Glossary

S&OP

See Sales and Operations Planning.

S&W

Sediment & Water (formerly BS&W)

S.O.C

Shipper's Own Container

S.T.C.

Said To Contain

S/I

Shipping Order/Shipping Instruction

S/O

Shipping Order

S/S

Steamship

SA

Starboard Aft

SAE

Society of Automotive Engineers

SAF

Special Attendance Fees.

Safety Stock

The inventory a company holds above normal needs as a buffer against delays in receipt of supply or changes in customer demand.

SAFHAZ

EDIFACT Safety and hazard data message

SAIL

System to Automate and Integrate Logistics.

Salable Goods

A part of assembly authorized for sale to final customers through the marketing function.

Sales and Operations Planning

A strategic planning process that reconciles conflicting business objectives and plans future supply chain actions. S&OP Planning usually involves various business functions such as sales, operations and finance to agree on a single plan/forecast that can be used to drive the entire business.

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)

A strategic planning process that reconciles conflicting business objectives and plans future supply chain actions. S&OP usually involves various business functions, such as sales, operations, and finance to agree on a single plan/forecast that can be used to drive the entire business.

Sales Mix

The proportion of individual product-type sales volumes that make up the total sales volume.

Sales Plan

A time-phased statement of expected customer orders anticipated to be received (incoming sales, not outgoing shipment) for each major product family or item. It represents sales and marketing management's commitment to take all reasonable steps necessary to achieve this level of actual customer orders. The sales plan is a necessary input to the production planning process (or sales and operations planning process) . It is expressed in units identical to those used for the production plan (as well as in sales dollars) . Also see: Sales and Operations Planning.

Sales Planning

The process of determining the overall sales plan to best support customer needs and operations capabilities, while meeting general business objectives of profitability, productivity, competitive customer lead times, and so on, as expressed in the overall business plan. Also see: Sales and Operations Planning.

SALM

Single Anchor Leg Mooring

Salvage

Property or equipment which has served the useful life, but still has value as a source for parts or scrap.

Salvage material

Unused material that has a market value and can be sold.

SAN

Storage Area Network

SANCRT

EDIFACT International movement of goods governmental regulatory message

SAR

Subcommittee on Radio Communication and Search and Rescue (IMO)

SARMIS

SAR Management Information System.

SARSIM

SAR Simulation Model

SatNav

Satellite Navigation

SATPM

Saturday P.M.

SATPM

Saturday P.M.

SAU

Saudi Arabia (Flag)

Saw-Tooth Diagram

A quantity-versus-time graphic representation of the order point/order quantity inventory system showing inventory being received and then used up and reordered.

Sawtooth Diagram

A quantity-versus-time graphic representation of the order point/order quantity inventory system showing inventory being received, used up, and reordered.

SB

Safe Berth

SBD

System-Based Design

SBM

Single Buoy Mooring

SBS

Shipboard System.

SBT

See Scan-Based Trading

SBT

Segregated Ballast Tanks

SCA

Suez Canal Authority

SCAC

Standard Carrier Alpha Code

Scalability

1) How quickly and efficiently a company can ramp up to meet demand. 2) How well a solution to a problem will work when the size of the problem increases. The economies of scale don't really kick in until your reach the critical mass, then revenues start to increase exponentially.

SCAMP

Shipboard Computer-Aided Maintenance Program

Scan

A computer term referring to the action of scanning bar codes or RF tags.

Scan-Based Trading

Scan-based trading is a method of using Point of Sale data from scanners and retail checkout to initiate invoicing between a manufacturer and retailer , as well as generate re-supply orders.

Scanlon Plan

A system of group incentives on a companywide or plantwide basis that sets up one measure that reflects the results of all efforts. The Scanlon plan originated in the 1930s by Joe Scanlon and MIT. The universal standard is the ratio of labor costs to sales value added by production. If there's an increase in production sales value with no change in labor costs, productivity has increased while unit cost has decreased.

