR.

ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning: integration of technology to run all manufacturing and related processes across an entire enterprise. Also "Electronic Road Pricing."

ERTS

Enhanced Remote Transit Shed

ESP

Events Stock Planning: planning technique for those without Extra Sensory Perception.

ETA

Estimated Time of Arrival

EU

European Union: a group of 15 European countries (member states), including the UK, which are working towards a system of ever-closer union. The EU's population is about 370 million. See also EFTA.

EUL

Efficient Unit Loads

EV

Electric Vehicle

EVA

Economic Value Added

FAK

Freight All Kinds

FAS

Free Alongside: price includes delivery of goods alongside ship at port of export. See also FOB. Also "Flexible Accounting System.”

FB

Freight Bill

FBO

Fixed-Base Operator

FC&S

Free of Capture & Seizure: clause which excludes war risks from a marine insurance policy.

FCI

Freight Carriage & Insurance: price includes transport and insurance.

FCL

Full Container Load

FCP

Freight Carriage Paid

FCR

Forwarders' Certificate of Receipt: negotiable banking document.

FEDI

Financial Electronic Data Interchange. See also EDI.

FEU

Forty-Foot Equivalent Unit: a standard measure for containers (see also TEU).

FF

Freight Forwarder

FFS

Finite Forward Scheduling: manufacturers' scheduling approach which assumes there is a finite production capacity (c.f. the "infinite" capacity assumptions of MRP II planning).

FID

Foreign Income Dividend

FIEO

Federation of Indian Export Organisations

FIFO

First In First Out: warehousing term, meaning that the oldest inventory (first in) is the first to be used (first out). See also LIFO.

FLT

Fork Lift Truck

FMC

Fully Mission Capable: a system that works. (See also NMC.)

FMCG

Fast Moving Consumer Goods: i.e. food, drink, pharmaceuticals, household products, etc.

FMI

Food Marketing Institute: US food industry trade association.

FOB

Free On Board: point during transportation where title, transport costs, risk, etc. transfer from seller to another party (e.g. FOB Truck, FOB Vessel, FOB Warehouse). See also FAS, FOR, FOT. Also "Freight On Board.”

FOC

Free of Charge

FOR

Free On Rail: point during transportation where title, transport costs, risk, etc. transfer from seller to another party (see also FOB, FOT).

FOT

Free On Truck: point during transportation where title, transport costs, risk, etc. transfer from seller to another party (see also FOB, FOR).

fpm

feet per minute

FSD

Final Supplementary Declaration: Customs term. Also "Full Scale Development.”

FSDC

Full Service Distribution Company

FSR

Field Stock Room: small regional storage area for particularly quick response logistics (e.g. two hours for computer spares).

FSTL

Full Service Truck Lease: commercial vehicle lease, including servicing, etc.

FTZ

Foreign Trade Zone

FUF

First Updated Forecast

GATT

General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade

GAWR

Gross Axle Weight Rating: manufacturer's rating of the maximum load that an axle can support.

GCW

Gross Combined Weight: total weight of a loaded drawbar vehicle.

GFA

Global Freight Agreement

GKN

A pallet.

GLN

Global Location Number

GM

General Maintenance: routine or scheduled maintenance (see also IM, OM). Also "General Manager."

GMA

Grocery Manufacturers of America: US food industry trade association.

GOH

Garments on Hanger

GPS

Global Positioning System: satellite based location system, used in vehicle positioning.

GRN

Goods Returned Note or Goods Received Note

GSP

Generalized System of Preferences: certificate from HM Customs allowing reduced rate of duty on a UK import.

GST

General Systems Theory: the common basic features of all social, organic and mechanical systems.

GTW

Gross Tare Weight: see also TW and GVW.

GVW

Gross Vehicle Weight: maximum rated weight of a truck, including its cargo. See also TW.

H&L

Home & Leisure merchandise.

H&R

Hire and Reward: e.g. the third-party road haulage sector (contrast with OAO).

