Fourth Party Logistics: A 4PL provider integrates the capabilities of multiple service providers to deliver logistics on a global or regional basis across the supply chain (see also LLP).
A A-Type Warehouse: A public Customs Warehouse (i.e. where goods are not subject to excise duty) in which anyone can store anything. See also C, D, E.
ABC Activity Based Costing: common accounting method used, for example, where there are a number of different clients in a shared warehouse (see also ABM, ZBB). Also "ABC Analysis" or "ABC Classification": the classification of different stock items in a warehouse in accordance with their importance (e.g. individual sales volumes) - where Class A contains items with the highest volume and Class C the lowest (aka "Distribution by Value").
ABCA American, British, Canadian and Australian
ABM Activity Based Management: application of ABC (qv) to business performance.
ABP Asset-Based Provider
ACITA Automated Customs International Trade Association: UK trade association.
ACMA Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA): UK-based international professional body.
ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific States.
ACR All-Commodity Rate
ADG Applied Distribution Group plc - a former UK quoted logistics company acquired by Tibbett & Britten Group in 1997 and now fully integrated within Tibbett & Britten UK (see press release).
ADL Applied Distribution Ltd: see ADG.
ADP Automatic Data Processing
ADPE Automatic Data Processing Equipment
ADR Regulations for international movements of hazardous goods by road (see also IMDG, CDG, RID).
AEA Association of European Airlines
AETR European Agreement on the Work of Crews of Vehicles engaged in International Transport: rules concerned with drivers' hours in certain countries outside the EU (since 1992 virtually the same as EU rules). Contracting countries include: Andorra, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Kazakstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
AFH Away From Home: FMCG-type products used away from home - e.g. those found in industrial, hotel or institutional applications.
AGM Annual General Meeting: also EGM.
AGV Automated Guided Vehicle: also AGVS ("Automated Guided Vehicle System").
AIM Advanced Information Manager. Also the name of the European Brands Association (Belgium)
aka also known as
ALC Actual Landed Cost: the true cost of an imported good, including transport (c.f. ELC).
ANA Article Numbering Association: now the Association for Standards & Practices in Electronic Trade - EAN UK Ltd (known as e centre^UK for short) after merging with the ECA (qv) in 1998. See also EAN.
ANSI American National Standards Institute: US standards organisation (see also BSI, ISO).
AOC Agent of Change
APR Adjustable Pallet Racking. Also "Annual Percentage Rate".
APS Advanced Planning & Scheduling: manufacturers' approach to planning and scheduling that deals directly with the constraints of production capacity and materials availability. Often used in connection with such software. See also MRP, ERP.
AQR Any Quantity Rate: a fixed rate for transport, with no discount available for larger shipments.
AR Automatic Replenishment: an extension of QR and CR (qv) where suppliers assume responsibility for retail inventories and replenishment (aka "Profile Replenishment").
ASM Agency Sector Management
ASN Advanced Shipping Notification or "Advance Ship Notice": electronic pre-notification of an upcoming shipment to the next stage in the supply chain.
ASP Application Service Provider: application hosting and online network infrastructure for software vendors and end-users.
ASRS Automated Storage and Retrieval System: automated warehousing.
ASTL American Society of Transportation & Logistics
ATA Admission Temporaire: or temporary admission (Customs Warehousing term). Also "American Trucking Associations".
ATE Air Tiger Express Group: Ocean and air freight forwarder and Tibbett & Britten's joint venture partner in Unique Logistics.
ATG Air Tiger Group: properly ATE Group (qv).
ATS Automatic Transportation System
AVI Automatic Vehicle Identification: applications of this new technology include detecting stolen vehicles and collecting tolls via electronic road pricing.
AVL Automatic Vehice Location: electronic location of vehicles using satellite or ground-based tracking. See also AVI, IVHS.
AW Authorised Weight
AWB Air Way Bill

B

B2B Business-to-Business: e-commerce term for communications between companies and their suppliers. Also "Back to Base".
B2C Business-to-Consumer: e-commerce term for communications between companies and their customers (see also B2B).
BACS Bankers' Automated Clearing System
BAF Bunker Adjustment Factor
BAM Bricks and Mortar: e-commerce term (see Dotbam, Wambam).
BBC Bumper to Back of Cab: distance between the front bumper of a commercial vehicle and the back of its cab.
BBP Business-to-Business Procurement
bhp brake horsepower: unit of engine power.
BI Business Intelligence
BIFA British International Freight Association: UK trade association.
B/L Bill of Lading. Also: SBOL, TBOL.
BMHF British Materials Handling Federation: UK trade group.
BOGOF Buy One Get One Free: sales promotion technique.
BOL Bill of Lading. Usually B/L.
BOM Bill of Material
BPI Business Process Improvement: business improvement practice using performance measurement to reduce or eliminate non-value added activities or costs, while at least maintaining quality, productivity, etc.
BPO Business Process Optimization - or Outsourcing. Sub-contracting of high level business application services (see also eBPO).
BPR Business Process Re-engineering: redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in quality, speed, service and cost.
BRF British Road Federation Ltd: UK trade association for those concerned with construction and use of roads.
BRIT British Road Infrastructure Toll: British proposal for a "vignette"-style system for taxing commercial vehicle operations.
BS British Standard: e.g. BS5750 (a quality standard, now known as ISO9000).
BSC British Shippers Council: UK trade association (part of the FTA - qv).
BSF Bus-Stop Freight: the treatment of long-haul shipments as a succession of medium-distance movements, each bringing the driver back to base within a normal day's work.
BSI British Standards Institution: UK standards organisation responsible for British Standards.
BSI-DISC British Standards Institution - Delivering Information Solutions to Customers Through International Standards: BSI IT sub-group.
BTOG British Transport Officers Guild: UK professional body.
BWA Bonded Warehousekeepers' Association: UK trade association.
BWS Beers, Wines and Spirits

