D

D bar code
a bar code that uses a series of bars and spaces to represent data. 1D barcodes (also called linear bar codes) are read scanning across the width of the bars (one dimension).

D2C
(also d2c, direct to consumer) Operations and processes oriented toward the marketing and shipment of products directly to the consumer.

data field
an element, usually allowing affixed number of characters, in a database file such as the item identification number, quantity, street address of the recipient, etc.

data formatting
the way in which data fields are organized, displayed and printed. Data often has to be reformatted multiple times on the same order as it moves from one application to another as the data moves from order placement to order processing to order shipping. This is often done through middleware.

DC
see distribution center.

direct
(also see direct marketing) Pertaining to selling good or services directly to businesses or consumers.

direct mail (also known as mail order)
(also see direct marketing) A component of direct marketing, in which a business communicates directly with customers by mail, usually to either sell a product or service or to solicit a donation. Though retail coupons and advertisements can be distributed via direct mail, in its purest form, direct mail requires the recipient to respond directly with the sender, either through the mail, over the telephone, via fax, or online. Direct Mail can be B2B or B2C. Direct mailers can receive special rates that depend on the item weight, size, total number of like pieces being mailed, and on how the mail is sorted. (See presort, presort accuracy validation and evaluation, Presorted 1st Class, and Presorted Standard Mail, and Priority Mail.)

direct marketing
the business of establishing and maintaining a relationship directly between the manufacturer or distributor of a product or service and the end purchaser of the product of service. Since the “interface” of a retail store or a 3rd-party distributor is eliminated, the relationship is direct. New customers are acquired by through solicitations to respond – a process called “prospecting” – utilizing such media as direct mail, print advertising e-mail, online advertisements, web-based shopping, and through telemarketing. When a product is sold directly from a manufacturer to another business’s office, this is a B2B (Business to Business) direct marketing sale. Examples of successful B2B operations include those of Cisco, IBM, Dell Computer, and Quill. When a manufacturer sells a product directly to the consumer, this is a B2C (Business to Consumer) direct marketing transaction. Successful B2C businesses include the catalogs of L.L. Bean, Lillian Vernon, Harriet Carter, and Fingerhut, and Publishers’ Clearing House and the B2C commerce websites such as Amazon.com, and the television shopping networks such as Home Shopping Club (HSN), and QVC.

direct response (DR)
anything pertaining to direct response advertising, marketing or promotion usually B2C, but can be B2B. A DR television commercial would be one designed to elicit a direct response from the audience. A direct response fulfillment house would be one specializing in shipping individual orders directly to the end user. (also see direct marketing).

direct response marketing (DRM)
see direct marketing

direct marketing (DM)
the business of establishing and maintaining a relationship directly between the manufacturer or distributor of a product or service and the end purchaser of the product of service. Since the “interface” of a retail store or a 3rd-party distributor is eliminated, the relationship is direct. New customers are acquired by through solicitations to respond – a process called “prospecting” – utilizing such media as direct mail, print advertising e-mail, online advertisements, web-based shopping (e-commerce sites), and through telemarketing. When a product is sold directly from a manufacturer or distributor to another business, this is a B2B (Business to Business) direct marketing sale. Examples of successful B2B operations include those of Cisco, IBM, Dell Computer, and Quill. When a manufacturer sells a product directly to the consumer, this is a B2C (Business to Consumer) direct marketing transaction. Successful B2C businesses include the catalogs of L.L. Bean, Lillian Vernon, Harriett Carter, and Fingerhut, and Publishers’ Clearing House, and the B2C commerce websites of Amazon.com, and J.C. Penney, and the television shopping networks such as Home Shopping Club (HSC), and QVC.

distribution
the process of storing, handling, shipping, and transporting goods. Also the term used to describe the facilities that enable these activities (such as distribution center, distribution warehouse).

distribution center
a warehouse from which product is shipped to retail stores or to the end users of the product. 3PL fulfillment operations can help retail chain stores by presorting merchandise down the individual store level prior to shipment to their distribution centers. See pre-distro.

DR
see direct response

dunnage
a term originally to describe material used to pack around cargo in the hold of a ship to prevent it from sliding around and getting damaged. Now used to describe package filling material such as Stryrofoam peanuts, bubblewrap, paper, corrugated inserts and paper.