Our glossary

The logistics lexicon -
informs from A to Z

Understanding logistics is not that easy. There are many different terms and processes. You can find the most important ones here.

Logistics lexicon

Logistics terminology

Simply explained.

The Logistics
Lexicon

Here you will find definitions of common terms and abbreviations in logistics and our warehouse management software.

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ABC articles are formed by classifying all articles in an assortment according to certain criteria such as high sales volumes, access frequency or turnover rate. A-items have high sales volumes, access frequencies or turnover rates, whereas C-items have low ones. Our warehouse management system automatically classifies items into ABC groups and implements corresponding storage strategies. This means that "fast-moving items", i.e. A-items that are accessed frequently, can be stored in quickly accessible storage locations. This saves travel time during storage and retrieval. In contrast to the ABC classifications in ERP, which are usually based on turnover, in SuPCIS-L8 this is done for each storage area on the basis of real movements. After all, from a logistics point of view, it makes a big difference whether 1,000 items are picked from a pallet or 500 picks of 2 items each.

The automated small parts warehouse (AKL) is controlled fully automatically and works according to the "goods-to-person principle". Complete storage units with small parts are controlled by our warehouse management software. The goods are automatically removed by rack conveyors (RFZ), which travel alone, and made available to the picking units or the conveyor line connection. The employees can pick from the units provided, while the conveyor system works in the meantime. This avoids long collection routes and search work in the storage units.

A partial unit is created during picking. A partial quantity is removed from a single-item unit, e.g. outer packaging, loading or staging unit.

An article description describes individual articles with simple and easy-to-understand abbreviations or names. The article should be clearly recognizable by the article description. The item description should be compact so that it can be attached to containers, pallets, storage locations, etc. or displayed in specialist displays. An article description is an element of article master data.

An article unit is the smallest unit or container size of an article. A sales unit, on the other hand, can be an article unit, but does not have to be the smallest unit. It can also be a combination of article units to form a saleable unit.

An article group is the grouping of articles as a subset of an assortment according to common characteristics such as similar ingredients or common application characteristics.

The article number is an (alpha) numeric attribute for an article. In order to make an article number machine-readable or to display it as a barcode, it is designed according to data technology criteria.

In single-item storage, an item is clearly assigned to a storage bin. Only one item is stored in a loading unit, which can be a pallet or a container.

An article master contains the description data (identifying attributes) of all articles. The description data is independent of the current stock and includes, for example, the article number, article description, batch identifier, dimensions, weight and also the storage location.

Article master data is the inventory data that serves as the starting point for all merchandise management subsystems. All item-specific information required to control the goods processes is entered in the item master data.

An automatic forklift guidance system improves the utilization and efficiency of forklift transports on the company premises. This improves the coordination of journeys, particularly in plants with a high volume of manual transportation. The vehicles are usually equipped with terminals and scanners. The terminals are used to assign orders to employees. Storage and retrieval at the start and end point of the journey is confirmed with the scanner. The employees are therefore in permanent contact with the IT system, which means that the system can react immediately to current developments. The storage location and the transported goods are scanned. This means that the goods moved are automatically recorded in the system and the forklift control system always has the current position of the vehicle. Scanning the transported goods and the storage area increases the certainty that the delivery has been placed in the correct location.

All products ordered by a customer are summarized and specified in an order with quantity per item, type, delivery form, delivery date, etc.

The order type is the underlying process type, e.g. initial order or repeat order.

Combining several orders into one processing batch is referred to as an order batch. Batch picking, i.e. multi-order picking, can be controlled and optimized by intelligent warehouse management software.

The order throughput time is the sum of the respective partial times required for an order to pass through a picking and dispatch system.

Order picking is the order-oriented processing of order items (one-step picking).

Order management is the proactive control of orders with the aim of receiving goods on time and in the right quantities. Intelligent warehouse management systems take over order management and contribute to the optimization of intralogistics processes with sophisticated strategies.

An order item is a single item of a sales order. This in turn can contain several picking items. A picking item specifies the number (pieces) of the item unit of an order item to be picked by a staging unit. An order item can contain several picking items, while a picking item is always assigned to a staging unit.

The stock removal strategy is a procedure for determining the storage unit to be removed from the set of possible storage units according to certain stock removal criteria. Removal criteria can be First In First Out (FIFO), Last In First Out (LIFO), best before date (BBD), batch, system load or malfunction. The subsequent retrieval or retrieval strategy is often already taken into account during putaway.

Removal from storage includes all data-related and operational processes, from removal from the storage bin to leaving the system. In contrast to removal, stock removal involves the removal of entire storage units from the warehouse.