SCE

See Supply Chain Execution

SCEM

See Supply Chain Event Management

Scenario Planning

A form of planning in which likely sets of relevant circumstances are identified in advance, and used to assess the impact of alternative actions.

Scheduled Purchases

A regulated bidding to be carried out at pre-determined intervals to coincide with the volume acquisition needs of user agencies.

SCI

see Supply Chain Integration

SCM

See Supply Chain Management

SCM

Stern To Manifold (Distance)

SCOR

Supply Chain Operations Reference Model. This is the model developed by the Supply-Chain Council (SCC) , and is build around six major processes: plan, source, make, deliver, return, and enable. The aim of the SCOR is to provide a standardized method of measuring supply chain performance, and to use a common set of metrics to benchmark against other organizations.

Scorecard

A performance measurement tool used to capture a summary of the key performance indicators (KPIs) /metrics of a company. Metrics dashboards/scorecards should be easy to read and usually have red, yellow, green indicators to flag when the company is not meeting its metrics targets. Ideally, a dashboard/scorecard should be cross functional in nature and include both financial and non-financial measures. In addition, scorecards should be reviewed regularly - at least on a monthly basis and weekly in key functions, such as manufacturing and distribution where activities are critical to the success of a company. The dashboard/scorecards philosophy can also be applied to external supply chain partners like suppliers to ensure that their objectives and practices align. Synonym: Dashboard

Scrap

Commodities that are deemed worthless to the owner and are only valuable to the extent they can be recycled.

Scrap material

Unusable material that has no market value.

SCRS

Croatian Register of Shipping (Class Society)

SCVNG

Scavenging

SD

Single Decker

SD

Single Decker

SDR

Special Drawing Rights

SDWT

Summer Deadweight

Sealed Bid

A bid submitted as a sealed document, by a prescribed time. The contents of the bid will not be known to others prior to the opening of all bids.

Seasonality

A repetitive pattern of demand from year to year (or other repeating time interval) , with some periods considerably higher than others. Seasonality explains the fluctuation in demand for various recreational products which are used during different seasons.

Seawaybill

A type of bill of lading used for port-to-port or combined transport carriage. A waybill is identical to a negotiable bill of lading except that it is not a document of title. There are no originals issued for this type of document. In some jurisdictions, such as the USA, a waybill is deemed the equivalent of a (straight) consigned bill of lading. See also Waybill.

Secondary highways

Highways that serve primarily rural areas.

Secure Electronic Transaction (SET)

In e-commerce, a system of guaranteeing the security of financial transactions conducted over the Internet.

Segmentation

The process of dividing into separate pieces or segments. Customer or market segmentation is the process of dividing a company’s customer base or markets into different segments that share similar characteristics.

Selection Line

(See Pick Line)

Self Billing

A transportation industry strategy which prescribes that a carrier will accept payment based on the tender document provided by the shipper.

Self Correcting

A computer term for an online process that validates data and won't allow the data to enter the system unless all errors are corrected.

SELFD

Self Discharging

SELFD

Self Discharging

Sell In

Units which are sold to retail stores by the manufacturer or distributor for re-sale to consumers. The period of time in a Product Life Cycle where the manufacture works with it’s resellers to market and build inventory for sale. Also see: Sell Through

Sell Through

Units sold from retail stores to customers. The point in a Product Life Cycle where initial consumption rates are developed and demand established. Also see: Sell In

Selling, General, and Administrative (SG&A) Expenses

Includes marketing, communication, customer service, sales, salaries and commissions, occupancy expenses, unallocated overhead, etc. Excludes interest on debt, domestic or foreign income taxes, depreciation and amortization, extraordinary items, equity gains or losses, gain or loss from discontinued operations and extraordinary items.

SEMI

Semi-Submersible (MODU)

Separable cost

A cost that can be directly assignable to a particular segment of the business.

