Distribution facilities that operate to merge flows from different sources, they may be stocked or stockless.

A body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.

An individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or resale. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and advertisements.

Is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers.

Contamination comes from the Latin word contaminat-, meaning “made impure.” When something is contaminated it is thus no longer pure but hazardous for example food that has been contaminated with mold.

Is a course of action designed to help an organisation respond effectively to a significant future event or situation that may or may not happen.

To form a sequence, which the same action or event is repeated frequently.

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. It defines the terms of engagement and the contractual obligations of each party. A contract is used in various legal situations to resolve disputes and is therefore legally binding.  

As a result of poor contract management, the expected value of the contract and value achieved through the lifecycle of the contract differ. This is known as contract leakage. 

The process of systematically and efficiently managing contract creation, execution and analysis for maximizing operational and financial performance and minimizing risk

Is the process of systematically and efficiently managing contract creation, execution and analysis for maximizing operational and financial performance and minimizing risk. 

Is the process of methodically managing contracts with the intention of minimizing financial and operational risks and optimising vendor performance.

A Contract Purchase Order is a more formal version of the Planned PO and involves legal agreements, therefore offering the most protection. 

A conveyor system is a common piece of material handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another mechanically, i.e. without human intervention 

Is an agreement between the buying firm and its supplier that involves a mutual commitment over an extended period of time, including the sharing of information, risks, and rewards.

The primary area or activity that a company was founded on, or focuses on, in its business operations.  

Many market leaders aim to maintain a strong position in their core business areas, but they usually remain open to developing new areas of activity as perceived business opportunities arise

The main strengths or strategic advantages of a business.  Core competencies are the combination of pooled knowledge and technical capacities that allow a business to be competitive in the marketplace.

Theoretically, a core competency should allow a company to expand into new markets as well as provide a significant benefit to customers.  It should also be hard for competitors to replicate.

Setting out the responsibilities of directors and establishing the accountability of the board to all the company's stakeholders [such that it] includes the systems and tools used to achieve the company's environmental objectives and their effectiveness in meeting desired outcomes.

Corporate governance is a set of standards which outline responsibilities and practices to be exercised by the board, the executive management and all employees with the goal of providing strategic direction.

Corporate strategy is concerned with the overall purpose and scope of the organisation to meet the expectations of major stakeholders.  

Individuals, groups or organisations conducting in dishonest and fraudulent practices typically involving some form of bribery

Effective or productive in relation to its cost.

The direct cost of producing the goods sold.

A CIF contract is a type of international purchasing contract which places the responsibility on the seller to arrange for the shipment of the goods, and to insure them against loss or damage during the voyage.

When the price of a product is determined by taking the cost to make the product and adding a mark-up.

The process of calculating the cost of goods or services being sold.

A systematic approach to estimate the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives requirements or projects investments.

Goods are sold directly to and collected by the customers from a warehouse or shop-front. Typical examples of the use of counter are when spare parts are sold from a wholesalers, or when reject or out-of-styles products are sold at discounted prices from the manufacturer’s warehouse.

Counter trade is the exchanging of goods or services which are paid for, in whole or part, with other goods or services, rather than with money.

It is an acute respiratory illness in humans caused by a coronavirus, capable of producing severe symptoms and in some cases death, especially in older people and those with underlying health conditions. It was originally identified in China in 2019 and became pandemic in 2020.

Cross-docking is a practice in logistics of unloading materials from an incoming semi-trailer truck or railroad car and loading these materials directly into outbound trucks, trailers, or rail cars, with little or no storage in between.

This will allow for someone to be pulled off another activity to assist with the incoming shipment incase of a shortage.

Crowdsourcing is a sourcing model in which individuals or organizations obtain goods and services, including ideas, voting, micro-tasks and finances, from a large, relatively open and often rapidly evolving group of participants.

A decentralized digital currency that is secured using cryptography.

A symmetrical three-dimensional shape, either solid or hollow, contained by six equal squares.

