Absolute Minimum Charge (AMC): The minimum price a carrier will charge for any given shipment. The minimum charge after all pricing terms have been applied to a shipping order. This fee can include tax, assembly, equipment, and administration. This fee is calculated by the carrier and is the lowest they will charge for a specific shipment.

ADR: ADR stands for “Accord Dangereux Routier,” which translates to “European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road. A standard that governs road transportation of combustible, inflammable and explosive materials, and that the vehicles and drivers are required to hold in order to carry these materials.

Classifications are as follows:

Class 1: Explosive substances

Class 2: Gases

Class 3: Flammable liquids

Class 4.1: Flammable solids

Class 4.2: Substances liable to spontaneous combustion

Class 4.3: Substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases

Class 5.1: Oxidizing substances

Class 5.2: Organic peroxides

Class 6.1: Toxic substances

Class 6.2: Infectious substances

Class 7: Radioactive substances

Class 8: Corrosive (acidic) substances

Class 9: Miscellaneous dangerous substances

Agile: The concept of having a flexible supply chain that allows for quick order fulfillment with short lead times and varying volume. Agile logistics strategies or Agile supply chains are designed to ensure responsiveness, competency, flexibility, and quickness to manage the constant dynamics in the market. The fundamental drivers of an agile supply chain are speed, cost, and efficiency.

Air Waybill (AWB): A bill of lading for air transport that serves as a receipt for the shipper, indicates that the carrier has accepted the goods listed, obligates the carrier to carry the consignment to the airport of destination according to specified conditions. The cargo equivalent of a passenger ticket which means the document made out by or on behalf of the shipper. It evidences the contract between the shipper and the carrier(s) for carriage of goods over routes of the carrier.

ATA: Actual Time of Arrival is the time that a vehicle or any other mode of transportation is determined to arrive at its destination.

ATD: Actual Time of Departure is the exact time a vehicle or any other form of transportation is dispatched from the point of origin.

Cargo: Cargo is another word for goods that are shipped or transported all around the world.

Chargeable Weight: Chargeable weight, also referred to as volumetric or dimensional weight (DIM), is a billing practice that considers both the size and weight of a shipment to determine the freight cost. “Whichever is greater” (or “carrier’s choice”) is a phrase to remember when calculating the cost of moving goods by air, ocean, road or rail. That’s because the carrier will always look at two different measurements – the actual weight and the volumetric weight of your shipment – and then base their chargeable weight calculation on the larger figure.

Collect Shipping: A type of billing that charges the consignee with freight costs rather than the consignor.

Common Carrier (Carrier): A private or public entity that transports goods or people from one place to another for a fee.

Consignee: The consignee is the final recipient of the shipment, usually a customer or client of the consignor. They could be a product assembler, a retailer, or the end user. The consignee is considered the importer of record in international shipping.

Consignment: It is essentially a shipment of goods that a consignor (the sender) sends to a consignee (the receiver).

Consignor: The consignor is the person, business, or organization that originally ships the product. The consignor originates the shipment and, when shipping internationally, serves as the exporter of record. Often, a consignor is a manufacturer, a distributor, or a drop ship warehouse hub.

Contract Carrier: Carriers hired by shippers on a contract basis. A transportation carrier that serves specific customers under contract with one or a limited number of customers as opposed to a common carrier, which transports freight for the public.

Courier: A courier typically transports small commercial goods and packages on behalf of a customer.

Customs: Customs is a government department that regulates the imports and exports for that specific country. The customs department also collects duties levied on imported goods.

Customs Broker: A customs broker, sometimes referred to as a customs agent or a customs services provider, is a company contracted to make sure the customs declaration is correct, duties and taxes are provided accurately, and payment is received so that goods can transit across borders smoothly and without disruption.

Customs Brokerage: The service provided by licensed professionals with the necessary knowledge of rules and regulations to manage customs clearance.

Customs Clearance: Customs Clearance is the process of taking goods through a country’s customs authority, either to import or export the goods in a legal manner.

De minimis: A value below which goods can be shipped into a country before duties & taxes are assessed.

Dead on Arrival: In logistics, the term used to describe product that is damaged upon delivery to its destination.

Declared Value for Carriage: refers to the monetary value assigned to goods by the shipper during transportation. This value is crucial in determining the carrier’s liability in case of loss or damage to the goods in transit. This amount is declared on a BOL.

Delivery Appointment: is a scheduled agreement between a logistics provider and a customer that specifies the exact date and time for the delivery of goods. This practice helps ensure that deliveries occur when customers can receive them, thus enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Distributor: A third-party that purchases products to resell to a retailer.

Drop Shipping: A retail fulfillment method in which an online store does not keep goods in stock, but sells a product by shipping it directly from a third-party supplier to customer.

Dunnage: Packing material used to protect & secure goods from damage during transport.

Expedited Shipment: The rapid delivery of a product from its origin to its destination. It is defined as the moving of shipments at an accelerated rate or priority. Expedited shipping often refers to overnight or two- to three-day delivery and is more costly than standard shipping.