Serial Number

A unique number assigned for identification to a single piece that will never be repeated for similar pieces. Serial numbers are usually applied by the manufacturer but can be applied at other points by the distributor or wholesaler. Serial numbers can be used to support traceability and warranty programs.

SERV

Service

Service Agreement

Private contracts between one or more carriers and one or more shippers to transport cargo between specified points under terms and conditions of carriage agreed and listed in the contract. It often allows for particular rates based on volume over a specified period of time. Also commonly known as a service contract.

Service Aisle

An aisle used to reach access aisles. Service aisles may also be used to gain access to storage lots. Utilizing the service aisle to gain facings or slots is often overlooked in making layouts.

Service Level

A measure (usually expressed as a percentage) of satisfying demand through inventory or by the current production schedule in time to satisfy the customer's requested delivery dates and quantities.

Service Oriented Architecture

Provides a blueprint for services-based, enterprise-scale business solutions that are adaptable, flexible, and open, for lower total cost of ownership. Applications can be created on top of existing enterprise applications following the Service Oriented Architecture blueprint to increase the value of those systems and extend automation to new processes.

Service Parts Revenue

The sum of the value of sales made to external customers and the transfer price valuation of sales within the company of repair or replacement parts and supplies, net of all discounts, coupons, allowances, and rebates.

Service Provider

A preferred company that has been contracted to provide transportation, warehousing, packing or installation services. Also known as an agent.

SET

Secure Electronic Transaction

Set Point

Specific temperature that a refrigerated container has been set to keep. Ideally, the set point and the actual temperature should be identical throughout the voyage.

Setup costs

The costs incurred in staging the production line to produce a different item

SF

Stowage Factor

SG&A

See Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses.

Shared Services

Consolidation of a company's back-office processes to form a spinout (0r a separate 'shared services' unit to be run like a separate business) , providing services to the parent company and sometimes, to external customers. Shared services typically lower overall cost due to the consolidation, and may improve support as a result of focus.

Shareholder Value

Combination of profitability (revenue and costs) and invested capital (working capital and fixed capital) .

Shelf Life

The amount of time an item may be held in inventory before it becomes unusable. Shelf life is a consideration for food and drugs which deteriorate over time, and for high-tech products which become obsolete quickly.

Shelves

Board fixed horizontally and supported by a frame or uprights. May be of metal or wood. Shelves may be fixed or adjustable. Used for small stores.

Shewhart Cycle

See Plan-Do-Check-Action.

SHEX

Sundays, Holidays Excepted

SHINC

Sundays, Holidays Included

Shingo's Seven Wastes

Shigeo Shingo, a pioneer in the Japanese just-in-time philosophy, identified seven barriers to improving manufacturing. They are the waste of overproduction, waste of waiting, waste of transportation, waste of stocks, waste of motion, waste of making defects, and waste of the processing itself.

Shingo's Seven Wastes

Shigeo Shingo, a pioneer in the Japanese Just-in-Time philosophy, identified seven barriers to improving manufacturing. They are the waste of overproduction, waste of waiting, waste of transportation, waste of stocks, waste of motion, waste of making defects, and waste of the processing itself.

Ship agent

A liner company or tramp ship operator representative who facilitates ship arrival, clearance, loading and unloading, and fee payment while at a specific port.

Ship broker

A firm that serves as a go-between for the tramp ship owner and the chartering consignor or consignee.

Ship's Chandlers

Suppliers of various items to the vessel.

Shipper

The party that tenders goods for transportation.

Shipper Packed

Contents of containers as loaded (stuffed), stowed (packed/braced), weighed and/or counted by or for the shipper, usually a CY load.

Shipper's agent

A firm that acts primarily to match up small shipments, especially single-traffic piggyback loads to permit use of twin-trailer piggyback rates.

Shipper's association

A nonprofit, cooperative consolidator and distributor of shipments owned or shipped by member firms, acts in much the same was as for-profit freight forwarders.

