The logistics dictionary

Goods that are carried from one place to another, by ship, aircraft, train, or truck, or the system of transporting these goods Disclaimer Our content is not in any way legal advice or binding. The information provided by might not […]

A vendor of Service Provider that manages the process of overseeing and managing a cost-efficient operation and delivery of goods, also reverted to as Freight Management. Freight management combines logistics experience, human resources and knowledge to ensure a smooth coordination […]

The process of inviting service providers / carriers to quote on a specific shipment. Often applicable for one-off shipments that require handling outside of regular contracts, which means that there is no price available and/or yet quoted for that shipment. […]

A Free trade Agreement (FTA) is an agreement between two or more countries where the countries agree on certain obligations that affect trade in goods and services, and protections for investors and intellectual property rights, among other topics. Disclaimer Our content […]

FTL refers to full truckload freight. FTL Shipping is commonly used for large shipments that require taking up the entire truck, or at least close to it. With FTL, your Freight is the only Freight moving on an individual truck […]

Fulfillment is the act of fulfilling a customer order. Fulfillment includes order management, picking, packaging, and shipping. Disclaimer Our content is not in any way legal advice or binding. The information provided by might not be the official legal or […]

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is perhaps the best known online marketplace Fulfillment services. FBA is a program through which third-party sellers can leverage Amazon’s expansive Fulfillment infrastructure to warehouse items, pack and ship orders to customers, and provide customer service for orders. […]

A full train load is the concept of having one complete train dedicated to one client. These are clients that have large enough volume to fill up a complete train, hence the term Full Train Load. Other terms used in […]

A Full Wagon Load can be define as any consignment comprising one or several wagon loads transported at the same time by the same sender at the same station and forwarded with no change in train composition to the address […]

An open-topped rail vehicle used for transporting loose bulk materials. Because of their low side walls, gondolas are also suitable for the carriage of such high-density cargos as steel plates or coils, or of bulky items such as prefabricated sections […]

A Grain Hopper is designed for Transportation of grain crops by road. Load 20-50 tonnes A grain hopper trailer is a trailer often pulled by a semi-tractor and used to haul bulk commodity products, such as grain. These trailers are used extensively to transport agricultural products as […]

The General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System (“GRI”) are the rules that govern the classification of goods under the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Commodity Codes). There are 6 General Rules in all, which must be […]

The GTIN is a numeric system that provides globally unique codes to goods and services. Related concepts include UPC, ISBN, and NDC. The GTIN describes a family of GS1 (EAN, UCC coding) global data structures that employ 14 digits and […]

Hand Carry moves small packages and documents on scheduled passenger flights. These are available around the clock, 7 days a week, 365 days per year. It is one of the fastest modes of cargo Transportation and is also known as […]

Haulage implies for commercial purposes transporting goods by road or railway. Basically, it is the movement of a container from one point to another. There are two main categories of haulage: carrier and merchant haulage. Carrier haulage is when a […]

Hazardous goods or substances (also known as dangerous goods, hazardous material or hazmat) are dangerous for humans and their environment, because of their possibly explosive, poisonous or carcinogenic properties. Dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known […]

This is the same as the Dangerous Goods Declaration (DGD). The Dangerous Goods Declaration is a declaration given by the party that organizes the Transportation of dangerous (the Shipper) goods to the carrier. The DGD is an undertaking that all applicable […]

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System  are referred after as HS Codes. These are also known as the Harmonized System of tariff nomenclature. It is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers to classify traded products. All products […]

The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) sets out the tariff rates and statistical categories for all merchandise imported into the United States. The HTS is based on the international HS Code (Harmonized System), which is the global […]

A hydrogen truck or vehicle is a type of alternative fuel vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen-fuelled space rockets, as well as automobiles and other Transportation vehicles. Disclaimer Our content is not in any […]

Hyperlocal Fulfillment relies on small, numerous Fulfillment centers. They are located in urban areas (either right downtown or close to the core) to stock and ship out goods for eCommerce orders. By bringing the product closer to the customer, the […]

A Hyperloop is a proposed high-speed mass Transportation system for both passenger and Freight transport. An Hyperloop is described as a sealed tube or system of tubes with low air pressure through which a POD may travel substantially free of […]

Making a mistake with marking, labelling or packaging products with lithium batteries can at best cause delays. At worst, the battery could fail or short circuit causing a fire. The IATA LBSR covers all aspects of the Shipping process from […]

In-house fulfilment or Self-fulfillment is when you take care of the entire order Fulfillment yourself, from beginning to end. For example, you’ll need to find Warehousing or storage, do inventory management, process orders, take care of packaging, get order items […]

Incoterms, a widely-used terms of sale, are a set of 11 internationally recognized rules which define the responsibilities of sellers and buyers. Incoterms specifies who is responsible for paying for and managing the shipment, insurance, documentation, customs clearance, and other logistical activities. The Incoterms® are a set […]