C

C C-Type Warehouse: A physical Customs Warehouse (i.e. where goods are not subject to excise duty) in which the warehouse keeper takes on full responsibility for the goods stored, or owns them. See also A, D, E.
C21 Customs Clearance Request using form C21.
C2G Cradle To Grave: the full life-cycle of a product.
C-Comm Collaborative Commerce: suppliers, retailers and logistics companies sharing information for optimum supply chain efficiency (see also CFM).
C&F Cost and Freight: price includes goods and transport.
C&T Clothing & Textiles: e.g. Tibbett & Britten UK Textiles Division.
C&U Construction & Use regulations.
CAD Cash Against Documents or "Computer-Aided Design".
CAF Currency Adjustment Factor or "Cost And Freight"
CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate: the average annual growth rate of a business over a period of time.
CALS Continuous Acquisition & Life-cycle Support: strategy for streamlining business processes and information exchange within an organisation (formerly known as "Computer-aided Acquisition and Logistics Support").
CAO Computer-Assisted Ordering: computerised generation of store replenishment orders from POS, PI and shelf-stock data.
CAP Common Agricultural Policy of the EC.
CAST-DPM Computer-Aided Strategy and Tactics - Distribution Planning Model: proprietary software package designed to optimise vehicle fleets, depot locations, warehouse layouts, etc.
CBD Cash Before Delivery
cc Cubic Centimetres (e.g. engine size). Or "Cubic Capacity" (e.g. volume of truck body). Also "Carbon Copy".
CCLT Cranfield Centre for Logistics & Transportation: at the Cranfield School of Management (UK).
CCR Capacity Constraining Resource: bottleneck.
CCS-UK Cargo Community Services - United Kingdom
CCTV Closed Circuit Television: often used in security.
CDG Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations 1996 (UK): usually "CDG Road" (also "CDG Rail").
CDL Commercial Driving Licence
CEO Chief Executive Officer: also "Chairman's Executive Office" (see also COO).
CER Community of European Railways
CEST Centre for Exploitation of Science and Technology: see also IPI.
CFBR Customs Freight Business Review
CFCs Chlorofluorocarbons: range of chemicals at one time widely used in packaging, propellants and refrigerants but now believed to be responsible for the destruction of ozone in the upper atmosphere and consequently global warming.
CFD Continuous Flow Distribution
CfIT Commission for Integrated Transport
CFM Collaborative Freight Management: alliances between freight/logistics companies, customers and suppliers to improve efficiency.
CFO Chief Financial Officer
CFR Cost and Freight: also "CAF".
CFS Cargo Freight Station: where containers, etc., are stuffed before being sent to the CY (qv).
CFSP Customs Freight Simplified Procedures: rapid release of imports by customs via EDI. See Unique Logistics International.
CFT Cross-Functional Team: a multi-skilled team.
CHIEF Customs Handling of Import & Export Freight. See also IES and MSS.
CIE Customs Input of Entries
CIES The Food Business Forum (Paris)
CIF Cost, Insurance & Freight: i.e. price includes cost (of goods), insurance and transport.
CIM International convention on the movement of freight by rail.
CIPS Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply: UK-based international education and qualification body.
CIT Chartered Institute of Transport: UK professional body - now merged with the Institute of Logistics to form the Institute of Logistics and Transport (see ILT, MCIT, FCIT).
CITDS Certified International Trade Documentation Specialist®: trade qualification from the IIEI (qv). See also CITLS.
CITLS Certified International Trade Logistics Specialist®: trade qualification from the IIEI (qv).
CITP Certified International Trade Professional®: trade qualification from the IIEI (qv).
CITM Certified International Trade Manager®: trade qualification from the IIEI (qv).
CITTC Certified International Trade Training Coordinator®: trade qualification from the IIEI (qv).
CKD Complete Knock-Down: e.g. deconstruction of vehicles (etc.) for subsequent re-assembly at destination. See also SKD.
CL Carload: a railfreight term.
CLM Council of Logistics Management
CLO Chief Logistics Officer
CLR Competitive Line Rate: a railfreight term.
CMR International convention for the carriage of goods by road.
CMT Cut, Measure & Trim: part of the textile industry supply sector.
CNG Compressed Natural Gas: used as motor fuel (see also LNG, LPG).
CO Carbon Monoxide
COA Cab Over Engine: truck design where cab unit is positioned directly over the engine.
COD Cash On Delivery: see also CWO.
COFC Container On a Flatcar: see also TOFC.
COGSA Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (USA).
COO Chief Operating Officer: see also CEO.
CofI Certificate of Inspection
CofM Certificate of Manufacture. Also COM.
CofO Certificate of Origin
CofS Certificate of Shipment
COM Certificate of Manufacture. Also CofM.
CPC Certificate of Professional Competence: a professional standard for UK road haulage operators, administered by the DTLR (qv). Also "Customs Procedure Code".
CPEI Customs Procedures with Economic Impact: Customs term.
CPFR Collaborative Planning, Forecasting & Replenishment (also CPFaR).
CPG Consumer Packaged Goods: see also FMCG.
CPT Carriage Paid To
CR Continuous Replenishment: a modification of QR (qv) which eliminates the need for replenishment orders - individual customer's purchases trigger manufacturing and distribution. See also AR and VMI.
CRM Customer Relationship Management: software to manage and control relationships with customers (employs a management concept founded on the fact that a 5% increase in customer retention can increase profitability by 25 125%).
CRP Capacity Requirements Planning: the process of establishing, measuring and adjusting limits or levels of capacity - e.g. to determine the human and machine resources required for production. Also "Continuous Replenishment Programme" - customer-driven replenishment.
CRT Continuously Regenerating Trap: vehicle exhaust system claimed to substantially reduce potentially harmful emissions when used with ULSD.
CS Customer Service
CSDF Cold Storage and Distribution Federation: UK trade body.
CSRGT Continuing Survey of Road Goods Transport: UK government survey.
CSSA Computer Services & Software Association: UK IT trade body.
CT Community Transit. Also Channel Tunnel - the 22 mile (36km) rail tunnel linking the UK and France.
CUSDEC Customs Declaration message.
CUSRES Customs Response message.
CV Commercial Vehicle: a truck.
CVO Commercial Vehicle Operations
CWO Cash With Order: see also COD.
CY Container Yard: storage for containers in transit (often at a port).