Shipper's Load & Count

Shipments loaded and sealed by shippers and not checked or verified by the carriers.

Shipper-Carriers

Shipper-carriers (also called private carriers) are companies with goods to be shipped that own or manage their own vehicle fleets. Many large retailers, particularly groceries and 'big box' stores, are shipper-carriers.

Shipping

The function that performs the tasks for the outgoing shipment of parts, components, and products. It includes packaging, marking, weighing, and loading for shipment.

Shipping Lane

A predetermined, mapped route on the ocean that commercial vessels tend to follow between ports. This helps ships avoid hazardous areas. In general transportation, the logical route between the point of shipment and the point of delivery used to analyze the volume of shipment between two points.

Shipping Manifest

A document that lists the pieces in a shipment. A manifest usually covers an entire load regardless of whether the load is to be delivered to a single destination or many destinations. Manifests usually list the items, piece count, total weight, and the destination name and address for each destination in the load.

Shipping Order

Equivalent of booking and contract of carriage evidencing the agreement to transport goods.

Shop Calendar

See Manufacturing Calendar

Shop Floor Production Control Systems

The systems that assign priority to each shop order, maintaining work-in-process quantity information, providing actual output data for capacity control purposes, and providing quantity by location by shop order for work-in-process inventory and accounting purposes.

Short Landed

Cargo volume count (at delivery destination) less than originally shipped.

Short Shipment

Piece of freight missing from shipment as stipulated by documents on hand.

Short Shipped

Cargo missing a vessel that it was originally intended for.

Short-haul discrimination

Charging more for a shorter haul than for a longer haul over the same route, in the same direction, and for the same commodity.

Shortage

When the quantity received is less than that shown on the waybill.

Shrink Wrap

A layer of plastic film encasing a palletized load of merchandise.

Shrinkage

Reductions of actual quantities of items in stock, in process, or in transit. The loss may be caused by scrap, theft, deterioration, evaporation, etc.

SIC

see Standard Industrial Classification

Sigma

A Greek letter commonly used to designate the standard deviation of a population.

Simplification

Removing process complexity that has accumulated over time.

Simulation

A mathematical technique for testing the performance of a system due to uncertain inputs and/or uncertain system configuration options. Simulation produces probability distributions for the behavior (outputs) of a system. A company may build a simulation model of its build plan process to evaluate the performance of the build plan under multiple scenarios on product demand.

Single source leasing

Leasing both the truck and driver from one source.

Single sourcing

When an organization deliberately chooses to use one supplier to provide a product or service, even though there are other suppliers available.

Single-Period Inventory Models

Inventory models used to define economical or profit maximizing lot-size quantities when an item is ordered or produced only once, e.g., newspapers, calendars, tax guides, greeting cards, or periodicals, while facing uncertain demands.

SIT

see Storage in Transit

Six-Sigma Quality

A term generally used to indicate that a process is well controlled, I.e., tolerance limits are +-6 sigma (3.4 defects per million events) from the centerline in a control chart. The term is usually associated with Motorola which named one of its key operations initiatives Six-Sigma Quality.

SKDREQ

SKDUPD

Skills Matrix

A visible means of displaying people's skill levels in various tasks. Used in a team environment to identify the skills required by the team and which team members possess those skills.

SKU

Stock Keeping Unit

SL

Bale (capacity)

SL&C

see Shipper's Load & Count

Sleeper team

The use or two drivers to operate a truck equipped with a sleeper berth, while one driver sleeps in the berth to accumulate the mandatory off-duty time, the other driver operates the vehicle.

Slip seat operation

A term used to describe a motor carrier relay terminal operation where one driver is substituted for another who has accumulated the maximum driving time hours.

Slip sheet

Similar to a pallet, the slip sheet, which is made of cardboard or plastic, is used to facilitate movement of unitized loads.

Slot

The position in a block occupied by a lot.

Slot Charter

A carrier’s chartering of slots/spaces on other carrier’s vessels.