A certificate of inspection is a important trade document which certifies the condition of a commodity (It is only required on specific goods, such as industrial equipment, perishable items, and meat.) at the point of analysis or inspection, or prior […]

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its over 45 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise. website: https://iccwbo.org/ Disclaimer Our content is not in […]

ICS is the global trade association for shipowners and operators, representing the world’s national shipowner associations and over 80 % of the world merchant fleet. ICS has members from around 40 countries. Our membership comprises national shipowners’ associations, through which structure ICS […]

The IOD is the Information of Delivery. It is not the official delivery notification, such as an POD.  It is normally the act of sharing the date and time of delivery and the name and title of the person who […]

An ISV Transport document is required when you Transport goods abroad by train. ISV is the abbreviation of Internationale Spoor Vrachtbrief (International Railroad Freightnote, ISV) It is also known as a CIM-freight note. CIM is the abbreviation for “Convention Internationale […]

A Jumbo Trailer is a semitrailer of increased capacity. Load 20-22 tonnes, volume 96-110 m3 A jumbo trailer refers is a special large type of truck and to the transports carried out with these trucks. The jumbo trucks offer a […]

JIT, Just-in-Time is an inventory control system that controls material flow into assembly and manufacturing plants by coordinating demand and supply to the point where desired materials arrive just in time for use. An inventory reduction strategy that feeds production […]

Just-in-Time Logistics is the process of minimizing the times required to source, handle, produce, transport, and deliver products in order to meet customer requirements. Disclaimer Our content is not in any way legal advice or binding. The information provided by […]

Kitting is the assembling different products and components as a single SKU into custom packaging. When you sell packs and product bundles, this usually involves kitting either on factory or warehouse level. Disclaimer Our content is not in any way […]

The final leg of delivery, where the shipment is delivered to the customer. Disclaimer Our content is not in any way legal advice or binding. The information provided by might not be the official legal or full definition. Also when […]

Last Mile Delivery Robots are autonomous vehicles which are used for autonomous Last Mile delivery. They are used to deliver the product or service to customer’s doorstep without any human intervention in the entire process. It ensures that the product […]

Lead generation (for transport, freight, Warehousing and Fulfillment services) can be defined as the process of attracting prospects and converting them into someone who has an interest in your company’s products and services. Disclaimer Our content is not in any […]

A Letter of Credit is a letter issued by a bank to another bank (especially one in a different country) to serve as a guarantee for payments made to a specified person under specified conditions.A Letter of Credit is also […]

Designed for the road Transport of timber and pipe products. Load 10-25 tonnes A logging truck or timber lorry is a large truck used to carry logs. Some have integrated flatbeds, some are discrete tractor units, and some are configured […]

A logistics control tower provides end-to-end visibility across the supply chain. Especially into unforeseen external events. It should leverage advanced technologies, such as AI with machine learning, to help you break down data silos, reduce or eliminate manual processes, and […]

Logistics Service Provider means a company providing any one or more services related to the management over the flow of goods and materials between points of origin to end-use destination, including but without limitation to rail/road/sea/air transportation, air cargo, cargo consolidation, […]

Disintermediation is the removal of intermediaries in economics from a supply chain, or “cutting out the middlemen” in connection with a transaction. Instead of going through traditional brokerage channels, an agent, logistics control towers, Transport management vendors, and platforms which […]

LoLo stands for LIFT-ON/LIFT-OFF or Load On – Load Off and describes cargo ships with on-board cranes to load and unload cargo. However, these ships can be termed as geared vessels, because they have the cranes on the top. LoLo […]

A Louvre is a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The Boxcars (also called Covered (goods) Van / Louvre / Covered wagon), while not the simplest Freight car design, is probably the most versatile since […]

Depending on what part of the world you are in, a lowboy trailer, also known as a double drop, low loader, low-bed, or a float trailer, is a semi-trailer with a drop deck. A lowboy trailer is commonly used to haul heavy equipment […]

LTL refers to less-than-truckload. LTL is when multiple shippers’ Freight is on the same trailer rather than having a single company’s Freight exclusively on an individual trailer. Several LTL shipments are combined into one truck to fill it as near […]

Managed Transportation Services Solutions (Managed TMS) involve shippers outsourcing their Freight and logistics processes to a third party logistics (3PL) provider. Managed Transportation services is all about empowering the Shipper with choice and creating true partnerships between a logistics service provider and […]

A Manifest is a document which describes individual orders contained within a shipment. Disclaimer Our content is not in any way legal advice or binding. The information provided by might not be the official legal or full definition. Also when […]

Marketplace fulfillment is when the platform you’re selling on handles your order Fulfillment process. This means they warehouse it, pick it, package it, ship it out, and take care of any returns. Some marketplaces, like Amazon, will even handle your customer […]

A master carton holds multiple units of the same SKU. Shipping products in a master carton help the customer save money by consolidating the shipment. Disclaimer Our content is not in any way legal advice or binding. The information provided […]