D

D D-Type Warehouse: A Customs Warehouse (i.e. where goods are not subject to excise duty) where the value, nature and quantity of goods stored is established when the goods arrive (but not when they leave). See also A, C, E.
D/A Documentation on Acceptance: see also D/P.
DAF Delivered At Frontier
DAN Delivery Advice Note
DB Deutsche Bahn: German Railways.
DC Distribution Centre. Also RDC, NDC, EDC, IDC.
DCC Dedicated Contract Carriage: dedicated contract transport service.
DCF Discounted Cash Flow
DCM Distribution Channel Management: strategic management of direct and indirect supply channels.
DDE Direct Data Entry
DDP Delivery with Duty Paid: see also "DDU".
DDR Driver's Daily Report
DDU Delivery with Duty Unpaid: see also "DDP".
DEQ Delivery Ex-Quay
derv Diesel Engine Road Vehicle: British term for diesel oil when used for road vehicles.
DES Delivery Ex-Ship
DETR Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions: former UK government department covering transport, part of which was itself previously known as the Department of Transport. Now known as the DTLR (qv).
DGSA Dangerous Goods Safety Advisors: DGSAs are required under European Commission Directive 96/35 for hauliers loading or transporting dangerous goods.
DI Direct Input
DIRFT Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal: Railport and distribution park serving the English East Midlands and surrounding counties. The Railport is operated by Tibbett & Britten.
DIT Detention in Transit: ocean carrier service to save storage costs at source or destination.
DIY Do-it-Yourself: home-improvement merchandise.
DLA Dynamic Location Allocation: WMS software.
DM Depot Manager or "Depot Maintenance".
DOA Dead On Arrival: imperfect delivery.
DOG Daily Order Generation
DOT Department of Transport (e.g. US): full title in UK is "Department of Transport, Local Government & the Regions" (DTLR).
DOTBAM Dot - Bricks and Mortar: e-commerce term designed to differentiate the online business of a conventional retailer/supplier (i.e. a Dotbam) from a pure Dotcom play.
DoTI Department of Trade & Industry: UK government department.
D/P Documentation on Payment: see also D/A.
DP Duty Paid: see also DUP.
DPM Distribution Planning Model: proprietary software package providing integrated suite of tools for demand planning and forecasting, inventory planning and management, network design and DRP.
DPO Documentary Proof of Origin
DRL Distribution Resources Ltd: Tibbett & Britten UK Spectrum division specialising in the rental of reusable distribution and handling equipment. Also "Daytime Running Lights" (on a truck).
DRP Distribution Requirements Planning: sophisticated planning technique where consumer demand sets inventory levels. See also MRP.
DSA Driving Standards Agency
DSD Direct to Store Delivery: a retail delivery which has not passed through an RDC.
DSL Dartford Securities Ltd: Tibbett & Britten UK Textiles division providing dedicated warehousing and distribution for top UK retailer Marks & Spencer plc.
DTD Door-to-Door delivery service.
DTI Department of Trade & Industry (sometimes "DoTI"): UK government department. Also "Direct Trader Input" (Customs Warehousing term).
DTLR Department of Transport, Logal Government & the Regions: UK government department which succeeded the DETR in 2001.
DTp Department of Transport: obsolete acronym in the UK - see DTLR and DOT.
DUP Duty Unpaid
DVLA Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (UK): body responsible for recording and processing vehicle registrations and drivers' licences, based at the DVLC (qv), Swansea.
DVLC Driver & Vehicle Licensing Centre (UK): see DVLA.
DWT Dead Weight Tonnage: ship's cargo capacity.

E

E E-Type Warehouse: A public Customs Warehouse (i.e. where goods are not subject to excise duty) where trader and trader's system are authorised for warehousing, with goods stored at notified storage facilities. See A, C, D. Also "Electronic" (i.e. online), as in "E-Commerce", "E-Category Management", etc.
E&IC Excise & Inland Customs
EAI Enterprise Application Integration: business initiative for linking all IT systems.
EAN European Article Numbering: bar code system used primarily in the retail industry and controlled by the European Article Numbering Association.
EAR Export Administration Regulations (US).
EAS Electronic Article Surveillance: popular item security system used by retailers, based on magnetic tags.
eBPO Electronic Business Process Optimization: see BPO.
ebXML electronic business eXtensible Mark-up Language: Suite of specifications for data exchange over the internet - enabling a modular electronic business framework. ebXML is jointly sponsored by the United Nations (UN/CEFACT) and OASIS. (See also XML.)
EC European Commission: the EU's executive body. Also "European Community": obsolete term for the EU (qv). Also "Electronic Commerce".
ECA Electronic Commerce Association: now the Association for Standards & Practices in Electronic Trade - EAN UK Ltd (known as e centre^UK for short) after merging with the ANA (qv) in 1998.
ECBL European Certification Board for Logistics: accreditation and certification body for professional qualifications in logistics.
ECE Economic Commission for Europe: administers, among other things, regulations for standards for vehicle equipment and systems (see also VCA).
ECMT European Conference of Ministers of Transport
ecomm Electronic Commerce: Also "e-comm" or "e-commerce".
ECR Efficient Consumer Response: logistics discipline involving the synchronisation of supplers' and retailers' supply chains to reduce stocks. If stocks are cut then supply chains must be able to respond more efficiently to changes in consumer demand - i.e. they must make an "efficient consumer response". (See also AR, CR, ER, QR, etc.)
ECU European Currency Unit: early name for the Euro.
EDC European Distribution Centre: see also RDC, NDC, IDC. Also "Electronic Data Capture".
EDI Electronic Data Interchange: electronic transfer of data - especially sales volumes, stocks, orders, etc. See also FEDI, TEDIS.
EDIFACT Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce & Transport: a UN initiative (see UN/EDIFACT directory).
EFIBCA European Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container Association: European trade association (see also FIBCA).
EFQM European Foundation for Quality Management
EFT Electronic Funds Transfer
EFR Efficient Foodservice Response: ECR (qv) for the catering trade.
EFTPoS Electronic Fund Transfer Point of Sale: EPoS (qv) for financial data.
EFTA European Free Trade Association: free trade area currently comprising four member states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Sweden. See also EU.
EGM Extraordinary General Meeting: see also AGM.
EHS Electronic Home Shopping: shopping via the Internet.
EIP Enterprise Information Portal: business initiative which sets out to provide access to all corporate information using web and other technologies.
EIT European Information Services: Tibbett & Britten's internal IT department in Europe.
ELA European Logistics Association: European trade group, of which the IoLT (qv) is a UK member.
ELC Export Letter of Credit: see also L/C, ILC. Also "Estimated Landed Cost" (see also ALC).
EMEA Europe, Middle East & Africa
EMENA Europe, Middle East & North Africa
EMIL Executive Master's in International Logistics: master's degree course offered by Georgia Tech (US).
EMR Enterprise Message Router
EOQ Economic Order Quantity
EPM Excellence in People Management
EPO Enterprise Profit Optimisation: combining supply chain systems with price optimisation to allow the supply and demand sides of an organisation to be reviewed and improved simultaneously.
EPoS Electronic Point of Sale: system for capturing sales data at the checkout.
EPS Earnings Per Share
EPU Entry Processing Unit
ER Efficient Replenishment or Effective Replenishment: a facet of ECR.
ERM E-business Relationship Management: the new CRM (qv).
ERP Enterprise Resource Planning: integration of technology to run all manufacturing and related processes across an entire enterprise. Also "Electronic Road Pricing".
ERTS Enhanced Remote Transit Shed
ESP Events Stock Planning: planning technique for those without Extra Sensory Perception.
ESTA European Special Transport Association
ESTI European Society for Transport Institutes
ETA Estimated Time of Arrival
EU European Union: a group of 15 European countries (member states), including the UK, which are working towards a system of ever-closer union. The EU's population is about 370 million. See also EFTA.
EUL Efficient Unit Loads
EUR Euro: the common currency of 11 participating countries within the European Union - from 1 January 2002. Also sometimes used as a short form of "Europe".
EV Electric Vehicle
EVA Economic Value Added
EWS English Welsh & Scottish Railway: a UK TOC (qv). Part of Wisconsin Rail.
EXQ Ex-Quay
EXS Ex-Ship
EXW Ex-Works