H&S

Health & Safety. Also HSE: Health & Safety Executive.

HA

Highways Agency: UK government agency responsible for trunk roads and motorways.

HCI

Human-Computer Interface

HGV

Heavy Goods Vehicle: a truck. See also LGV.

HHT

Hand Held Terminal: bar-code scanner or other portable data input device.

HLOP

High Level Order Picker: see also LLOP, ROLLOP.

hp

Horsepower: unit of power (see also bhp). Also "Hire Purchase."

HPT

Hand Pallet Truck

IATA

International Air Transport Association

IBC

Intermediate Bulk Containers

ICC

Interstate Commerce Commission (USA)

ICD

Inland Clearance Depot

ICHCA

International Cargo Handling Co-ordination Association: UK-based international trade association.

IDC

International Distribution Center. Also RDC, NDC, EDC.

Identification

Is the ability to uniquely identify a part by part number, name or other unique identifier.

IES

Import-Export System: see also CHIEF, MSS.

IFWLA

International Federation of Warehousing Logistics Associations.

IGD

Institute of Grocery Distribution (UK)

IHT

Institution of Highways and Transportation: UK-based trade association.

IIP

Investors In People

IL

Integrated Logistics

ILC

Irrevocable Letter of Credit: see also L/C, ELC.

ILS

Integrated Logistics Support

IM

Intermediate Maintenance: specialized maintenance (see also GM, OM).

IMDG

Regulations for international movement of hazardous goods by sea. See also ADR, RID.

IMS

Inventory Management System: see WMS. Also "Institute of Management Services" (UK).

Infrastructure

Refers to workspace, equipment, hardware, software, suitable maintenance and supporting services.

Inspection Gauges (I)

Are devices used to demonstrate product conformance to specified requirements. In some cases, Master Gauges may be used as Inspection Gauges.

Inspection Plans

An inspection plan is a document that describes the methods of inspection, inspection criteria and the quantity of product from each lot to be inspected. The Inspection Plan also will include either a provision to enter the inspection results or reference to an inspection report to be used to record the inspection results.

Inspection Report

A form designed to record the results of an inspection. The Inspection Report must include a provision for the inspector to record the results, lot number, date of inspection, quantity inspected and the inspection stamp or signature indicating who performed the inspection.

Intellectual Property

Contact Information, Trademark Policy and Background Information, Information Classes and Copyright.

Internal Audit

An audit of the quality management system performed on a staggered basis continually throughout the year to ensure corporate-wide compliance to the quality management system.

Internal Training

Refers to any training, including technical skills, business skills, interpersonal skills, and/or product education offered to all regular full time employees.

INTRA

A system for collecting EU internal trade statistics.

IPE

Industrial Plant & Equipment

IPR

Inward Processing Relief: Customs term (see also OPR). Also "In Process Review.”

IRD

Inland Rail Depot

IS

Information System

ISDN

Integrated Services Digital Network: standard medium for transmitting voice, video and data over networks.

ISO

International Standards Organization. Geneva-based standards organization, represented in the UK by the BSI and in the USA by ANSI. Also "ISO container" (a standard stackable container) and, for example, ISO9000 (a quality standard).

IT

Information Technology: computer hardware, software, the Internet, etc. Also Industrial Tribunal.

ITP

International Trade Prototype: proposal for seamless movement of goods between exporters and importers across borders, involving links between different customs agencies.

ITS

Intelligent Transportation System: combination of technologies designed to increase efficiency across a variety of transport modes. See also IVHS.

ITT

Invitation to Tender

ITV

In-Transit Visibility: tracking system.

IVHS

Intelligent Vehicle Handling System: combination of technologies designed to make road transport more efficient. See also ITS.

IWLA

International Warehouse Logistics Association. The single, unified voice of the world warehouse logistics industry, representing 3PLs and corporate logistics operations, as well as suppliers to the industry, educators, students, etc. A web-based, market-driven organization offering a unique blend of essential services to warehouse logistics companies worldwide. Please bookmark the current site (www.iwla.com) for future reference.