For-Hire Carrier: For-hire carriers provide transportation services for a fee. In trucking and logistics, a for-hire carrier is a company paid to transport goods from one location to another. The carrier operates under a contract or agreement with a shipper or consignee.

Freight: Like cargo, freight is defined as goods that are shipped or transported all around the world.

Fuel Surcharge (FSC): Additional fee for fuel that is sometimes added as a line item on invoices when a carrier lines this charge out separately from their base rate. An extra fee charged by the transport company to cover the fluctuating cost of fuel.

Full Truck Load (FTL): FTL, or full truck load, is where an entire truck is taken up by a single consignment.

Goods: Goods is another word for cargo that is shipped or transported all around the world.

Green Logistics: Business practices aimed at minimizing the environmental impacts of the logistics industry.

Gross Weight: Gross weight represents the combined shipment weight and all its packaging materials, including the container’s weight. Laden weight, also known as gross weight, refers to the total weight of the cargo when all components are combined. In other words, it is the total weight of a product and its packaging. Gross weight simply means the total weight of a load. In shipping, gross weight include the weight of the actual product being transported and the package used in wrapping it. Gross weight calculation depends on the type of transport system. The difference in the meaning of gross weight, based on the type of transport system is:

Handling Costs: It refer to the types of costs associated with preparing and transporting inventory. Mostly, the cost cover expenses related to order fulfilment such as shipment and packaging cost.

Insurance: Insurance is an arrangement between 2 (or more) parties. It guarantees that compensation is paid upon the loss or damage of specifically insured goods.

Lead Time: It is the planned time from pick-up to delivery.

Logistics: Logistics is the planning and controlling of the flow of goods and cargo moving from the point of origin to its final destination. Logistics encompasses various elements including inventory management, warehousing, order processing, packaging, transportation planning and distribution.

Mileage Rate: A rate that is determined by the number of miles an order is shipped. It is calculated by multiplying the total distance (in miles) by the applicable rate per mile.

Order: A shipment of goods.

Outsource: The process of using a third-party to complete functions that were previously performed in-house.

Parcel Shipping: Parcel shipping refers to shipping lighter, smaller boxed items. Typically, parcel means packages that weigh 70kg per piece or less and can be moved without assistance. If you need to ship a few small packages at a time, parcel shipping is an economical way to ship your products.

Phytosanitary Products: Phytosanitary products include milk, flowers, seeds and any product with an animal origin, including vehicles and machinery that has been used for agricultural or forestry purposes.

Pool Distribution: A shipping strategy that stocks multiple vendors’ orders in an optimally located warehouse before sending out shipments via shortened LTL delivery methods.

Proof of Delivery (POD): Documented information supplied by the carrier that specifies who signed for the shipment, when it arrived, and any other information. It acknowledges a delivery has been completed. This document is typically signed, either physically or digitally, and is kept by the retailer or manufacturer to prove the delivery was made.

Purchase Order (PO): A document that specifies the details of a transaction between buyer and supplier.

Real-Time: In logistics, this term refers to a shipper’s ability to track an order as it progresses from origin to destination.

Receiving: The physical receipt of a transported order. Receiving is the function encompassing the physical receipt of material, the inspection of the shipment for conformance with the purchase order, etc.

Refrigerated Transport: Refrigerated Transport is a mode of transporting goods that need to remain chilled, frozen or remain at a controlled temperature during transit.

Retail Buyer: A person who purchases products from vendors on behalf of a retail outlet. A professional who plans, manages, and selects goods to be sold in retail stores to ensure their own company’s competitiveness with other retailers.

Retailer: A business that buys products from suppliers to sell to end-users.

Road Freight: Road Freight is the process of transporting goods and cargo by road using vehicles. This could be by transporting cargo in a Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV), like a lorry, all the way down to a small van.

Shipment: A shipment is defined as the moving of goods from one location to another. The term applies to all modes of transport.

Shipper: The originator of a shipment. A shipper (also known as a consignor) is a person or a company responsible for organising and transporting goods from one point to another.

Supplier: A seller of goods. In a channel of distribution, the supplier manufactures goods and transfers them to the distributors.

Tariff: Taxes assessed by a government on goods leaving or entering a country.

Third-Party Logistics Provider: A third-party firm that provides logistics services for customers. A company that moves, stores and manages the flow and distribution of products, materials and goods.

Transportation Management System (TMS): TMS is a logistics platform that uses technology to help businesses plan, execute, and optimize the physical movement of goods, both incoming and outgoing, and making sure the shipment is compliant, proper documentation is available. This kind of system is often part of a larger supply chain management (SCM) system. TMS provides visibility into day-to-day transportation operations, trade compliance information and documentation, and ensuring the timely delivery of freight and goods. Transportation management systems also streamline the shipping process and make it easier for businesses to manage and optimize their transportation operations, whether they are by land, air, or sea.

Vendor: A vendor is a company or an individual that supplies goods or services. This term is also referred to as the supplier.

Warehouse: A warehouse is a building where materials are stored. This could be raw materials or goods that have been manufactured ready for sale.