F

FAG Frankfurt Airport
FAK Freight All Kinds
FAS Free Alongside: price includes delivery of goods alongside ship at port of export. See also FOB. Also "Flexible Accounting System".
FB Freight Bill
FBO Fixed-Base Operator
FC&S Free of Capture & Seizure: clause which excludes war risks from a marine insurance policy.
FCD First Class Distribution: logistics standard introduced by major retailers in the UK.
FCI Freight Carriage & Insurance: price includes transport and insurance.
FCIT Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Transport: chartered fellow of the UK Institute of Logistics and Transport. See also ILT, MILT, MCIT, FILT.
FCL Full Container Load
FCMA Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA): UK-based international professional body.
FCP Freight Carriage Paid
F/CPG Food/Consumer Packaged Goods: see also FMCG.
FCR Forwarders' Certificate of Receipt: negotiable banking document.
FEDI Financial Electronic Data Interchange. See also EDI.
FEU Forty-Foot Equivalent Unit: a standard measure for containers (see also TEU).
FF Freight Forwarder
FFG Freight Facilities Grant: British grant to help pay capital costs of freight handling facilities used exclusively by rail - administered by the FGU (qv) of the DTLR (qv) in England, and by the Scottish Office Development Department and the Welsh Office.
FFS Finite Forward Scheduling: manufacturers' scheduling approach which assumes there is a finite production capacity (c.f. the "infinite" capacity assumptions of MRP II planning).
FGU Freight Grants Unit of the DTLR (qv). See also FFG and TAG.
FIBCA Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container Association: UK trade association (see also EFIBCA).
FID Foreign Income Dividend
FIEO Federation of Indian Export Organisations
FIFO First In First Out: warehousing term, meaning that the oldest inventory (first in) is the first to be used (first out). See also LIFO.
FILog Fellow of the Institute of Logistics: old designation for fellows of this UK Institute (now known as the Institute of Logistics and Transport). See also ILT, FILT, FCIT.
FILT Fellow of the Institute of Logistics and Transport: fellow of UK professional body. See also ILT, MILT, FCIT, MCIT.
FL Fashion Logistics: member company within Tibbett & Britten UK European Clothing & Textiles Logistics division.
FLT Fork Lift Truck
FMC Fully Mission Capable: a system that works! (See also NMC.)
FMCG Fast Moving Consumer Goods: i.e. food, drink, pharmaceuticals, household products, etc.
FMI Food Marketing Institute: US food industry trade association.
FMHEM Federation of Mechanical Handling Equipment Manufacturers: UK trade association.
FOB Free On Board: point during transportation where title, transport costs, risk, etc. transfer from seller to another party (e.g. FOB Truck, FOB Vessel, FOB Warehouse). See also FAS, FOR, FOT. Also "Freight On Board".
FOC Free of Charge
FOR Free On Rail: point during transportation where title, transport costs, risk, etc. transfer from seller to another party (see also FOB, FOT).
FOT Free On Truck: point during transportation where title, transport costs, risk, etc. transfer from seller to another party (see also FOB, FOR).
fpm feet per minute
FSD Final Supplementary Declaration: Customs term. Also "Full Scale Development".
FSDC Full Service Distribution Company: e.g. TBG!
FSR Field Stock Room: small regional storage area for particularly quick response logistics (e.g. two hours for computer spares).
FSTL Full Service Truck Lease: commercial vehicle lease, including servicing, etc.
FTA Freight Transport Association: UK trade association. Also "Free Trade Agreement".
FTL Full Truck Load or Full Trailer Load. Also former name of TBG's IT department (now GIS - qv).
FTZ Foreign Trade Zone
FUF First Updated Forecast

G

GAC Gulf Agency Company: Tibbett & Britten joint venture partner in Transcare Gulf Logistics (with ISC - qv).
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade
GAWR Gross Axle Weight Rating: manufacturer's rating of the maximum load that an axle can support.
GB Great Britain
GBP Great Britain Pound: the currency of the United Kingdom (pounds sterling).
GCW Gross Combined Weight: total weight of a loaded drawbar vehicle.
GFA Global Freight Agreement
GI/GO Goods In/Goods Out
GIS Group Information Services: former name of Tibbett & Britten's internal IT department. Now known as EIT in Europe.
GKN A pallet.
GM General Maintenance: routine or scheduled maintenance (see also IM, OM). Also "General Manager".
GMA Grocery Manufacturers of America: US food industry trade association.
GNX GlobalNetExchange: e-business marketplace for global retailers (see also WWRE).
GO Goods Out: see GI/GO.
GOH Garments on Hanger
GPS Global Positioning System: satellite based location system, used in vehicle positioning.
GRN Goods Returned Note or Goods Received Note
GSP Generalised System of Preferences: System whereby goods that comply with the origin rules but come from countries or groups of countries outside the EU, may be imported into the EU at reduced rates of customs duty. The system aims to encourage developing countries to increase their exports by allowing preferential access to the markets of EU countries.
GST General Systems Theory: the common basic features of all social, organic and mechanical systems.
GTIN Global Trade Item Number
GTW Gross Tare Weight: see also TW and GVW.
GVW Gross Vehicle Weight: maximum rated weight of a truck, including its cargo. See also TW.

H

H&L Home & Leisure merchandise.
H&R Hire and Reward: e.g. the third-party road haulage sector (contrast with OAO - qv).
H&S Health & Safety. Also HSE: Health & Safety Executive.
HA Highways Agency: UK government agency responsible for trunk roads and motorways.
HC Hydrocarbons
HCI Human-Computer Interface
HGV Heavy Goods Vehicle: a truck. See also LGV.
HHT Hand Held Terminal: bar-code scanner or other portable data input device (see also PDA).
HLOP High Level Order Picker: see also LLOP, ROLLOP.
HOV High Occupancy Vehicle: usually a vehicle with at least two occupants, including driver.
hp Horsepower: unit of power (see also bhp). Also "Hire Purchase".
HPT Hand Pallet Truck
HTA Heavy Transport Association: see also ESTA.
HTSUS Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States: US Customs schedule.

