27 Terms For The Transport of Goods In The Shipping Industry

If you know little about shipping, I suggest collecting and sorting out the terminology you encounter. Terminology explanation can help us understand many particular concepts and their actual meaning. The following explains the terms for the transport of goods in the shipping industry.

13 Common Shipping Terms For The Transport of Goods In The Shipping Industry

1. Shipping Label

Shipping label refers to the documents used in the logistics industry to record the sender, recipient, product weight, price, and other related information during the delivery of goods.

Currently, people in the logistics industry mainly use barcodes to ensure continuous data output in the logistics industry and facilitate overall logistics management.

2. Customs Declaration (international shipping terms)

A customs declaration is a form that lists the details of goods that are being imported or exported when a citizen or visitor enters a customs territory (country's borders).

Custom declaration Includes the declared product name, declared quantity, unit price, customs code, and distribution name/SKU. Custom declaration often shows with custom clearance. These two terms are crucial international shipping terms.

3. Tracking Number

The serial number on the parcel shipping label, the serial number is used for mail without tracking numbers, and the tracking number is used for package tracking.

4. Mail Pouch Number Meaning

A mail pouch is a large bag that holds the packages. This large bag is numbered for tracking.

5. Lot Number Meaning

According to the designated postal office and postal partition, the lot number will be generated after packing. A batch contains multiple postal bags.

6. Registered Mail Meaning

The shipping cost of a registered small package is higher than ordinary mail. In the event of loss or damage due to the shipping carrier's operation, you can claim compensation following the regulations.

7. Surface Mail Meaning

Surface mail is a common but slower shipping service compared to registered mail. Surface mail can be divided into surface mail with tracking numbers and surface mail without tracking numbers.

8. Shipping Carrier

An organization or institution that provides shipping services. For example, FedEx, DHL, China Post, Hongkong Post, etc.

9. Mail Route Meaning

A road or route by which mail is regularly conveyed, this mailing method depends on the carrier, such as USPS surface mail, FedEx registered mail, etc.

10. Postal Zones Meaning

The different destination countries under the postal route are divided into various divisions. Carriers use this method to distinguish the service costs of different destination countries—for example, the FedEx United States, FedEx Australia, etc.

11. Express Delivery Meaning

Express delivery is a door-to-door logistics service, which refers to the fast delivery of customers' packages through railways, roads, and air transportation.

Express delivery is faster than standard delivery. In many respects, express delivery is better than postal delivery services. In addition to more rapid delivery to the destination and the need to sign for receipt, many carriers provide package tracking service, estimated shipping time, and other custom services. Therefore, the cost of express delivery is higher than standard delivery.

12. Less-than-truckload Shipping(LTL) Meaning

Less-than-truckload shipping is similar to carsharing. It means hundreds of goods from different people are shipped in one truck.

13. Truckload Shipping Meaning

Truckload shipping refers to the consignment of a batch of goods occupying at least one train car or one truck for rail or road transportation.

14 Important Shipping Terms Abbreviations

1. OMS

OMS stands for Order Management System. It is a software/system for processing customers' orders and transmitting the order information to the corresponding warehouse management system or vehicle scheduling system.

2. WMS

WMS stands for Warehouse Management System. This software/system is used for warehouse planning, inbound and outbound management, and inventory management.

3. TMS

TMS stands for Transportation Management System. It is mainly used in storage and transportation to manage multiple tasks such as stowage operations, scheduling, distribution, route planning, and vehicle management.

4. ERP

ERP stands for enterprise resource planning. This system is often used for integrating internal and external information of the enterprise. The ERP system can help integrate the information flow, capital flow, and management flow in enterprise operation to achieve resource optimization.

5. VMI

VMI stands for Vendor Managed Inventory. The supplier manages inventory to keep the cost at the lowest for customers and themselves. This supplier-managed inventory often requires mutual trust.

6. RDC

RDC stands for Regional Distribution Center. It refers to the distribution center where the logistics company conducts operations. This kind of distribution center is usually directly managed by the headquarters of the logistics company, and the distribution scope covers several surrounding provinces. It generally has a transportation department, an information department, a warehouse department, and a general department.

7. FDC

FDC stands for Front-end logistics center. FDC is located in large and medium cities, providing distribution and storage services. FDC is mainly for a particular type of product or business, and its function is single.

8. TDC

TDC stands for Trucker Logistics Center. It is a logistics center established by a freight company with solid logistics and transportation capabilities. Its freight logistics center has a strong comprehensive ability and weak professionalism. Its distribution scale is larger than that of regional distribution centers.

9. JIT

JIT stands for just-in-time production. It emphasizes that production must be completed according to the requirements within the regulations. Its purpose is to reduce the inventory backlog to a minimum and improve production efficiency. Generally, manufacturers use this method more often.

10. PDA

PDA is a handheld scanner. People in the shipping industry will use PDA for monitoring inbound, outbound, and listing.

11. AGV

AGV stands for Automated Guided Vehicle. It is a kind of intelligent storage equipment that does not require manual operation. It can automatically realize the transportation of goods in the warehouse through programming.

12. Shuttle

Generally, the shuttle is used in intelligent warehouses. The goods on the shelves are transported to the designated position through the trolley on the fixed track.

13. OB/IB

OB stands for outbound while IB means inbound.

14. 3PL

A third-party logistics company (3PL) offers shippers outsourced logistics and supply chain service solutions. A company can outsource all or just a portion of its logistics requirements.