JCCC

Joint Customs Consultative Committee

JIC

Join Industry Group, US based customs organization

JIT

Just in Time: logistics discipline requiring increased frequency and regularity of deliveries to reduce stocks in the supply chain. Frequently used in manufacturing to cut or even eliminate component stocks. See also MRP.

JTL

Just Too Late: The result of JIT without JIC!

kph

kilometers per hour

KPI

Key Performance Indicator

L&D

Loss and Damage

L/C

Letter of Credit. Also ELC, ILC.

LA

Local Authority

LAN

Local Area Network: network with a geographical span under a mile (see also WAN).

LCC

Life Cycle Costs: used in evaluating the real cost of physical resources, including environmental costs (e.g. recycling).

LCL

Less than Container Load: container grouping. Also "Less than Carload": a rail freight term.

LCO

Local Control Office: usually an E&IC office.

LCV

Long Combination Vehicle: a very long commercial vehicle rig (e.g. with twin or triple trailers).

LD

Logistics Demonstration

LDDC

Least Developed Developing Country

LEA

Logistics Evaluation Agency

LES

Logistics Execution Systems

LGV

Light Goods Vehicle. See also "HGV.”

LIFO

Last In First Out: warehousing term, meaning that the most recently received (last in) items are the first to be used or sold (first out). See also FIFO.

LIS

Logistics Information System

LL

Lean Logistics: also L² - efficient logistics.

LLOP

Low Level Order Picker: see also HLOP, ROLLOP, etc.

LMS

Logistics Management Systems

LNG

Liquid Natural Gas: used as motor fuel (see also CNG, LPG). NB: LNG is more than twice as dense as CNG.

Lo/Lo

Lift-on/Lift-off: container transshipment system. See also Ro/Ro.

LOB

Line of Business

LPG

Liquid Petroleum Gas: used as motor fuel (see also LNG, CNG).

LR

Load Range: tire rating classification based on a code letter (see also PR).

LRC

Learning Resource Center: workplace library/information center.

LRN

Logistics Research Network: a SIG within the IOL.

LSA

Logistics Support Analysis

LSP

Logistics Service Provider: logistics contractor

Ltd

Limited: limited liability company whose shares are not traded publicly (UK). See also "PLC.”

LTL

Less Than Truckload: part load.

LWB

Long Wheel-Base: large vehicle (see also SWB).

Management Review

A meeting of executive management held a minimum of twice a year. The management review meeting reviews the effectiveness of the quality management system and re-establishes the quality objectives and quality policy.

Master Gauges (M)

Are devices used as standards for calibrating or verifying the inspection, test, working, personal, and reference equipment (gauges). The Master Gauges are traceable to a nationally recognized standard.

MBO

Management Buy Out.

MDP

Management Development Partnership

MHE

Mechanical Handling Equipment (see also FLT, HPT, PPT, HLOP, etc.)

MI

Market Investigation

MIS

Management Information System

MOA

Memorandum Of Agreement

MOAL

Management Of All Logistics: total supply chain management.

mpg

miles per gallon

mph

miles per hour

MPS

Master Production Scheduling

MPT

Manpower, Personnel and Training

MPV

Multi-Purpose Vehicle

MR

Materials Replenishment

MRO

Maintenance, Repair & Operations: supplies used in support of general operations and maintenance - e.g. spare parts and consumables.

MRP

Manufacturing Requirements Planning (aka "Manufacturing Resource Planning"): production-led planning technique seen as precursor to JIT. Now revived as MRP II. See also DRP.

MSS

Management Support System see also CHIEF, IES.

N/S

No Stock or Nil Stock

NABL

National Assessment Board for Logistics: UK assessment body for logistics qualifications (part of IOL). See also ECBL.

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement

NCS

Nominated Carrier Scheme: retailer specifies which carrier(s) should be used by suppliers to transport merchandise into its distribution centers.