Slotting

Warehouse slotting is defined as the placement of products within a warehouse facility. Its objective is to increase picking efficiency and reduce warehouse handling costs through optimizing product location and balancing the workload.

SLSFCT

EDIFACT Sales forecast message

SLSRPT

EDIFACT Sales data report message

Slurry

Dry commodities that are made into a liquid form by the addition of water or other fluids to permit movement by pipeline.

Small Group Improvement Activity

An organizational technique for involving employees in continuous improvement activities. Also see: Quality Circle.

Small Lot Storage

A small lot is generally considered to be a quantity of less than one pallet stack stacked to maximum storage height. Thus, the term refers to a lot consisting of from one container to two or more pallet loads, but is not sufficient quantity to form a complete pallet column.

SMART

See Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Based.Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time Based (SMART) : A shorthand description of a way of setting goals and targets for individuals and teams.

Smart and Secure Trade Lanes

Private initiative of the Strategic Council on Security Technology, an assembly of executives from port operators, major logistics technology providers, transportation consultancies, and former generals and public officials. Aims to enhance the safety, security and efficiency of cargo containers and their contents moving through the global supply chain into U.S. ports.

Smart card, contactless

An awkward name for a credit card or loyalty card that contains an RFID chip to transmit information to a reader without having to be swiped through a reader. Such cards can speed checkout, providing consumers with more convenience.

Smart label

A label that has an RFID tag integrated into it.

SMDG

User Group for Shipping Lines and Container Terminals. SMDG develops and promotes UN/EDIFACT EDI messages for the maritime industry and is an official Pan European User Group recognised by the UN/EDIFACT Board.

SME

Small and Medium-size Enterprises

SOA

see Service Oriented Architecture

SOC

Shipper Owned Container

SOCADE

EDIFACT Social administration message

Society of Logistics Engineers

A professional association engaged in the advancement of logistics technology and management.

SOF

Statement of Facts

Sole Source

A purchase made without issuance of competitive bids for a commodity that is known to be available from only one source.

Sole sourcing

When there is only one supplier for a product or service, and no alternate suppliers are available.

SOP

Standard Operating Procedure.

Sortation

Separating items (parcels, boxes, cartons, parts, etc.) according to their intended destination within a plant or for transit.

SOW

See Statement of Work

SP

Safe Port

Spam

A computer industry term referring to the act of sending identical and irrelevant postings to many different newsgroups or mailing lists. Usually this posting is something that has nothing to do with the particular topic of a newsgroup or of no real interest to the person on the mailing list.

SPC

See Statistical Process Control.

Special Customs Invoice

An official form usually required by U.S. Customs if the rate of duty is based upon the value, and the value of the shipment exceeds USD 500. This document is usually prepared by the foreign exporter or his forwarder and is used by customs in determining the value of the shipment. The exporter or his agent must attest to the authenticity of the data furnished.

Special Rate

Rate established for a specified commodity for a specific period of time.

Special-commodities carrier

A common carrier trucking company that has authority to haul a special commodity, there are 16 special commodities, such as household goods, petroleum products, and hazardous materials.

Special-commodity warehouses

A warehouse that is used to store products that require unique types of facilities, such as grain (elevator), liquid (tank), and tobacco (barn).

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-

A shorthand description of a way of setting goals and targets for individuals and teams.

Splash Page

‘A ”first” or ”front” page that you often see on some websites, usually containing a ”click-through” logo or message, or a fancy Flash presentation, announcing that you have arrived. The main content and navigation on the site lie ”behind” this page (a.k.a. the homepage or ”welcome page”).’

Split case order picking

A process used to fill orders for quantities less than a full case thereby requiring ordered items to be picked from a case or some similar container.

Split Delivery

A method by which a larger quantity is ordered on a purchase order to secure a lower price, but delivery is divided into smaller quantities and is spread out over several dates to control inventory investment, save storage space, etc.

