Origin

The place where a shipment begins its movement.

Original equipment manufacturer (OEM)

OEMs are responsible for producing parts or equipment that can be used by other manufacturers to create end products.

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)

The rebranding of equipment and selling it under another name, or as a component of another product.

OS&D

Over, Short, and Damaged.

OSHA

Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

OTIF

On Time In Full.

Outbound Consolidation

Consolidation of a number of small shipments for various customers into a larger load.

Outbound Logistics

The process related to the movement and storage of products from the end of the production line to the end user.

Outbound Supply Chain Network Planning

An inventory distribution or transportation planning strategy that attempts to optimize the time/cost of travel or the cost of holding inventory across multiple sites.

Outgate

The process of checking a container or trailer out of an intermodal facility.

Outlier

In statistical analysis, an outlier refers to a data point that is statistically different from the main body, either significantly high or low.

Out Of Stock

The state of not having inventory at a location and available for distribution or for sale to the consumer (zero inventory).

Outpartnering

A variant of outsourcing seen primarily in the healthcare industry, outpartnering is characterized by close working relationships between buyers and suppliers as a source of knowledge, expertise, and complementary core competencies.

Outsource

To utilize a third-party provider to perform services previously performed in-house.

Outsourced Cost of Goods Sold

Operations performed on raw materials outside of the responding entity's organization that would typically be considered internal to the entity's manufacturing cycle.

Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

A measure of overall equipment effectiveness that takes into account machine availability, performance, and output quality.

Overpack

The practice of using a large box or carton to contain multiple smaller packages, which are all going to the same destination, in order to achieve a reduced overall shipping cost compared to the individual packages.

Over, short and damaged (OS&D)

This is typically a report issued at the warehouse when goods received are more or less than indicated by the packing slip or are damaged. It is used to file a claim with the carrier.

Over-the-Road

A motor carrier operation that involves long-distance, intercity moves is the opposite of local operations.

Owner-Operator (OO)

A trucking operation in which the owner of the truck is also the driver.

P2P

Peer-to-Peer

Package to Order

A postponement strategy is implemented when products are received in bulk or manufactured without final packaging. This allows for a variety of packaging options for a single product. An example of this strategy is when a product is shipped to retailers with packaging specifically designed for each individual retailer.

Packaging Indicator (PI)

The first digit of the U.P.C. shipping container (EAN/UCC-128) code identifies the packaging level.

Packing and Marking

Sometimes referred to as preservation, packaging, and marking, these are the activities related to packing for shipping by placing goods into designated containers and labeling (marking) the container with customer-prescribed destination and other information.

Packing List

List showing merchandise packed and all particulars. Normally prepared by the shipper, but not required by carriers. A copy is sent to the consignee to help verify shipment received. It may be inside the box or attached to the outside in a clear envelope. This is the physical equivalent of the electronic Advanced Ship Notice (ASN).

Pack Out

In a fulfillment environment, this refers to the operations involved in packaging and palletizing individual units of product for introduction into the warehouse distribution environment. For example, a contracted 3PL may receive or assemble units of product that need to be placed into retail packaging, then over-packed with a carton, and finally palletized.

Pallet

The platform on which cartons are stacked and then used for shipment or movement as a group is called a pallet. Pallets may be made of wood or composite materials. Some pallets have electronic tracking tags (RFID), and most are recycled in some manner.

Pallet Jack

Material handling equipment consists of two broad parallel pallet forks on small wheels used in the warehouse to move pallets of products, but it does not have the lifting capability of a forklift. It can be a motorized unit guided by an operator who stands on a platform, or it can be a motorized or manual unit guided by an operator who walks behind or beside it. It comes as a 'single' (one pallet) or 'double' (two pallets).

Pallet Rack

A single or multi-level structural storage system is utilized to support high stacking of single items or palletized loads.

Pallet Tag

Also known as 'License Plate', the barcoded sticker that is placed on a unit load or partial load, typically at receiving, the pallet tag can be scanned with an RF gun.

Pallet Ticket

A document or label attached to a pallet shows the description, part number, and quantity of the item contained on the pallet.

Pallet Wrapping Machine

A machine that wraps a pallet's contents in stretch wrap to ensure safe shipment.

Parcel

This is a method of shipping that includes small quantities of items, usually sent directly to customers and packaged in boxes or poly mailers.

Parcel Case Strapping

The act of consolidating two or more individual cartons or cases of a shipment together with strapping to form one single unit is done in an effort to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Parcel Shipment

Parcels include small packages, like those typically handled by providers such as UPS and FedEx.

Pareto

A means of sorting data, for example, the number of quality faults by frequency of occurrence. This is an analysis comparing cumulative percentages of the rank ordering of costs, cost drivers, profits, or other attributes to determine whether a minority of elements has a disproportionate impact. Another example is identifying that 20% of a set of independent variables is responsible for 80% of the effect. Also, see the 80/20 Rule.

Part Period Balancing (PPB)

A lot size technique that uses look ahead and look back functions to consider additional periods in modifying an initial calculation based on the least total cost. Also, see Discrete Order Quantity and Dynamic lot sizing.

Part Standardization

A strategy designed to eliminate excessive SKU counts (part numbers) from inventory control systems through the use of common parts and components. Also known as 'rationalizing'.

Passenger-Mile

A measure of output for passenger transportation; it reflects the number of passengers transported and the distance traveled; a multiplication of passengers hauled and distance traveled.

Password

A private code is required to gain access to a computer, an application program, or a service.

Past Performance Automated Information System (PPAIS)

A U.S. DoD central database allows program managers and contracting officials to review the past performance records of potential bidders. This webpage, available at http://dodppais.navy.mil, provides users with access to more than 8,600 past performance report cards, which embody more than $300 billion in defense contracts.

Path to Profitability (P2P)

The step-by-step model to generate earnings.

Pattern Recognition

A technique of looking at raw data and classifying it based on either experience or statistical information drawn from the patterns.

Payment

The transfer of money, or other agreed-upon medium, for the provision of goods or services.

Pay-on-Use

Pay-on-Use is a process where payment is initiated by product consumption, i.e. consignment stock based on the withdrawal of products from inventory. This process is popular with many European companies.

Payroll

Total of all fully burdened labor costs, including wages, fringe benefits, overtime, bonuses, and profit sharing.

PBIT

The financial profit generated prior to the deduction of taxes and interest due on loans is also called operating profit.

PBL

Performance-Based Logistics