I

i2 Proprietary supply chain planning software from i2 Technologies.
IAS Individual Article Supply
IATA International Air Transport Association
IBC Intermediate Bulk Containers
ICC Interstate Commerce Commission (USA)
ICD Inland Clearance Depot
ICHCA International Cargo Handling Co-ordination Association: UK-based international trade association.
IDC International Distribution Centre. Also RDC, NDC, EDC.
IES Import-Export System: see also CHIEF, MSS.
IGD Institute of Grocery Distribution (UK)
IHT Institution of Highways and Transportation: UK-based trade association.
IIEI International Import Export Institute: USA-based international trade education and certification institution.
IIP Investors In People
IL Integrated Logistics
ILC Irrevocable Letter of Credit: see also L/C, ELC.
ILS Integrated Logistics Support. Also "Inbound Logistics Services" (formerly Nominated Carrier Services), a division of Tibbett & Britten Group specialising in international logistics support for the retail sector.
ILT Institute of Logistics and Transport: UK-based professional body, combining the Institute of Logistics and the Chartered Institute of Transport (tel.: +44 (0)1536 740100; fax: +44 (0)1536 740101; e-mail: enquiry@institute-of-logistics.org.uk.). See also MILT, FILT, MCIT, FCIT.
IM Intermediate Maintenance: specialised maintenance (see also GM, OM).
IMDG Regulations for international movement of hazardous goods by sea. See also ADR, RID.
IMS Inventory Management System: see WMS. Also "Institute of Management Services" (UK).
INTRASTAT A system for collecting EU internal trade statistics.
IoL Institute of Logistics: former name of UK-based professional body, now known as the Institute of Logistics and Transport - see ILT.
IOM Institute of Operations Management (UK). Also "Isle of Man".
IoTA Institute of Transport Administration: UK trade association.
IPE Industrial Plant & Equipment
IPI Integrated Product Intelligence. For further details follow this link to CEST's IPI page.
IPR Inward Processing Relief: Customs term (see also OPR). Also "In Process Review".
IRD Inland Rail Depot
IRHA Irish Road Haulage Association
IRTE Institute of Road Transport Engineers: UK professional body.
IRTU International Road Transport Union
IS Information System
ISC International Supply Chain Ltd: A Tibbett & Britten division pre-eminent in international supply chain management, with offices in the UK and Hong Kong, and operations worldwide.
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network: standard medium for transmitting voice, video and data over networks.
ISO International Standards Organization. Geneva-based standards organisation, represented in the UK by the BSI and in the USA by ANSI (qv). Also "ISO container" (a standard stackable container) and, for example, ISO9000 (a quality standard).
IT Information Technology: computer hardware, software, the Internet, etc. Also Industrial Tribunal.
ITE Internet Trading Exchange: electronic B2B marketplace.
ITP International Trade Prototype: proposal for seamless movement of goods between exporters and importers across borders, involving links between different customs agencies.
ITS Intelligent Transportation System: combination of technologies designed to increase efficiency across a variety of transport modes. See also IVHS.
ITSG Independent Terminals Sub-Group: specialist section of RFG (qv), representing independent UK rail terminal operators (see press release).
ITT Invitation to Tender
ITV In-Transit Visibility: tracking system.
IVHS Intelligent Vehicle Handling System: combination of technologies designed to make road transport more efficient. See also ITS.

J

JCCC Joint Customs Consultative Committee
JETRO Japan External Trade Organization: trade body providing advice on trading with and investing in Japan.
JFDI Just F****** Do It: management term, used as in 'JFDI methodology'.
JIC Just in Case: stocks held to maintain supplies under JIT (qv).
JIT Just in Time: logistics discipline requiring increased frequency and regularity of deliveries to reduce stocks in the supply chain. Frequently used in manufacturing to cut or even eliminate component stocks. See also MRP.
JITD Just in Time Delivery: see JIT.
JTL Just Too Late: The result of JIT without JIC!

K

kph kilometres per hour
KPI Key Performance Indicator

L

L&D Loss and Damage
L/C Letter of Credit. Also ELC, ILC.
LA Local Authority
LAN Local Area Network: network with a geographical span under a mile (see also WAN).
LAT Local Area Transport
LCC Life Cycle Costs: used in evaluating the real cost of physical resources, including environmental costs (e.g. recycling). Also "London Chamber of Commerce".
LCL Less than Container Load: container groupage. Also "Less than Carload": a railfreight term.
LCO Local Control Office: usually an E&IC (qv) office.
LCP Local Clearance Procedure: Customs term. See also CFSP (qv).
LCV Long Combination Vehicle: a very long commercial vehicle rig (e.g. with twin or triple trailers).
LD Logistics Demonstration
LDDC Least Developed Developing Country
LEA Logistics Evaluation Agency
LEAP Lean Processing Programme: research project focusing on improving UK upstream automotive supply chain management, initiated by inter alia the LERC (qv).
LEC Local Export Control: Customs term. See also CFSP (qv).
LERC Lean Enterprise Research Centre: at the Cardiff Business School, University of Wales.
LES Logistics Execution Systems
LGV Light Goods Vehicle. See also "HGV".
LIFO Last In First Out: warehousing term, meaning that the most recently received (last in) items are the first to be used or sold (first out). See also FIFO.
LIM Logistics Inventory Management
LIMS Logistics Inventory Management System
LIS Logistics Information System
LL Lean Logistics: also L² - efficient logistics.
LLOP Low Level Order Picker: see also HLOP, ROLLOP, etc.
LLP Lead Logistics Partner: a management company that controls outsourced supply chain elements (see also 4PL).
LMS Logistics Management Systems
LNG Liquid Natural Gas: used as motor fuel (see also CNG, LPG). NB: LNG is more than twice as dense as CNG.
Lo/Lo Lift-on/Lift-off: container transshipment system. See also Ro/Ro.
LOB Line of Business
LOG Logistics
LPG Liquid Petroleum Gas: used as motor fuel (see also LNG, CNG).
LR Load Range: tyre rating classification based on a code letter (see also PR).
LRC Learning Resource Centre: workplace library/information centre.
LRN Logistics Research Network: a SIG within the IoLT (qv).
LSA Logistics Support Analysis
LSM Logistics Support Manager
LSMI Logistics Support Management Information
LSP Logistics Service Provider: logistics contractor (e.g. TBG)
LT Lead Time
Ltd Limited: limited liability company whose shares are not traded publicly (UK). See also "PLC".
LTIP Long Term Incentive Plan: carrots for executive directors and senior managers.
LTL Less Than Truckload: part load.
LWB Long Wheel-Base: large vehicle (see also SWB).
LWG Logistics Working Group