Spot

The placing of a truck or boxcar where it is required for loading or unloading.

Spot Demand

Demand with a short lead time that's difficult to estimate. Usually supply for this demand is provided at a premium price. An example of spot demand would be when there's a spiked demand for building materials as a result of a hurricane.

Spur track

A railroad track that connects a company’s plant or warehouse with the railroad’s track, the cost of the spur track and its maintenance is borne by the user.

Square Pinwheel Course Pattern

An arrangement of warehousing units in which four, uni block like patterns are arranged in a pinwheel.

SRBL

Signing and Releasing Bill of Lading

SRT

see Scan-Based Trading

SS

Steamship.

SSHEX

Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays Excluded

SSHINC

Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays Included

SSIMOD

EDIFACT Modification of identity details message

SSRECH

SSREGW

EDIFACT Notification of registration of a worker message

SST

see Smart and Secure Trade Lanes

ST

1 Short Ton = 2 000 lbs.

Stable Demand

Products for which demand does not fluctuate widely at specific points during the year.

Stack

Two or more columns in back of one another.

Stacking Efficiency

A ratio expressed as a percentage of the potential stacking height used by the warehousing units in the stack after making all deductions for pallets or other horizontal separation.

Stacking Height

Same as Working Head Room.

Staff functions

The support activities of planning and analysis provided to assist line managers with daily operations. Logistics staff functions include location analysis, system design, cost analysis, and planning.

Staging

Pulling material for an order from inventory before the material is required. This action is often taken to identify shortages, but it can lead to increased problems in availability and inventory accuracy. Also see: Accumulation Bin

Stakeholders

People with a vested interest in a company, including manager, employees, stockholders, customers, suppliers, and others.

Standard

Performance levels and characteristics that have been determined as a general expectation for a given commodity.

Standard Components

Components (parts) of a product for which there is an abundance of suppliers. Not difficult to produce. An example would be a power cord for a computer.

Standard Cost Accounting System

A cost accounting system that uses cost units determined before production for estimating the cost of an order or product. For management control purposes, the standards are compared to actual costs, and variances are computed.

Standard Deviation/Variance

Measures of dispersion for a probability distribution. The variance is the average squared difference of a distribution from the distribution’s mean (average) value. The standard deviation is defined mathematically as the square root of the variance, and is thereby expressed in the same units as the random variable that’s described by the probability distribution. A distribution that varies widely about its mean value will have a larger standard deviation/variance than a distribution with less variation about its mean value.

Standard Industrial Classification

Classification codes that are used to categorize companies into industry groupings.

Standard Operationg Procedure

Instructions and methods used for a specific process or situation. They document the normal or accepted methodology and help form the basis for conformance evaluation

Standard Pallet Rack

The term used to designate the one-deep shelf type rack. Originally designed for pallets but also used for shelf storage of large units, usually, one or two of a kind. The rack consists of uprights and beams and may be bolted or adjustable. Great care should be exercised in loading racks to avoid overloading. Such racks should be secured to the floor or rows positioned back to back and secured to each other with spacer bars or spacer rods. Beams are usually designed to accept dunnage or cross bracing to prevent loads from falling between the beams.

Standardization

Using generic best-practice processes - and standardized components, modules, and information protocols.

Standing Order

See Blanket Purchase Order.

Start Manufacture to Order Complete Manufacture

Average lead-time from the time manufacturing begins to the time end products are ready for shipment, including the following sub-elements: order configuration verification, production scheduling, time to release order to manufacturing or distribution, and build or configure time. (An element of Order Fulfillment Lead Time) Note: Determined separately for Make-to-Order, Configure/Package-to-Order, and Engineer-to-Order products. Does not apply to Make-to-Stock products.

STATAC

EDIFACT Statement of account message

State Use Laws

Laws that are enacted in many states requiring state agencies to purchase from prison industries and physically disadvantaged work organizations.

