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GLOSSARY OF TERMS
| PHRASE | ACRONYM ABBREVIATION | DEFINITION |
| Additional Handling Surcharge | AHS | Additional fee shippers pay due for extra care needed for a shipment because the shipment is fragile, oversized, awkwardly packaged, or heavy. |
| Address Correction | Additional fee shippers pay when a customer address is incomplete, incorrect, or difficult to interpret. The carrier will attempt to interpret and correct the address for proper delivery. | |
| Army Post Office | APO | A post office or PO box on a military base for armed service members. Only USPS delivers to APO addresses. |
| Advanced Shipping Notice | ASN | A document that provides detailed information about pending shipments/delivery. |
| Bill of Lading | BOL | A list of contents in a shipment given by the shipper to the receiver via the carrier. It is a legal document required in the movement of freight. |
| Carton ID | The numeric, scan-able ID given to a package within a fulfillment center before a tracking ID has been assigned. | |
| Cross-dock or
Cross-docking |
Xdock
XD |
The transfer of freight from an inbound truck to an outbound truck to a distribution center. |
| Delivered Duty Paid | DDP | This is an Incoterm. The shipper is responsible for all Duties and Taxes for the shipment. |
| Delivered Duty Unpaid | DDU | This is an Incoterm. The receiver is responsible for all Duties and Taxes for the shipment. |
| Delivery Area Surcharge | DAS | Additional fee shippers pay when packages are delivered to remote residential addresses. Think rural, sparsely populated areas. |
| Department of
Transportation |
DOT | Federal regulatory agency that defines rules for carriers and shippers in order to promote safe and ethical transportation of goods. |
| Destination | the place to which a ‘shipment’ is going or being sent. | |
| Dimensional Factor | DIM Factor | A division factor provided by carriers to determine the DIM Weight of packages. A higher DIM Factor will lead to a lower DIM Weight and therefore a lower shipping price. |
| Dimensional Weight | DIM, DIM Weight | The volumetric weight of a package determined by multiplying the length, width, and height to get the volume and dividing by a Dimensional Factor. Essentially determines the density. |
| Diplomatic Post Office | DPO | A post office or PO box at an embassy for Diplomats and the US State Department. Only USPS delivers to DPO addresses. |
| Direct to Consumer | DTC, B2C | A shipment sent directly to a customer rather than a customer purchasing in store. |
| Dispatch | To release a driver/trailer/truck from a facility. | |
| Downgrade | DG | Using a ground service level even though customer requested overnight/express because it can still meet commitments but at a cost savings |
| Drop Ship | DS | A shipment directly from a vendor to the customer skipping the ‘middleman’ or seller’s warehouse. |
| Extended Delivery Area Surcharge | EDAS | Additional fee shippers pay when packages are delivered to extremely remote residential addresses. Think remote, hard to reach addresses. |
| Fleet Post Office | FPO | A post office or PO box on a military base for navy service members. Only USPS delivers to FPO addresses. |
| Freight | Goods transported in bulk by truck, train, ship, or aircraft.
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| Fuel Surcharge | FS | Additional fee shippers pay for fuel costs that a carrier incurs while shipping. Often charged as a percent of the total base freight charges in conjunction with the DOT’s weekly fuel scales. |
| Gaylord | Large corrugated box typically with a pallet size foot print (48”x40”) and height of 48” to 96”. Used to ‘overpack’ smaller packages & polybags. | |
| Hazardous Materials | HazMat, Haz | Products that are dangerous to ship via certain methods or require special care. These products can include batteries, perfumes, and aerosols. They require special markings on the outside of the packaging, and require further classification & documentation to ship Air. |
| Induct/ Induction Point | The location where packages are accepted (inducted) into a carrier’s network. | |
| Intercept | Interrupting a package in transit to reroute or initiate a return to sender. A shipper would chose to do this if a customer selected the wrong destination address or the shipper sent the wrong product. | |
| Large Package Surcharge | LPS | Additional fee shippers pay when packages are small enough for the parcel network but require lots of additional handling due to size or weight. |
| Length + Girth | L+G | 2 x the width + 2 x the height where length is the longest side. Used to determine the maximum dimensions allowed for certain carriers and service levels. |
| Must Ship By | MSB | The date/time a package has to leave a site in order to get to the carrier on time to make sort. |
| Node | The origin for the shipment. Could be the DC, FC, or Store depending on the shipper and shipment. | |
| Non-Conveyable | Non-Con | Products or packages that are too large for a conventional conveyor system. |
| Over Maximum Surcharge | OMS | Additional fee shippers pay when packages are too large for the parcel network but were still shipped in the parcel network. Carriers will often still deliver but for a fee of $850 or more. |
| Over-pack (v) | To place & seal smaller packages within a larger package or container. Polybagged parcels are ‘overpacked’ in a Gaylord for transport. | |
| Overage, Shortage, Damage | OSD | Report that notes an overage, shortage, or damage to the shipment. |
| Parcel
Package |
Pkg | An item or collection of items wrapped in paper, corrugate, or poly in order to be carried or transported. |
| Post Office Box | PO Box, PO | A locker unit inside a post office to which customers can have mail or packages delivered. Only the USPS is legally authorized to deliver mail and packages to a PO box. |
| Proof of Delivery | POD | Proof provided by a carrier that they delivered a package to the recipient. Can include GPS scans, signatures, or photographs taken of the package. |
| Residential Surcharge | Resi | Additional fee shippers pay when packages are delivered to a residential address rather than a commercial address. Think a home in a neighborhood versus an office on a busy street. |
| Seal | Plastic strap or bolt with a unique serial number used to lock a trailer or truck door, and act as proof of tampering if load arrives with seal changed or removed. | |
| Seal Number | Unique serial number found on trailer seals. Used to ensure load security. | |
| Solo Driver | Solo | A single driver who completes a deliver alone. A driver is only allowed to drive a maximum of 11 hours and must rest for 10 hours. |
| Sort | Sort as a noun – the process where packages are sorted by the carrier for distribution to the next terminal or delivery point. | |
| Surcharges | SC | Additional fees shippers pay in addition to the base freight charge for a variety of reasons such as fuel or additional handling. |
| Team Driver | Two drivers working together complete a deliver. The drivers take turns driving and resting to follow DOT driving restrictions and guidelines. | |
| Tender | To release freight to a driver/carrier. | |
| Tracking ID | The numeric, scan-able ID given to a package for use with a shipping carrier. Allows the customer to track their package on the carrier’s site. One order can have multiple packages and therefore multiple Tracking IDs. | |
| Upgrade | Using a faster service level than requested in order to meet customer commitment | |
| Zone | Essentially a distance factor from origin to customer address. It is used with weight to determine the shipping expense. Closer zones typically ship faster and cost less than far zones. | |
| Zone Skipping | Choosing to linehaul the freight to an induction point closer to the final destination to take advantage of closer zones. Often only economical for high density shippers. |
