Free Service Logistics Integration Dictionary

Best Way Technologies is providing its Logistics Integration Dictionary as a free service in order to increase the public's and business communities knowledge of logistics integration and wireless integration. We at Best Way Technologies hope to include all pertinent logistics, integration, and wireless terms.

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802.11: A set of specifications for LANs from The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). 802.11 provides 1 Mb to 2 Mb bandwidth.

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A

Access Point: A devices that acts as a wireless hub allowing multiple wireless devices to communicate. Allows wireless devices to communicate with devices on a wired LAN.
Advanced Shipment Notification (ASN): A form of EDI that tells a client that a shipment was released from a vendor's warehouse, usually along with associated tracking numbers.
AJAX: Ajax, shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, is a Web development technique for creating interactive web applications. The intent is to make web pages feel more responsive by exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes, so that the entire web page does not have to be reloaded each time the user makes a change. This is meant to increase the web page's interactivity, speed, and usability. AJAX only works reliably in the latest versions of modern browsers.
Alphanumeric: A character set that contains alphabetic characters (A, a to Z, z), numeric digits(0 to 9) and usually other characters such as punctuation marks.
Aspect Ratio: The ratio of an items (barcode, image, picture, etc) height to its length.

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B

Bar: The dark element of a barcode, as opposed to the space between bars.
Barcode: A series of bars and spaces of various widths that represent encoded information to be read by a scanner.
Barcode Character: 1) A single group of bars and spaces that represent one character.; 2) The smallest subset of a barcode's data content.
Base Charge (Base Rate): The fee charged by a carrier to ship a parcel. Base Charge does not include special service fees (i.e. insurance, COD, etc.)
Bill of Lading (B/L, BOL): A document that establishes the terms of a contract between a shipper and a transportation company. It serves as a document of title, a contract of carriage and a receipt for goods.

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C

Call Tag: Autorization for a carrier to pick up a package from a consignee and ship it back to the shipper, and bill the shipper for the fee.
Cargo: Anything other than passengers, carried for hire, including both mail and freight.
Carrier: The company that physically takes a shipment from the shipper to the consignee for a fee.
Cash On Delivery (Collect on Delivery, COD): A shipment sent along with a bill that must be paid before the carrier releases the package to the consignee.
Character: A single letter, number, punctuation mark or other symbol.
Charge Back: A billing entry, usually sent after package is delivered, that adds additional fees not known at time of shipment, such as customs duties, residential surcharges, or address corrections.
Check Digit: A calculated character often included within a barcode whose value is used for performing a mathematical check on the validity of the encoded data.
Close Out: To finalize a manifest. Once a manifest has been closed out, generaly, shipments can not be added or voided.
Code 128 (UCC/EAN): A variable length, continuous, self-checking, alphanumeric barcode. Its data character set contains 105 characters in each of three unique subsets. Each character consists of three bars and three spaces consuming 11 modules of width. Bars and spaces ma
Coding Accuracy Supporting System (CASS): A service offered by the United States Post Office to shippers and software vendors that improves the accuracy of matching addresses to ZIP+4 codes. CASS provides a common platform to measure the quality of address matching softwa
Commercial Invoice: Represents a complete record of the transaction between exporter and importer with regard to the goods sold. Also reports the content of the shipment and serves as the basis for all other documents about the shipment.
Commitment: An agreement upon time that the package will arrive at its destination. The commitment will vary depending upon carrier
Compliance Label: A label that has consignee, resale or end-user information rather than original vendor information such as store model number, retail part number, serial number, etc. Usually mandated by larger companies.
Consignee: The individual or company that receives a shipment .
Consignor: See shipper

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D

Decodability: A measure of printing accuracy as perceived by a barcode reader using a symbology reference decoding algorithm.
Digit: Any of the numeric characters zero through nine.
Direct Thermal Printing: A printing method in which a heated print head contacts specially treated labels
Drop Ship: The shipping of a product directly from the manufacturer or a third party supplier to the customer

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E

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): Any one of a number of different methods whereby one company or individuals information is electronically transmitted to another's.
Endless Loop: See Infinite Loop.
Export License: An export license is a specific grant of authority from the government to a particular exporter to export a specific product. Export licenses are granted on a case-by-case basis for either a single transaction or for a specified period of time. The exporter must apply for the export license. This number will be one alpha plus six numeric characters. Every license is issued with an expiration date.