M

M Mobile: as in "M-Commerce" (electronic shopping on the move).
MAC Ministers' Approval Certificate: see TAC.
MBO Management Buy Out. John Harvey led an MBO of TBG from Unilever/VGL in 1984!
MBWA Management By Walking About. Also MBWAWP - Management by Walking About Without Purpose.
MCIT Member of the Chartered Institute of Transport: now a chartered member of the UK Institute of Logistics and Transport. See also ILT, MILT, FCIT, FILT.
MDP Management Development Partnership
MfL Movement for London: UK transport pressure group.
MHE Mechanical Handling Equipment (see also FLT, HPT, PPT, HLOP, etc.)
MI Market Investigation
MILog Member of the Institute of Logistics: former designation of this UK Institute (now known as the Institute of Logistics and Transport). Now see MILT, ILT.
MILT Member of the Institute of Logistics and Transport: member of UK professional body. See also ILT, FILT, MCIT, FCIT.
MIS Management Information System
MNC Multi-National Company
MOA Memorandum Of Agreement
MOAL Management Of All Logistics: total supply chain management.
MOT Ministry of Transport: obsolete term in UK (now see DTLR), although it survives in "MOT Testing Station" - a vehicle test centre operated by the VI (qv).
mpg miles per gallon
mph miles per hour
MPS Master Production Scheduling
MPT Manpower, Personnel and Training
MPV Multi-Purpose Vehicle
MR Materials Replenishment
MRO Maintenance, Repair & Operations: supplies used in support of general operations and maintenance - e.g. spare parts and consumables.
MRP Manufacturing Requirements Planning (aka "Manufacturing Resource Planning"): production-led planning technique seen as precursor to JIT. Now revived as MRP II. See also DRP.
MSS Management Support System see also CHIEF, IES.
MU Merchandisable Unit: usually a dolly or wheeled carrier that is loaded with pre-merchandised product straight off the production line, but which travels right through the supply chain to the store sales area.

N

NABL National Assessment Board for Logistics: UK assessment body for logistics qualifications (part of IOL - qv). See also ECBL.
NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement
NAWK National Association of Warehouse Keepers: UK trade association.
NCIT National Council on Inland Transport: UK pressure group.
NCS Nominated Carrier Scheme: retailer specifies which carrier(s) should be used by suppliers to transport merchandise into its distribution centres. Also "Nominated Carrier Services" (see ILS).
NCTS New Community Transit System: Customs proposal to enhance control and tracking of CT shipments. NCTS will link 22 EU, EFTA and Visigrad customs authorities into a network, with the primary intention of preventing fraud.
NDC National Distribution Centre: same as RDC (qv), but with distribution on a national rather than regional basis. See also EDC, IDC.
NMC Not Mission Capable: a system that doesn't work yet (see also FMC).
NMHC National Materials Handling Centre: owned by Cranfield University and now known as Supply Chain Planning Ltd. See also CCLT.
NOA Notice of Arrival
NPI New Product Introduction
NPS Net Proceeds of Sale
NPSE Non-Powered Support Equipment. See also PSE.
NPV Net Present Value: budgeting system that attempts to measure both value and risk.
NRMCS National Road Maintenance Condition Survey: On-going survey of condition of all road types (except motorways) in England & Wales.
NRP Network Resource Planning
NRT Net Register Tonnage
NRTF National Road Traffic Forecasts
N/S No Stock or Nil Stock
NTA National Transportation Agency (USA). Also "National Transportation Act of 1987" (USA).
NTPSC National Transportation Policy Study Commission (USA)
NTS National Travel Survey: UK survey.
NVQ National Vocational Qualification
NVOCC Non Vessel Operating Common Carrier: consolidator of small ocean shipments.

O

O Operator: as in "O-Licence" - a licence to operate commercial vehicles.
O&O Operational & Organisational
OAO Own Account Operator: e.g. the in-house road haulage sector (contrast with H&R - qv).
OS&D Order Short and/or Damaged: imperfect delivery.
OB Open Book: contractor accounting system which is transparent to clients.
OC Order Cycle: time and/or operations between order placement and final delivery.
OE Order Entry. See also OP.
OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer: a manufacturer that buys and incorporates another supplier's products into its own products.
OF Order Fill: percentage of all orders fulfilled without relying on re-stocking.
OM Organisational Maintenance: routine maintenance (see also GM, IM).
OMS Order Management System or "Order Management Software" .
OOS Out of Stock: avoidable condition!
OP Order Processing. See also OE.
OPR Outward Processing Relief: Customs term (see also IPR).
OPT Optimised Production Technology
OR Operations Research
OSHA Occupational Safety & Health Administration (USA)
OSTS Order Status & Tracking System: state of the art order tracking and tracing, developed by International Supply Chain Ltd (ISC).
OTTS Organisation of Teachers of Transport Studies: UK professional body.

P

P&D Pick-up & Delivery. See also P/D.
P&E Plant & Equipment
P&L Profit & Loss
PB Pick Bin. Also "piggyback" (see also TOFC).
PBIT Profit Before Interest & Tax
PBT Profit Before Tax
PC Personal Computer: sometimes Police Constable and Politically Correct.
PCC Processing under Custom Control for free circulation: Customs term.
PD per diem: by the day.
P/D Pick/Drop: e.g. a pick-up and drop-off station. See also P&D, S/R.
PDA Personal Data Assistant: hand-held computer (see also HHT).
PDI Pre-Delivery Inspection: manufacturer's inspection (and modification/enhancement as required) of new cars prior to delivery to customer or dealer.
PDM Physical Distribution Management: aka logistics. Also "Product Development & Management".
PE Period Entry: Customs term.
PFC Processing for Free Circulation: Customs term.
PHS Packaging, Handling & Storage
PI Perpetual Inventory
PKMS Process Knowledge Management System. Also "PkMS"® proprietary warehouse management software from Manhattan Associates.
PLC Public Limited Company: one of two types of UK limited liability company (see also "Ltd"), whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. Also "Programmable Logic Controller".
PLG Private & Light Goods: vehicle tax class.
PLL Prescribed Load List
PLM Product Lifecycle Management: software for managing product lifecycles.
PM₁₀ Particulate Matter: airborne emissions of small particles from engines, tyres and brakes. The subscript 10 refers to the most commonly used indicator, where a sampler collects particles of which 50% are smaller than 10µm. The resultant material is known as PM₁₀.
PO Purchase Order
PO/CL Private Owner Circular Letters: UK technical standards for the design, construction and maintenance of railway stock (see also RGS).
POC Point Of Contact
POD Proof of Delivery
POL Petroleum, Oil & Lubricants
POQ Period Order Quantity
POS Point of Sale: see also EPoS and EFTPoS.
PPM Periodic Preventative Maintenance
PPP Public-Private Partnership
PPT Powered Pallet Truck
PR Ply Rating: tyre rating classification based on a code number (see also LR).
PRM Partner Relationship Management: software to manage relationships with business partners (see also CRM).
PS Product Supply. Also "Postscript" and sometimes "Pieces".
PSE Powered Support Equipment. See also NPSE.
PSI Pounds per Square Inch - measurement of pressure (e.g. tyres).
PTO Power Take-Off - usually a hydraulic pump connected to a vehicle's main engine, used to drive auxiliary equipment.