NCTS

New Community Transit System: customs proposal to enhance control and tracking of CT shipments. NCTS will link 22 EU, EFTA and Visigrad customs authorities into a network, with the primary intention of preventing fraud.

NDC

National Distribution Center: same as RDC, but with distribution on a national rather than regional basis. See also EDC, IDC.

NMC

Not Mission Capable: a system which doesn't work yet (see also FMC).

NOA

Notice of Arrival

Nonconformity Report

A form to be used for the reporting of all nonconformities other than receiving damaged noted on receiving documentation.

Nonconformity

non-fulfillment of a specified requirement. An incident that occurs that results in a process that is not followed correctly, damage to product, product failure or failure to honor a contract requirement.Failure to meet accepted standards or specified functional or Customer identified requirement

Non-standard product/service

A is a product or service that requires input from the Innovation Team Quality Assurance organizational unit and if deemed necessary the customer).  Non-standard product/service requires testing in the kitchen and is not in the product catalogue.

NPI

New Product Introduction

NPSE

Non-Powered Support Equipment. See also PSE.

NRMCS

National Road Maintenance Condition Survey: On-going survey of condition of all road types (except motorways) in England & Wales.

NRP

Network Resource Planning

NRTF

National Road Traffic Forecasts

NTA

National Transportation Agency (USA). Also "National Transportation Act of 1987" (USA).

NTPSC

National Transportation Policy Study Commission (USA)

NVOCC

Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier: consolidator of small ocean shipments.

NVQ

National Vocational Qualification

O

Operator: as in "O-License" - a license to operate commercial vehicles.

O&O

Operational & Organizational

OAO

Own Account Operator: e.g. the in-house road haulage sector (contrast with H&R - ).

OB

Open Book: contractor accounting system which is transparent to clients.

OC

Order Cycle: time and/or operations between order placement and final delivery.

OE

Order Entry. See also OP.

OEM

Original Equipment Manufacturer: a manufacturer that buys and incorporates another supplier's products into its own products.

OF

Order Fill: percentage of all orders fulfilled without relying on re-stocking.

OM

Organizational Maintenance: routine maintenance (see also GM, IM).

OOS

Out of Stock: avoidable condition.

OP

Order Processing. See also OE.

OPR

Outward Processing Relief: Customs term (see also IPR).

OPT

Optimized Production Technology

Orientation Process

Orientation is the planned introduction of new employees to their work environment, co-workers, and the company.

OS&D

Order Short and/or Damaged: imperfect delivery.

OSHA

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (USA)

OSTS

Order Status & Tracking System: state of the art order tracking and tracing, developed by International Supply Chain Ltd (ISC).

Outside Source (OS)

Is a company or an agency that performs testing or manufacturing by contract.

P&D

Pick-up & Delivery. See also P/D.

P&L

Profit & Loss

P/D

Pick/Drop: e.g. a pick-up and drop-off station. See also P&D, S/R.

PB

Pick Bin. Also "piggyback" (see also TOFC).

PD

per diem: by the day.

PDI

Pre-Delivery Inspection: manufacturer's inspection (and modification/enhancement as required) of new cars prior to delivery to customer or dealer.

PDM

Physical Distribution Management: aka logistics. Also "Product Development & Management.”

PE

Period Entry: Customs term.

Personal Gauges (P)

Are devices owned by individual employees, and used as inspection, measuring, and test equipment

PFC

Processing for Free Circulation: Customs term.

PHS

Packaging, Handling & Storage

PI

Perpetual Inventory

Pick Ticket

The instructions provided to the warehouse that include the items to be picked staged and shipped including any special handling, labeling or other customer specific requirements. The Pick Ticket is generally computer generated.

PLC

Public Limited Company: one of two types of limited liability company (see also "Ltd"), whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. Also "Programmable Logic Controller.”

PLG

Private & Light Goods: vehicle tax class.