Statement of Work (SOW)

1) A description of products to be supplied under a contract. A good practice is for companies to have SOWs in place with their trading partners - especially for all top suppliers. 2) In projection management, the first project planning document that should be prepared. It describes the purpose, history, deliverables, and measurable success indicators for a project. It captures the support required from the customer and identifies contingency plans for events that could throw the project off course. Because the project must be sold to management, staff, and review groups, the statement of work should be a persuasive document.

Statistical Process Control (SPC)

A visual means of measuring and plotting process and product variation. Results are used to adjust variables and maintain product quality.

STC

Abbreviation for Said To Contain.

Steamship conferences

Collective rate-making bodies for liner water carriers.

STEM

Subject to Enough Merchandise

Stevedore

Terminal operator who is designated to facilitate the operation of loading and discharging vessels and various terminal activities. Also known as longshoreman.

Stickering

Placing customer-specific stickers on boxes of product. An example would be where Wal-Mart has a request for their own product codes to be applied to retail boxes prior to shipment.

STLRPT

EDIFACT Settlement transaction reporting message

Stochastic Models

Models where uncertainty is explicitly considered in the analysis.

Stock

The commodity or commodities on hand in a storeroom or warehouse to support operations.

Stock Control

Determining the usage rate of an inventory and controlling the level of ordering and inventory accordingly.

Stock Keeping Unit

A category of unit with unique combination of form, fit, and function (i.e. unique components held in stock). To illustrate: If two items are indistinguishable to the customer, or if any distinguishing characteristics visible to the customer are not important to the customer, so that the customer believes the two items to be the same, these two items are part of the same SKU. As a further illustration consider a computer company that allows customers to configure a product from a standard catalogue components, choosing from three keyboards, three monitors, and three CPUs. Customers may also individually buy keyboards, monitors, and CPUs. If the stock were held at the configuration component level, the company would have nine SKUs. If the company stocks at the component level, as well as at the configured product level, the company would have 36 SKUs. (9 component SKUs + 3*3*3 configured product SKUs. If as part of a promotional campaign the company also specially packaged the products, the company would have a total of 72 SKUs.

Stock Out

A term used to refer to a situation where no stock was available to fill a request from a customer or production order during a pick operation. Stock outs can be costly, including the profit lost for not having the item available for sale, lost goodwill, substitutions. Also referred to Out of Stock (OOS)

Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU)

A category of unit with a unique combination of form, fit, and function (i.e., unique components held in stock) .To illustrate: If two items are indistinguishable to the customer, or if any distinguishing characteristics visible to the customer are not important to the customer so that the customer believes the two items to be the same, these two items are part of the same SKU.As a further illustration: consider a computer company that allows customers to configure a complete computer from a selection of standard components. For example, they can choose from three keyboards, three monitors, and three CPUs. Customers may also individually buy keyboards, monitors, and CPUs. If the stock were held at the configuration component level, the company would have nine SKUs. If the company stocks at the component level, the company would have 36 SKUs. (9 component SKUs + 3*3*3 configured product SKUs.) If, as part of a promotional campaign, the company also specially packaged the products, the company would have a total of 72 SKUs.

Stock-out

The condition existing when a supply requisition cannot be filled from stock.

Stock-out Rate

The number of stock-outs per hundred line items picked.

Stockchase

Moving shipments through regular channels at an accelerated rate, to take extraordinary action because of an increase in relative priority. Synonym: Expediting.

Stockless purchasing

A practice whereby the buyer negotiates a price for the purchases of annual requirements of MRO items and the seller holds inventory until the buyer places an order for individual items.

Stockout cost

The opportunity cost associated with not having sufficient supply to meet demand.

Storage Charge

Charge for goods held in storage facilities (warehouses) under a fixed agreement for periods of time, and which is not included in other arrangement.

Storage in Transit

The temporary warehousing of goods. Items will be inventoried at the assigned warehouse and transported upon request. Additional charges will apply.