Q

QAD Quality Assured Delivery: logistics company takes responsibility for quality control.
QFD Quality Function Deployment: production technique focusing on improving quality and communication, to translate customer needs into effective processes and products (aka "House of Quality").
QR Quick Response: collaborative effort by retailers and manufacturers to increase inventory velocity while matching supply to consumer demand. See also CR and AR.
QRS QRS Corporation supplies the QRS Tradeweave" integrated software suite for collaborative supply chain management. The suite is available to clients on a transaction basis through Tibbett & Britten.
QSHE Quality, Safety, Health and Environment
qv quod vide: used to denote a cross-reference.

R

R&D Research & Development
R&M Repair and Maintenance
RCCP Rough Cut Capacity Planning: process of converting the master production schedule into requirements for key resources, often including personnel, machinery, warehouse space, suppliers' capabilities, and, in some cases, finance.
RDC Regional Distribution Centre: one of a network of large warehouses operated for a single retailer where merchandise is consolidated prior to delivery to its local stores. See also NDC, EDC, IDC.
RDI Radio Data Interchange: see also RFDC.
RDR Retail Delivery Record: paper-based delivery manifest.
RDT Radio Data Terminal: portable terminal used for the real-time collection and transmission of inventory data by RFDC (qv).
RF Radio Frequency: see RFDC.
RfD Railfreight Distribution: former international freighting arm of British Rail; now part of English Welsh & Scottish Railway (Wisconsin Rail).
RFDC Radio Frequency Data Communications: data communications technology that is rapidly becoming the standard for real-time inventory control.
RFG Rail Freight Group: representative body of the UK rail freight industry (see also ITSG).
RFI Request For Information: precursor to an ITT.
RFID Radio Frequency Identification Data: electronic tags which replace conventional barcodes.
RFP Request For Proposal: document that invites bids or quotations from suppliers.
RFQ Request For Quote: see RFP.
RFx Request For...: simultaneous request for information (RFI) and request for proposal/quotation (RFP/RFQ).
RGS Railway Group Standards: technical standards for the design, construction and maintenance of railway stock (see also PO/CL).
RHA Road Haulage Association: UK trade association.
RH&D Receipt, Handling and Despatch
RHDTC Road Haulage and Distribution Training Council: national training body for UK road transport industry.
RID Regulations for international movement of hazardous goods by rail. See also ADR, IMDG.
RL Reverse Logistics: recycling and disposal.
RMS Retail Management Systems
ROI Return on Investment
ROLLOP Rider-Operated Low-Level Order Picking truck: see also LLOP.
ROP Re-Order Point
Ro/Ro Roll-on/Roll-off: drive on ferry service for accompanied trailers. See also Lo/Lo.
RP Requirements Planning: an alternative type of supply-driven logistics control technique to JIT (qv). See also DRP.
RPM Revolutions Per Minute - measure of the speed of an engine.
RTA Road Traffic Accident. Also Road Transport Association (Northern Ireland) and Road Traffic Act (e.g. 1988 - UK).
RTP Returnable Transit Packaging: re-usable transit systems - typically tote boxes, set hangers and roll cages (see also DRL).
RUG Railfreight Users Group: UK trade association.

S

S-Comm Shopping Commerce: old-style trading involving people leaving their houses and visiting shops - and often paying with cash!
SACC Society of All Cargo Correspondents: UK-based freight press club (originally for air cargo journalists).
SAD Single Administrative Document: usually Customs form C88 (frontier declaration).
SAE Society of Automotive Engineers. Also "stamped, addressed envelope".
SALY Same As Last Year: see also "SALTY".
SALTY Same As Last Two Years: see also "SALY".
SAP Proprietary supply chain planning software solutions. Also mySAP.com - an e-business platform.
SAWS South African Warehousing Services: South Africa's largest distribution network, now renamed Tibbett & Britten (South Africa).
SBO Sales Based Ordering
SBOL Straight Bill of Lading
SC Supply Chain
SCADA Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition
SCI Supply Chain Integration: supply chain elements working together for maximum efficiency.
SCM Supply Chain Management. Often refers to software for automating the supply chain. Also the name of a Tibbett & Britten Group member company serving Wal-Mart's distribution requirements in Canada and Europe.
SD Supplementary Declaration: Customs term.
SDC Sample Data Collection
SDI Simplified Declaration (Imports): Customs term.
SDP Simplified Declaration Procedure: Customs term.
SDR UN currency basket, used for CMR (qv) liability limit, for example.
SDW Simplified Declaration (Warehouse): Customs term.
SEA Single European Authorisation: Customs term.
SED Shipper's Export Declaration
Set Unit in which hanging garments are transported.
SFD Simplified Frontier Declaration: Customs term.
SIG Special Interest Group
SIP Social Investment Programme
SITC Standard International Trade Classification: numerical classification system for commodities (UN).
SKD Semi Knock-Down: e.g. of vehicles. See also CKD.
SKU Stock Keeping Unit: individual stock item.
SL&C Shipper's Load and Count
SME Small to Medium Enterprise: not a big company.
SMG Slow Moving Goods: Can also refer to a distribution centre for such merchandise.
SMGWAS Slow Moving Groceries, Wines and Spirits: see also SMG.
SMMT Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders Ltd: UK trade association for the automotive industry.
SNCB Société Nationale des Chemins de fers Belges: Belgian national railways.
SNCF Société Nationale des Chemins de fers Française: French national railways.
SOHO Small Office/Home Office
SOLE International Society of Logistics: US professional body.
SORN Statutory Off-Road Notification (UK): declaration to DVLA that a vehicle will be taken off road and kept untaxed.
SPIC Simplified Procedure for Import Clearance
S/R Storage/Retrieval: see also P/D.
SRN Stillage Returned Note
STC Strategic Trade Center: US regional primary industry support centre.
STGO Special Types General Order (UK): abnormal load-carrying vehicles should display a STGO sign at the front, which also shows the relevant category (speed limit).
STSG Scottish Transport Studies Group
STTC Scottish Transport Training Council: UK trade association to promote training within the retail motor and road haulage industries.
SUF Second Updated Forecast
SVC Satellite Vehicle Communications: on-board computers, GPS, satellite communications, etc.
SWB Short Wheel-Base: small van or truck (see also LWB).
SWIFT Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications

T

T1 T1 Status: Customs term denoting goods are not in free circulation.
T/S Terms of Sale
T&B Tibbett & Britten Group plc: a world leader in logistics.
T&C Terms & Conditions
T&SO Tariff & Statistical Office
TAC Type Approval Certificate (UK): most goods vehicles manufactured after 1 October 1982 have required before first registration a Type Approval Certificate (TAC) if manufactured in the EU or a Ministers' Approval Certificate (MAC) if manufactured outside the EU.
TACA Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement
TAG Track Access Grant: revenue grants available in Great Britain to help meet Railtrack charges for track access, administered by the DTLR's (qv) FGU (qv) (not available in Northern Ireland).
TAO Traffic Area Office
TBCE Tibbett & Britten Central Europe: Regional division, based in Vienna, Austria, and covering operations in Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, etc.
TBG Tibbett & Britten Group plc: a world leader in logistics.
TBI Tibbett & Britten International is responsible for TBG operations outside Europe and North America.
TBOL Through Bill of Lading: see B/L.
TC Traffic Commissioner
TCfL Transport Committee for London: statutory body responsible for appeals against penalty charge notices, clamping and removal charges.
TCI Transportation Clubs International
TCRM Technology-enabled Customer Relationship Management: using information technology to improve customer retention in a variety of selling, marketing and servicing arenas. See also CRM.
TEDIS Trade Electronic Data Interchange System: EU initiative to promote EDI (qv) usage.
TENs Trans-European Networks: EU initiative to invest in improvements in transport, energy transport and telecommunications infrastructure across member states.
TERFs Trans-European Railfreight Freeways (aka TERFFs): EU railfreight network. See also TENs.
TES Technology-Enabled Selling: using information technology as an enabler in all types of selling.
TEU Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit: a standard measure for containers (see also FEU).
TGL Transcare Gulf Logistics: Tibbett & Britten 50:50 joint venture in the Middle East (with ISC - qv).
TI Temporary Importation: Customs term.
tihi Timarandum Height: i.e. "layers of" x height - a description of the configuration of cases on a pallet (a tihi of 8 x 10, means 8 cases per layer by 10 layers high - giving a total pallet quantity of 80 cases).
TIMCON Timber Packaging and Pallet Confederation (UK)
TIR Transport International Routiers: system of road transport where trailers are sealed at departure and opened at the destination, with free access across borders. No longer in use within the EC.
TIRRA Trucking Industry Regulatory Reform Act (1994, USA)
TIS Technical Interface Specification
TKL Tiefkühllogistik: TKL Tiefkühllogistik AG is a division of Tibbett & Britten Austria.
TL Truck Load
TLF Train Load Freight: a TOC (qv) - the former bulk freight arm of British Rail.
TLI The Logistics Institute: at Georgia Tech (US).
TM Technical Manual. Also "Trade Mark".
TMS Transport Management System
TOC Train Operating Company: a private passenger or freight rail transport company. Also "Theory Of Constraints" - a management philosophy dealing with system constraints or bottlenecks. See also CCR.
TOFC Trailer On a Flatcar: aka "piggyback". See also COFC.
TOPS Total Operations Processing System: UK railfreight tracking system.
TP Transporter: usually a road-going car transporter.
TPL Third Party Logistics: outsourced logistics. Also "3PL".
TPP Third-Party Provider: logistics contractor (see also LSP).
TQM Total Quality Management: business management techniques designed to systematically reduce errors and raise service quality.
TSLG Transport Statistics Liaison Group: UK user group - a sub-group of the Central & Local (Government) Information Partnership (CLIP), formerly the Information Development and Liaison Group (IDLG).
TSUG Transport Statistics Users Group: UK user group.
TUPE Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Act, 1981: UK regulations which protect employees' rights when ownership of a business or enterprise changes hands.
TURN Trader Unique Reference Number: Customs term.
TW Tare Weight: weight of truck or container without cargo (but including packing, etc.).

U

UAE United Arab Emirates: a group of seven emirates bordering the Arabian Gulf, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
UCC Uniform Commercial Code
UCR Unique Consignment Reference
UCTA Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UK): Act which can prevent a seller taking advantage of the small print.
UDDI Universal Description, Discovery and Integration of Business: standards and match-making facility for procurement managers and suppliers.
UFCs Urban Freight Centres: proposal to bring rail freight to the heart of towns and cities.
UIC Union Internationale des Chemins de fer: international railways federation.
UIRR International Union of Combined Road-Rail Transport Companies
UK United Kingdom: in full, the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" i.e. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
UKASTA UK Agricultural Supply Trade Association: UK trade association.
ULI Unique Logistics International
ULSD Ultra-Low Sulphur Diesel: low-emission vehicle fuel.
UN United Nations
UNIFE Union of European Railway Industries
UPC Universal Product Code, the familiar rectangular barcode system. Also "Unit Product Code" and "Unique Product Code".
UR Unique Reference
URL Uniform Resource Locator: universal naming system for internet documents.
URTU United Road Transport Union
USCS United States Customs Service
U/W Unladen Weight

V

VADS Value-Added Data Services. See also VAN.
VAN Value Added Network: also "Value Added Network Services". See also VADS.
VAR Value Added Reseller
VAS Value Added Services
VAT Value Added Tax: a purchase tax - currently 17.5% on most goods in the UK.
VCA Value Chain Analysis. Also "Vehicle Certification Agency": undertakes type approval tests on vehicles, components and systems.
VED Vehicle Excise Duty: road fund/road tax.
VGL Van Gend & Loos: Dutch railways company, formerly joint owner with Unilever of TBG.
VI Vehicle Inspectorate: UK executive agency handling statutory vehicle testing.
VIES VAT Information Exchange System: a system of administrative co-operation between European member states based on the computerised exchange of VAT registration data and data collected from VAT-registered exporters.
VIN Vehicle Identification Number
VL Virtual Logistics
VM Vehicle Manufacturer
VMI Vendor-Managed Inventory: retailer sends stock information only to supplier; supplier calculates goods required and delivers to retailer. Similar to CR (qv).
VMRS Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards
VNA Very Narrow Aisle: mechanical handling equipment designed to operate in the narrowest warehouse aisles.
VPN Virtual Private Network

W

WAMBAM Web Application Meets Bricks & Mortar: see also DOTBAM.
WAN Wide Area Network: network with a geographical spread of more than a mile - often comprising connected LANs (qv).
WERC Warehousing Education & Research Council (US): international professional body for the advancement and education of those involved in warehousing and distribution management.
WIGIG When It's Gone It's Gone: warehouse stock that's not due for replenishment.
WIM Weigh In Motion: technology to determine vehicle weight without requiring the vehicle to be stationary.
WIP Work In Progress
WMS Warehouse Management System: software to manage inventories.
WRD Warehouse Removal Declaration: Customs term.
WTD Working Time Directive: EC Directive covering, inter alia, drivers' hours.
WWRE World Wide Retail Exchange: web-based B2B exchange for global retailers (see also GNX).
WWW World Wide Web: the multi-media part of the internet you are using now!
WYSIWYG What You See Is What You Get

X

X12 US EDI (qv) standards committee.
X.25 A communications standard.
X.400 An e-mail standard.
XML eXtensible Mark-up Language: markup language for (web) documents containing structured information - used for messaging via the internet.

Y

Y2K Year 2000
Y2K1 Year 2001. Also "2K1".

Z

ZBB Zero Based Budgeting: budgeting system where each task or function is justified from first principles. See also ABC.