PLL

Prescribed Load List

PM10

Particulate Matter: airborne emissions of small particles from engines, tires and brakes. The subscript 10 refers to the most commonly used indicator, where a sampler collects particles of which 50% are smaller than 10µm. The resultant material is known as PM10.

PO

Purchase Order

POC

Point Of Contact

POD

Proof of Delivery

POL

Petroleum, Oil & Lubricants

POQ

Period Order Quantity

POS

Point of Sale: see also EPoS and EFTPoS.

PPM

Periodic Preventative Maintenance

PPP

Public-Private Partnership

PPT

Powered Pallet Truck

PR

Ply Rating: tire rating classification based on a code number (see also LR).

Preventative Action

A venue to allow all employees to suggest action to prevent a potential failure to a process or to prevent damage or errors resulting in off-spec products. Generally, a preventative action request is initiated before an incident actually occurs. It is intended to prevent Nonconformities. Preventative Action Requests may be initiated because an employee reads an article on problems that may also occur, by discussions, by trend analysis or by simply observing a process that may be improved.

Procedure

Quality System Procedure (QSP), or Work Instruction (WI)

Process Audit

An audit of the manufacturer’s processes performed by internal auditors or by a client to determine if the processes in-use are in accordance with the Process Route Card.

Process Control Plan

A document that specifies the statistical process control methods to be used throughout the manufacturing steps to control the process and provide consistent reliable results.

PS

Product Supply. Also "Postscript" and sometimes "Pieces.”

PSE

Powered Support Equipment. See also NPSE.

PSI

Pounds per Square Inch - measurement of pressure (e.g. tires).

PTO

Power Take-Off - usually a hydraulic pump connected to a vehicle's main engine, used to drive auxiliary equipment.

Purchase Order

Document issued by purchasing (electronically) that establishes a contractual relationship between the company, and under written approval their 3^rd party manufacturer and a supplier for the purchase of product or services.

QFD

Quality Function Deployment: production technique focusing on improving quality and communication, to translate customer needs into effective processes and products (aka "House of Quality").

QR

Quick Response: collaborative effort by retailers and manufacturers to increase inventory velocity while matching supply to consumer demand. See also CR and AR.

QSHE

Quality, Safety, Health and Environment

Quality Plan

Document implemented and issued by the Customer, Vendor, OEM and/or the company, identifying the procedures and parameters to meet Quality Product standards.

Quality Record

A form, document, or electronic data that records information or data that is required by the quality management system.

Quality System Report

Quality documents coordinating different activities and supporting the Quality Management System Manual.

Quality System

The quality system will document the methods for dealing with the processes, customers, employees, subcontractors and suppliers. This complete management web site is the Quality System and all procedures, work instructions and forms referenced on this web site are part of the quality system.

R&M

Repair and Maintenance

RCCP

Rough Cut Capacity Planning: process of converting the master production schedule into requirements for key resources, often including personnel, machinery, warehouse space, suppliers' capabilities, and, in some cases, finance.

Receiver

The receiving inspection report used to document the quantity and condition of items receiuved.

RDC

Regional Distribution Center: one of a network of large warehouses operated for a single retailer where merchandise is consolidated prior to delivery to its local stores. See also NDC, EDC, IDC.

RDI

Radio Data Interchange: see also RFDC.

RDR

Retail Delivery Record: paper-based delivery manifest.

RDT

Radio Data Terminal: portable terminal used for the real-time collection and transmission of inventory data by RFDC.

Reference Gauges (R)

Are devices used for informative purposes, or for comparative analysis between units of measure.

Resource Evaluation

A meeting of executive management held a minimum of twice a year. The resource evaluation meeting reviews the resources required to effectively meet the requirements of the quality management system and quality policy.

RF

Radio Frequency: see RFDC.

RFDC

Radio Frequency Data Communications: data communications technology that is rapidly becoming the standard for real-time inventory control.

RFI

Request For Information: precursor to an RFP.

RFID

Radio Frequency Identification Data: electronic tags which replace conventional barcodes.

