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Logistics glossary

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Logistics glossary

Here you find current terms and concepts in Supply Chain.

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Cabotage Transport of cargo in a country other than the country where the vehicle is registered.
Carrier A firm, which transports goods or people.
Cash On Delivery (COD) Terms of payment: if the carrier collects a paymentfrom the consignee and remits the amount to the shipper.
Category Management The management of product categories as strategic business units. The practice empowers a category manager with full responsibility for the assortment decisions, inventory levels, shelf-space allocation, promotions and buying. With this authority and responsibility, the category manager is able to judge more accurately the consumer buying patterns, product sales and market trends of that category.
Central warehouse A warehouse which performs central functions for anumber of warehouses, for example keeping stocks of products for the other warehouses.
Channel A method whereby a business dispenses its product, such as a retail or distribution channel, call center or web based electronic storefront.
Claim A charge made against a carrier for loss, damage, delay or overcharge.
CMR note This document is used for the carriage of goods byroad. Like the airwaybill it is evidence of the contract ofcarriage, acts as a receipt for the goods, and sets outthe relevant rules and regulations for road transport.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) A design process which uses a computer system.
Consignment A separately identifiable amount of goods transported from one consignor to one consignee via one or more than one modes of transport end specified in one single transport document.
Consignment stock The stock of goods with an external customer which isstill the property of the supplier. Payment for these goods is only made to the supplier when they are sold by the customer.
Consolidation Combining two or more shipments in order to realize lower transportation rates.
Container A “box”, typically ten to forty feet long, which is used primarily for ocean freight shipments. For travel to and from ports, containers are loaded onto truck chassis’ or on railroad flatcars.
Continuous flow Producing and moving one item at a time (or a small and consistent batch of items) through a series of processing steps as continuously as possible, with each step making just what is requested by the next step.
Continuous Improvement (CI) A structured measurement driven process that continually reviews and improves performance.
Conveyor A mechanical device in the form of a continuous belt for transporting cargo.
Cost of capital The cost to borrow or invest capital.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) The amount of direct materials, direct labour, and allocated overhead associated with products sold during a given period of time.
Counterbalanced lift truck Stacking lift truck fitted with fork arms (which can be replaced by another device) on which the load, either palletized or not, is put in a cantilever position in relation to the front wheels and balanced by the mass of the truck.
Country of origin Country in which the goods have been produced ormanufactured.
Cross docking A distribution system in which merchandise received at the warehouse or distribution center is not put away, but instead is readied for shipment to retail stores. Cross docking requires close synchronization of all inbound and outbound shipment movements. By eliminating the put-away, storage and selection operations, it can significantly reduce distribution costs.
Customer driven The end user, or customer, motivates what is produced or how it is delivered.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Covers methods and technologies used by companies to manage their relationships with clients. Information stored on existing customers (and potential customers) is analyzed and used to this end. Automated CRM processes are often used to generate automatic personalized marketing based on the customer information stored in the system.
Customs The department of the Civil Service that deals with thelevying of duties and taxes on imported goods fromforeign countries and the control over the export andimport of goods e.g. allowed quota, prohibited goods.
Customs clearance Function satisfying customs requirements by supplyingthe necessary information, or certificates, and enablingcustoms authorities to control goods physically.
Cycle time How often a part or product is completed by a process, as timed by observation. This time includes operating time plus the time required to prepare, load, and unload. Also, the time it takes an operator to go through all work elements before repeating them.
Cycle counting An inventory accuracy audit technique where inventoryis counted on a cyclic schedule rather than once a year.For example, a cycle inventory count is usually taken on a regular, defined basis (often more frequently forhigh-value fast-moving items and less frequently forlow-value or slow-moving items).
Cycle stock The portion of stock required to meet normal production demand, excluding excess stock and safety stock.