Glossary

A warehouse-type facility that stores inventory and then processes the shipments to their next or final destination.

Where one or more companies participate in the flow of goods and services from the manufacturer to the final user or consumer.

Overseeing the various channels that a company uses to get its products to customers, including planning, organizing, and monitoring the distribution.

Organizing and managing the distribution of goods and materials from the point of origin to the point of consumption. See Distribution.

Determining the demands for inventory at distribution centers and consolidating demand information in reverse as input to the production and materials system.

Calculating and organizing the key resources needed to distribute a product or service, including warehouse space, workforce, money, trucks, freight cars, etc.

See Distribution Center (DC).

A business that purchases and resells products made by others. Usually maintains a finished goods inventory. Also called a wholesaler.

Changing the destination or the consignee (or both) while the shipment is en route.

Document used to accept cargo at an ocean pier or accepted location. Provides receipt for the ocean carrier and proof of delivery for the delivering carrier.

A form. In EDI, form-type information that trading partners have agreed to exchange, like an invoice or purchase order, and that the EDI software handles.

The various papers attached or pertaining to goods requiring transportation and/or transfer of ownership, such as bills of lading, commercial invoices, etc.

The transport of goods directly from the consignor to consignee.

The transport of goods directly from the consignor to the port of importation.

A motor carrier using one tractor to pull two trailers. Typically used when transporting large loads or when shipping goods over long distances.

A mechanized device for transporting two standard pallets simultaneously and primarily used in distribution centers and warehouses.

Two 28-foot trailers pulled by one tractor. See also Double Bottoms.

Merge temporary files, such as those containing a day's or week's worth of information, with the main data base in order to update it.

Moving goods from the manufacturer to the final user or consumer. May involve multiple companies.

The distance between the ship’s keel and the waterline of the vessel. Also called draft.

See Duty Drawback.

Service, usually local, offered by a motor carrier for the pick-up and delivery of ocean containers or rail containers on a chassis (to/from ports, railheads, and DC's).

Motor carriers that provide drayage service.

U.S. DOT rules that specify the maximum time a driver may drive in interstate commerce and work on a daily and weekly basis.

When a carrier deposits a trailer or boxcar at a facility at which it is to be loaded or unloaded.