RFP

Request For Proposal: document that invites bids or quotations from suppliers.

RFQ

Request For Quote: see RFP.

RGS

Railway Group Standards: technical standards for the design, construction and maintenance of railway stock (see also PO/CL).

RH&D

Receipt, Handling and Dispatch

RID

Regulations for international movement of hazardous goods by rail. See also ADR, IMDG.

RL

Reverse Logistics: recycling and disposal.

RMS

Retail Management Systems

Ro/Ro

Roll-on/Roll-off: drive on ferry service for accompanied trailers. See also Lo/Lo.

ROI

Return on Investment

ROLLOP

Rider-Operated Low-Level Order Picking truck: see also LLOP.

ROP

Re-Order Point

RP

Requirements Planning: an alternative type of supply-driven logistics control technique to JIT (). See also DRP.

RPM

Revolutions Per Minute - measure of the speed of an engine.

RTP

Returnable Transit Packaging: re-usable transit systems - typically tote boxes, set hangers and roll cages (see also DRL).

S/R

Storage/Retrieval: see also P/D.

SAD

Single Administrative Document: usually Customs form C88 (frontier declaration).

SAE

Society of Automotive Engineers

SBO

Sales-Based Ordering

SBOL

Straight Bill of Lading

SCADA

Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition

SCI

Supply Chain Integration: supply chain elements working together for maximum efficiency.

SCM

Supply Chain Management.

SD

Supplementary Declaration: Customs term.

SDC

Sample Data Collection

SDI

Supplementary Declaration Import

SDR

UN currency basket, used for CMR liability limit, for example.

SDW

Supplementary Declaration Warehouse

SEA

Single European Authorization: Customs term.

SED

Shipper's Export Declaration

Set

Unit in which hanging garments are transported.

SFD

Simplified Frontier Declaration

SITC

Standard International Trade Classification: numerical classification system for commodities (UN).

SKD

Semi Knock-Down: e.g. of vehicles. See also CKD.

SKU

Stock Keeping Unit: individual stock item.

SL&C

Shipper's Load and Count

SME

Small to Medium Enterprise.

SMG

Slow Moving Goods: Can also refer to a distribution center for such merchandise.

SPIC

Simplified Procedure for Import Clearance

SRN

Stillage Returned Note

Standard product/service

Is a product or service that is sold according to product catalogue, contract, purchase order, rate quotation, and Supplier Quality Plan.

STSG

Scottish Transport Studies Group

SUF

Second Updated Forecast

Supplier Quality Plan

The supplier quality plan shall include the necessary documentation that provides objective evidence that the supplier has the capability to execute and produce an order in accordance with the the company's specifications. The Supplier Quality Plan may include personnel or equipment certifications, process procedures, process route cards, diagrams, flowcharts and/or other information that provides a level of confidence that the supplier has the ability to meet the required specifications.

Supplier

For the purposes of this procedure, a supplier (or subcontractor) is an organization or person that supplies the company with a product or service that has an effect on the product and/or service that the company supplies to their customers.

SVC

Satellite Vehicle Communications: on-board computers, GPS, satellite communications, etc.

SWB

Short Wheel-Base: small van or truck (see also LWB).

SWIFT

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications

T&SO

Tariff & Statistical Office

T/S

Terms of Sale

TACA

Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement

TAG

Track Access Grant: revenue grants available in Great Britain to help meet rail track charges for track access, administered by the DETR's FGU (not available in Northern Ireland).

TBOL

Through Bill of Lading: see B/L.

TC

Traffic Commissioner

TCRM

Technology-enabled Customer Relationship Management: using information technology to improve customer retention in a variety of selling, marketing and servicing arenas. See also CRM.

TEDIS

Trade Electronic Data Interchange System: EU initiative to promote EDI usage.

TENs

Trans-European Networks: EU initiative to invest in improvements in transport, energy transport and telecommunications infrastructure across member states.

