Glossary
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- A -
ABC Stratification and Classification
Process of categorizing inventory into groups based on criteria such as turnover, size of product, required storage space, sales dollars and amount of product sold. This process helps determine the inventory management policy and optimizes inventory turnover.
Accuracy Audit
Process of verifying the accuracy of inventory. This involves reconciling the inventory data with a physical count of stored inventory.
Address Standardization
Process of correcting and standardizing addresses in a file according to the United States Postal Service (USPS) standards.
Allocation
In inventory management, allocations are determined by the demand created by usage of a particular item. The total quantity of a specific item needed for an order or for a specific time duration is known as standard allocation. The company normally reserves the inventory for the specific order or time period.
Alternate Delivery Method
Method of delivering sample products or direct mail items to households without using the United States Postal Service.
ASN (Advanced Shipment Notification)
Notification of shipment to a customer. Data such as purchase order (PO) numbers, stock keeping unit (SKU) numbers, quantity, lot numbers, carton numbers, and container or pallet numbers. The notification is generally sent via electronic data interchange (EDI).
- B -
Backorder
An order that is past its specified ship date because the required items are out-of-stock.
Bar Code
A series of vertical bars and half bars encoded to correspond to the nine-digit zip code that can be read by scanners and converted easily into data. Mailers use barcodes to expedite the process of sorting mail and gain discount on postage.
In warehousing, bar codes are used to identify SKU's for location and pick purposes.
Batch Picking
A style of order picking where all orders are grouped into small batches. All orders in the batch are then picked in one pass.
Benchmark
A measurement used to gauge factors such as efficiency for comparison purposes. Benchmarking The process of comparing an internal measurement with a benchmark. Benchmarking helps companies improve quality and increase efficiency. Some of the measurements that are commonly used for benchmarking in a 3PF or 3PL firm are operational efficiency, inventory accuracy, and picking accuracy.
Internal Benchmarking compares internal measurements to previous historical internal measurements.
External Benchmarking is used to compare a firm's internal measurements to that of an external source such as a competitor.
BOL (Bill of Lading)
Written receipt issued to a shipper by a carrier to list and confirm the receipt of goods to be transported and specify the items for delivery.
BOM (Bill of Material)
Document listing materials required to produce a specific item. Multilevel BOMs also depict subassemblies and their components.
Bin
A storage container used to store multiple units of the SKU number. Bins are commonly made of metal, corrugated cardboard or plastic.
Bonded Liquor Warehouse
A warehouse authorized by the Customs authorities in which liquor is generally stored, assembled and shipped out but the payment of duties on the liquor is not made until the liquor is removed from the warehouse.
Bundle
A group of packages fastened together in a single unit under the standards applicable to the rate claimed.
Business-to-Business (B2B)
Activities between two or more businesses. 3PF or 3PL B2B activities include the warehousing and storage of products, order processing on behalf of a client, etc.
Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
Activities channeled from a business to a consumer. 3PF or 3PL B2C activities include warehousing or storage of products, order processing and customer service (for items shipped directly to customers) on behalf of a business.
BRM (Business Reply Mail)
A mail system that allows pieces of mail printed with a specific address and indicia to be returned to the addressee without payment of postage by the sender. The postage is generally collected when the mail is delivered to the addressee who originally distributed the BRM.
BRC (Business Reply Card)
A card that is mailed back, generally to the marketer, by a prospective customer, at no cost to the customer. A specific address and indicia are printed on the card so that the postage is collected from the marketer.
