A transport and logistics glossary to help with a better understanding...

ABC: method of analysis by which the location of a warehouse can be specified.

Ad-Valorem: Declaration of value (in particular used in terms of the insurance of goods being transported: insurance at the declared value).

ADR: acronym for the transport of hazardous goods.

Allotment: order preparation in which articles under the same reference are picked then divided up among the various orders being processed.

Bay: storage location in a rack.

Bonded warehouse: place where goods are stored under customs control while waiting for them to be sold, despatched or for customs duties to be paid.

Chartering: operation consisting of assigning goods to a haulage company.

Charterer: intermediary in agreeing a freight contract.

Co-packing: consists of regrouping products by batches for promotional operations.

Container: container of standard dimensions used for the transport of goods.

Courier service: transport of goods requiring at least one stop at a platform for sorting, grouping or ungrouping.

Cross docking: action of moving goods from the arrival docks to the despatch docks without entering into stock.

Declaration of value: cf. Ad-Valorem.

DISL: Déclaration d’Intérêt Spécial à la Livraison (Declaration of Special Interest on Delivery)

EAN / UCC: international standard concerning the identification of goods using barcodes.

EDI: international standard used for the exchange of computer documents.

Forwarding agent: person who arranges and executes transport of goods under his/her own responsibility and on his/her own behalf.

Forwarding agent: company that manages the link between the different transporters of goods that are subject to several successive types of transport.

Freight: goods.

Grouping: action of grouping despatches from several senders or for several recipients.

Handling: physical movement of goods in the warehouse: introduction into stock, order preparation, picking, etc.

Intermodal: used to refer to freight that can be handled interchangeably between various modes of transport: lorry, railway, ship and plane.

Just in time: regular deliveries of goods intended for sale without storage.

Lifting: vertical movement of a load for loading and unloading a vehicle.

Logistics: operations used to provide the right goods, at the right time, in the right place at the lowest cost.

Occupation rate: relationship between actual stock volume and total storage volume.

Overseas: this term is used for international air and maritime transport.

Pallet truck: equipment used to transport pallets horizontally.

Picking: taking items from their storage racks to prepare an order.

Piggybacking: transport combining rail and road.

Rack: shelves for storing pallets.

Reverse logistics: logistics involved in the management of the retrieval of goods by a company: recycling, salvage and return of goods.

Safety stock: goods stored in anticipation of an increase in consumption and/or delays in procurement ("idle" inventory).

Shipper: Individual or company entrusting goods to be carried to a haulier.

Software package: shared computer business application (TMS or WMS)

Span width: distance between the back of two bays opposite each other in a storage aisle.

Stacking: operation consisting of placing loads on top of each other.

Supply chain: all the logistics processes involved, from the purchase of raw materials to delivery of the finished goods to the consumer.

TMS: Transport Management System - application for managing Transport services.

Warehouse: Place to receive, store and prepare goods before delivering them to the customer.

Warehouse aisles: warehouse aisles are used by stock handlers and pickers to access the storage and picking racks.

WMS: Warehouse management software (Warehouse Management System).