PACKAGE DELIVERY GLOSSARY
Accessorials: Charges by the carrier for address corrections and missing account numbers, among other errors.
Bill of lading: Document that serves as the carrier’s
acknowledgement of receipt of goods for shipping.
Certificate of origin: Document required for a package to clear
customs in some countries that limit imports from certain nations.
Delivery density: Number of packages being delivered to a particular
destination.
Day-definite delivery: Agreement of a carrier to deliver a
package by a certain date.
Drop-ship: To have the manufacturer handle delivery to the
end user, rather than the reseller stocking the merchandise in its distribution
center and then shipping the goods to the buyer.
Geotype reports: Reports from a carrier showing what portion
of a shipper’s deliveries go to superrural, rural, suburban, urban, and
superurban locales.
LTL: Less than truckload, shipments that do not fill a trailer
and can be consolidated with shipments from other senders to save money.
LTL shipper: Carrier that consolidates smaller shipments from
multiple shippers, using strategically placed hubs; also called consolidator.
Rate-shopping software: Software that determines the most cost-effective
carrier for each package, based on criteria such as package weight and destination.
Portfolio pricing: Bundling of a package carrier’s services
within a contract, which includes the creation of revenue tiers that determine
a client’s volume discounts.
Tariff code: Product-specific code of 6-10 digits, as determined
by the World Customs Organization, that is required on international shipping
documents for tax purposes.
TL: Truckload.
TL shipper: Carrier that handles only full truckloads.
Zone reports: Reports from a carrier showing how much volume
a client ships to each zone.
