Many
of the terms used in the world of third-party logistics do not
appear in a standard dictionary, nor is there a dictionary of
fulfillment or warehouse management definitions. We offer this
glossary to help you better understand our business. If
you have a term you would like defined, or have a definition
that you would like to share with us, please send us an e-mail.
F
file
In a database files are also known as tables and are formatted
into lists and other structures so that the data can be retrieved
and interpreted. Each file consists of one or more records
that consist of one or more fields. Among other files, a third
party fulfillment (3PF) company would have all the names,
addresses, and transaction & shipping history of all of
its clients’ customers.
fill material
Type of dunnage including
loose fill (packing peanuts), paper, bubble wrap, foam, and
air pillows.
floor load
(or floor-loaded container) a shipping container of freight
that is loaded with freight from the floor up, rather than
on pallets. A full floor-loaded
container can hold more freight than a palletized load, but
the containers take longer to load and to unload. Shipments
to and from China are not permitted to use wooden pallets,
so unless plastic pallets are uses, such shipments would be
floor loads.
franking
refers to the imposition of postage on a letter or parcel
to indicate payment of postage. To frank a letter means running
it through a mail meter, affixing a stamp, or ink-jetting
a mailing permit indicia.
FTP
(file transfer protocol) a computer communications protocol
for file transfer across a network. FTP applications are computer
programs that support such file transfer, usually across the
Internet.
FTP site
a site set up on a computer server using file transfer protocol
(FTP). For B2C e-commerce, many websites are designed to store
orders at an FTP site for later downloading by the fulfillment
house or third-party logistics provider. FTP sites can also
be used to store databases or reports supporting the clients
of fulfillment houses.
fulfillment
(also fulfillment or fulfilment) The activity of processing
customer shipments. Though most manufacturing and warehouse
operations process customer shipments, this term usually refers
to operations that ship many small orders (usually parcels)
to end users as opposed to operations that process larger
shipments to other manufacturers, wholesalers, or resellers.
Examples of fulfillment operations would include operations
that process shipments for mail-order catalogs, internet stores,
or repair parts.
fulfillment house
a third party logistics warehouse specializing in fulfillment
of orders (see fulfillment, third
party logistics, and supply
chain managment.
|