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F

Font: Specific sizes and styles of a printer's type.
Freight: Refers to either the cargo carried or the charges assessed for carriage of the cargo.
Freight Collect: A method of shipment whereby the consignee is billed by the carrier for freight charges (instead of the shipper ).
Freight Forwarder: An entity or a person whose business is to act as an agent on behalf of the shipper . A freight forwarder frequently makes the booking reservation.

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G

Gross Weight: Entire weight of goods

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H

Hold At Location (HAL): A method of shipment whereby the package(s) are held at the nearest carrier depot for pickup.
Human Readable Interpretation: The text representing the data content of a barcode. Usually located beneath the associated barcode.

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I

In Gate: The event in wich a container is received by a rail or water carrier from a land based carrier.
Infinite Loop: See Endless Loop.
Interline Freight: Freight moving from origin to destination over the Freight lines of two or more transportation carriers.
Intermodal: Relating to transportation by more than one means of conveyance, as by truck and rail

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J

JavaScript: JavaScript is a scripting language most often used for client-side web development.

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L

Less than Truck Load (LTL): A shipment that is too heavy and/or large to be shipped effectively via a small parcel carrier, but not large/heavy enough to constitute a dedicated trailer for shipment and is thus shipped with other shipments

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M

Manifest: 1) [Noun] A collective list of parcels included in/on a trailer.; 2) [Verb] To commit a package to a list of parcels in/on a trailer.
MMS: Manifest Mailing System. A United States Postal Service (USPS) service allowing it to accept and verify mailings that contain non-identical weight and/or rate pieces of the same class mail and that follow the follow the MMS regulations.
Multi-Carrier: Pertaining to more than one carrier .

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N

Narrow (Bar) Width: The nominal width dimension of the narrow bars and spaces in a barcode symbol.
Nominal: The exact (or ideal) intended value for a specified parameter.

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O

Origin: Location where shipment begins its movement.
Out Gate: The event in wich a container is released by a rail or water carrier to a land based carrier.

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P

Package Level Detail (PLD): An electronic form of manifest used by UPS. Used to enter packages into UPS's computers for web-based tracking
Proof Of Delivery (POD): A document required from the carrier or driver for proper payment.

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R

Rate Shopping: A feature of a multi-carrier shipping system
Regional Carrier: A carrier whose service generally is limited to a particular geographic region.
ROI: An acronym for Return On Investment. Refers to the time after implementation a project will take to pay for itself.

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S

Script: A set of commands that perform many functions
Shipment: The package(s) being shipped.
Shipper: An individual or a company that needs a shipment shipped by a carrier . Also called Consignor.
Site Survey: An act in which trained personnel set up access points and use laptops and terminals to take attenuation measurements in order to calculate the optimum number of access points and their subsequent coverage.
Small Parcel: A shipment generally weighing 150 LBS or less.
Special Service: Optional service offered by a carrier in addition to simply shipping a parcel. Examples are POD
Start/Stop Characters: Distinct characters or patterns used at the beginning and end of each barcode symbol which provide the scanner with the start and stop reading instructions as well as the scanning direction indicator.

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T

Terms: 1) The method of getting reimbursement to the carrier - where the carrier bills the shipper
Thermal Barcode Printer: A printer that uses thermal transfer printing and/or direct thermal printing to print labels.
Thermal Transfer Printing: A print method in which a heated print head melts and transfers ink from a ribbon to a label.
Third Party Billing: A method of shipment whereby the a third party is billed by the carrier for freight charges instead of the consignee or shipper .
Tolerance: The allowable variation from an ideal dimension.
Tracking Number: A unique number
Truck Load (TL): A shipment requiring a dedicated trailer for shipment .

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U

UCC/EAN Code 128: See Code 128.

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V

Void: Remove a package from a manifest .
Voluntary Inter-Industry Communications Standard (VICS): A standard for EDI documents developed specifically for the retail industry.

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W

Wide-to-Narrow Ratio: The ratio between the widths of wide elements and narrow elements in a barcode .
Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi): Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). Products with the Wi-Fi logo have been tested by WECA for interoperability with other 802.11b items

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