Glossario
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Order
A directive, sent by the owner of the goods, to ship product out of the warehouse. An order specifies product, quantity, shipping date, destination and may contain special instructions.
Order cost
Also known as purchase cost or set up cost, order cost is the sum of the fixed costs that are incurred each time an item is ordered. These costs are not associated with the quantity ordered but primarily with physical activities required to process the order. For purchased items, these would include the cost to enter the purchase order and/or requisition, any approval steps, the cost to process the receipt, incoming inspection, invoice processing and vendor payment, and in some cases a portion of the inbound freight may also be included in order cost. In manufacturing, the order cost would include the time to initiate the work order, time associated with picking and issuing components excluding time associated with counting and handling specific quantities, all production scheduling time, machine set up time, and inspection time. Order cost is used as part of most cost-based order quantity/lot sizing calculations. See article on EOQ for more detailed info on order cost.
Order cycle
Also called replenishment cycle, order cycle refers to the time between orders of a specific item. Most easily calculated by dividing the order quantity by the annual demand and multiplying by the number of days in the year.
Order selector
A.k.a. Order Picker. Lift truck designed specifically for manual handling of less than pallet load quantities in racking. Man-up design has fixed forks attached to a platform that elevates the load and the operator to facilitate manual loading and unloading from racking. Order selectors are very-narrow-aisles vehicles that operate in aisles of less than 6' Also see Lift Truck Pics, Lift Truck Basics, and The Aisle Decision for more info.
OSHA
Occupational Safety & Health Administration, a branch of the US Department of Labor.
Over the Road Carrier
A truck or trailer used in hauling freight by road to destinations outside a 70 mile radius of the Nexus facility.
P.O.D.
Proof Of Delivery; a signed bill of lading.
Packing List
The packing list is created in the Distribution Center. The packing list identifies the quantity and weight of each product on the order and each individual item # (unit ID, serial number, etc.) if applicable. It is a comprehensive list identifying exactly what is being shipped on the order.
Pallet
A wooden or plastic base upon which layers of product are stacked for storage and transporting with a forklift or pallet jack.
Pallet ID
The bar code tag that is placed on a pallet for tracking purposes.
Pallet inverter
A type of stationary equipment used to transfer product between different types of pallets such as transferring from wood to plastic pallets, or from pallets to slipsheets. A load on a pallet is placed in the pallet inverter and the entire load is rotated 180 degrees allowing you to remove the original pallet and replace it with another.
Pallet Jack
Material handling equipment consisting of pallet forks on small wheels that is used in the warehouse to move cases of product. It may be a motorized unit guided by an operator who stands on a platform; or it may be a motorized or manual unit guided by an operator who is walking behind or beside it.
Pallet Tag
Refers to the bar code sticker placed on a pallet of product.
Paper-roll clamp
Designed specifically for the handling of large paper rolls, the paper roll clamp is a lift truck attachment that clamps around the roll and also allows for a full 360 degree rotation.
Partial
Less than a full pallet of product.
Physical Inventory
The process of manually counting product in the warehouse and reconciling the count to book inventory.
Physical inventory
Refers to the process of counting all inventory in a warehouse or plant. Operations are usually shut down during a physical inventory.
Pick Ticket
The Pick Ticket is a document used by the Forklift / Clamp Operator in our Distribution Center who will be picking the stock for the order. The Pick Ticket contains information such as, product location, quantity, lot numbers, serial numbers or unit numbers.
Pick-to-carton
For parcel shippers, pick-to-carton logic uses item dimensions/weights to select the shipping carton prior to the order picking process. Items are then picked directly into the shipping carton. When picking is complete, dunnage is added and the carton sealed eliminating a formal packing operation. This logic works best when picking/packing products with similar size/weight characteristics. In operations with a very diverse product mix it's much more difficult to get this type of logic to work effectively.
Pick-to-clear
Method often used in warehouse management systems that directs picking to the locations with the smallest quantities on hand.
Pick-to-light
Pick-to light systems consist of lights and LED displays for each pick location. The system uses software to light the next pick and display the quantity to pick. Pick-to-light systems have the advantage of not only increasing accuracy, but also increasing productivity. Since hardware is required for each pick location, pick-to-light systems are easier to cost justify where very high picks per SKU occur. Carton flow rack and horizontal carousels are good applications for pick to light. In batch picking, put-to-light is also incorporated into the cart or rack that holds the cartons or totes that you are picking into. The light will designate which order you should be placing the picked items in. See article on Order Picking, also check out My book on inventory accuracy.
Pick/Pack
A warehouse operation that involves picking individual items from cases and putting them together a carton or pack for shipment.
Picking
Picking is the movement of stock from a storage area to a staging area. The ForkLift / Clamp Operator will “pick” the stock which is assigned to a particular order. The ForkLift / Clamp Operator must pay close attention and match the items listed on the Pick Ticket to the information on the product.
Pig
A type of trailer that can be transported on a rail car and also pulled by truck.
Piggy Back
The process of transporting a trailer on a railroad flatbed; the trailer is then hauled to its final destination by truck.