Using the ceiling space for storage in a warehouse.

Volume is measured in "cubic" units. The volume of a figure is the number of cubes required to fill it completely, like blocks in a box. Volume of a cube = side times side times side. Since each side of a square is the same, it can simply be the length of one side cubed.

Culture is a the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another.

Cumulative Lead Time is the total accumulated time for an end item to be available for sale. This will include the time to source and purchase all raw materials needed for the manufacture of the item. This includes time for purchase order approval, time for supplier to supply, time for delivery to our warehouse and time for receiving and inspection. In also includes time for the manufacture of the end item though all levels of the bill of material. The cumulative lead time is calculated to include all time until the item is available for sale, so this will also include the time taken to receive the finished product from production unto the FG warehouse.

Company goal is to maximize customer satisfaction and win the confidence of consumers. 

Customer Demand Planning (CDP) is a business-planning process that enables sales teams to develop demand forecasts as input to service-planning processes, production, inventory planning and revenue planning.

Is a single-item metric that measures how much effort a customer must exert to get an issue resolved, a request fulfilled, a product purchased/returned, or a question answered.

Customer-relationship management is an approach to manage a company's interaction with current and potential customers. It uses data analysis about customers' history with a company to improve business relationships with customers, specifically focusing on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth

Is used by customer service professionals to measure a customer's feelings regarding a recent interaction.

A written document that employees follow when dealing with customers who are not satisfied with the company's products or services. It also lists how all employees should behave so as to improve the overall experience for customers

A customer service standard is the specified level that is required in any interaction between any organisation and its customers. Customer service standards are based on expected levels of excellence, response time, accessibility, delivery time and commitment. All trade, commerce and business lead back to the customer, so it is essential that the company continuously strives to improve the level of service that they deliver.

Customer Value can be defined as the difference between the perceived benefits that flow from a purchase, or a relationship and the total costs incurred. 

Cycle inventory is the inventory that a company cycles to satisfy regular and on-going demand. It is the inventory that a company expects to sell, or use in the manufacturing process for a given period of time.

Cycle stock is the inventory that you manufacture with the intention of selling, so by using a lead strategy you may end up with more inventory at any given time because it has not as yet been shipped to a customer.

The total time from the beginning to the end of your process, as defined by you and your customer. Cycle time includes process time, during which a unit is acted upon to bring it closer to an output, and delay time, during which a unit of work is spent waiting to take the next action.

Cyclicality in time series refers to the extent to which the projected sales are influenced by general business cycles which tend to be longer than 1 year. Some products have a fairly constant demand as they move through the product lifecycle. A cyclical pattern shows a constant growth with slight vari-ation in demand, but moving in an upward pattern.

Distribution Centre 

Materials may become damaged during the manufacturing process and these must be replaced in order for the production to continue.

This calculation works out how long inventory will last in stock be-fore it runs out. 

a term used for slowing down an order. This can be necessary when the sequence of operations changes within the factory. This means a slowing down of material issues too so that there is not excessive inventory on the shop floor.

Decentralized warehousing is the method of holding inventory at many smaller warehouses spread out in different areas for distribution to local customers.

The action or process of deciding something or of resolving a question.

Is a period of contraction or downturn in the economy.

The market for the product will start to shrink, and this is known as the decline stage. This could be due to the market becoming saturated as all the customers who will buy the product have already purchased it, or because the consumers are switching to a another type or a newer model of the product.

Is an expense that can be subtracted from taxable income in order to reduce the amount owed.

To state precisely the meaning of words, terms, etc.

A contract is a legally binding agreement between 2 or more parties. It is used in various legal situations and is therefore legally binding.

“Contract” means the written agreement entered into between the purchaser and the supplier, as recorded in the contract form signed by the parties, including all attachments and appendices thereto and all documents incorporated by reference therein.”

Means removing all damaged and expired products, as well as other items that are cluttering the warehouse or storage room sometimes for many years to free up space and use best practices to organize the warehouse.