TERFs

Trans-European Railfreight Freeways (aka TERFFs): EU rail freight network. See also TENs.

TES

Technology-Enabled Selling: using information technology as an enabler in all types of selling.

Test Equipment (T)

Are devices used to analyze product performance or conformance to specified requirements.  In some cases, Master Gauges may be used as Test Gauges.

TEU

Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit: a standard measure for containers (see also FEU).

TI

Temporary Importation: Customs term.

tihi

Timarandum Height: i.e. "layers of" x height - a description of the configuration of cases on a pallet (a tihi of 8 x 10, means 8 cases per layer by 10 layers high - giving a total pallet quantity of 80 cases).

TIRRA

Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act (1994, USA)

TIS

Technical Interface Specification

TL

Truck Load

TM

Technical Manual. Also "Trade Mark."

TMS

Transport Management System

TOC

Train Operating Company: a private passenger or freight rail transport company. Also "Theory Of Constraints" - a management philosophy dealing with system constraints or bottlenecks. See also CCR.

TOFC

Trailer On a Flatcar: aka "piggyback.” See also COFC.

TOPS

Total Operations Processing System: UK rail freight tracking system.

TP

Transporter: usually a road-going car transporter.

TPL

Third Party Logistics: outsourced logistics.

TPP

Third-Party Provider: logistics contractor (see also LSP).

TQM

Total Quality Management: business management techniques designed to systematically reduce errors and raise service quality.

Traceability

Is the ability to trace the history, application or location of an entity by means of recorded identifications.

TURN

Trader Unique Reference Number: Customs term.

TW

Tare Weight: weight of truck or container without cargo (but including packing, etc.).

UCC

Uniform Code Council.

UCR

Unique Consignment Reference

UFCs

Urban Freight Centers: proposal to bring rail freight to the heart of towns and cities.

UIC

Union Internationale des Chemins de fer: international railways federation.

UIRR

International Union of Combined Road-Rail Transport Companies

ULSD

Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel: low-emission vehicle fuel.

UPC

Unit Product Code: also "Universal Product Code."

URL

Uniform Resource Locator: universal naming system for internet documents.

URTU

United Road Transport Union

VADS

Value-Added Data Services. See also VAN.

VAN

Value Added Network: also "Value Added Network Services." See also VADS.

VAR

Value Added Reseller

VAT

Value Added Tax: a purchase tax - currently 17.5% on most goods in the UK.

VCA

Value Chain Analysis

VED

Vehicle Excise Duty: road fund/road tax.

VIES

VAT Information Exchange System: a system of administrative co-operation between European member states based on the computerized exchange of VAT registration data and data collected from VAT-registered exporters.

VIN

Vehicle Identification Number

VL

Virtual Logistics

VMI

Vendor-Managed Inventory: retailer sends stock information only to supplier; supplier calculates goods required and delivers to retailer. Similar to CR.

VMRS

Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards

WAN

Wide Area Network: network with a geographical spread of more than a mile - often comprising connected LANs.

WERC

Warehousing Education and Research Council. Professional Association.

WERC

Warehouse Education and Research Council. Trade association for warehousing professionals.

WIGIG

When It's Gone It's Gone: warehouse stock that's not due for replenishment.

WIM

Weigh In Motion: technology to determine vehicle weight without requiring the vehicle to be stationary.

WIP

Work In Progress

WMS

Warehouse Management System: software to manage inventories.

Work Instruction

 Quality documents which define operational processes and ensure that the processes are approved, and under control by monitoring and analyzing measurable criteria.

Working Environment

The working environment refers to health and safety, work methods, work ethics, and ambient working conditions.

Working Gauge (W)

Are devices used to verify values in conjunction with the manufacturing process.

WRD

Warehouse Removal Declaration: Customs term.

WTD

Working Time Directive: EC Directive covering, inter alia, drivers' hours.

WWW

World Wide Web: the multi-media part of the internet you are using now.

X.25

A communications standard.

X.400

An e-mail standard.

X12

US EDI standards committee.