Store-Door Delivery

Movement of goods to the consignee’s place of business, customarily applied to movement by truck.

Storeroom

A secure place for storage of things. A storeroom may be a designated separate secure area within a warehouse or a designated storage room in a workplace and may contain warehouse stock or end-

Stores

The function associated with the storage and issuing of items that are frequently used.

Straight Truck

Straight trucks do not have a separate tractor and trailer. The driving compartment, engine and trailer are one unit.

Strategic Alliance

Business relationship in which two or more independent organizations cooperate and willingly modify their business objectives and practices to help achieve long-term goals and objectives.

Strategic planning

Looking one to five years into the future and designing a logistical system (or systems) to meet the needs of the various businesses in which a company is involved.

Strategic Sourcing

The process of determining long-term supply requirements, finding sources to fulfill those needs, selecting suppliers to provide the services, negotiating the purchase agreements and managing the suppliers’ performance. Focuses on developing the most effective relationships with the right suppliers, to ensure that the right price is paid and that lifetime product costs are minimized. It also assesses whether services or processes would provide better value if they were outsourced to specialist organizations.

Strategic variables

The variables that effect change in the environment and logistics strategy. The major strategic variables include economics, population, energy, and government.

Strategy

A specific action to achieve an objective.

Strategy: Alliance

Logistics as a means of alliance by f.e. negotiating a logistics charterer use the logistics synergies to improve the alliance or logistics is the source or motor for the alliance.

Strategy: Cost leadership

Reduce cost that are specific to logistics or reduce overall costs with logistics.

Strategy: Differentiation

Improve the quality of the logistics service or be a logistics factor in differentiation

Strategy: Diversification

The use of logistics synergies or diversifying through or in logistics.

Strategy: Expansion by mission

Logistics as a support for (global) extension or logistics in order to win new clients.

Strategy: Expansion by profession

Logistics as a support for integration of various activities or logistics is a new profesion f.e. 3PL’s and 4PL’s

Strategy: Innovation

Logistics as a support for innovation, logistic innovation or logistics is a source or motor in innovation.

Stratification

The process of arranging markets or customers within segments into different levels based on a classification scheme.

Stratified price levels

Setting product prices at different levels based upon approved and legal justifications. Offering reduced prices for larger volumes of a product is often justified based on lower handling and transportation costs for example.

Stripping

Also known as unstuffing. Physical removal of goods from the (carrier’s) container(s).

SUB

Subject (to)

Sub-Optimization

Decisions or activities in part made at the expense of the whole. An example of sub-optimization is where a manufacturing unit schedules production to benefit its cost structure without regard to customer requirements or the effect on other business units.

Subcontracting

Sending production work outside to another manufacturer. This can involve specialized operations such as plating metals or complete functional operations.Also see: Outsource.

Subhauler

A subhauler drives a tractor under contract for a company. Usually a subhauler is an owner/operator or a small company.

Substitutability

The ability of a buyer to substitute the products of different sellers.

Sunk Cost

1) The unrecovered balance of an investment. It's a cost already paid that is not relevant to the decision concerning the future that is being made. Capital already invested that for some reason cannot be retrieved. 2) A past cost that has no relevance with respect to future receipts and disbursements of a facility undergoing an economic study. This concept implies that since a past outlay is the same regardless of the alternative selected, it should not influence the choice between alternatives.

SUPCOT

EDIFACT Superannuation contributions advice message

SUPMAN

EDIFACT Superannuation maintenance message

Supplemental carrier

A for-hire air carrier subject to economic regulations, the carrier has no time schedule or designated route, service is provided under a charter or contract per plane per trip.

Supplier

1) A provider of goods or services. Also see: Vendor. 2) A seller with whom the buyer does business, as opposed to vendor, which is a generic term referring to all sellers in the marketplace.

Supplier Certification

Certification procedures verifying that a supplier operates, maintains, improves, and documents effective procedures that relate to the customer's requirements. Such requirements can include cost, quality, delivery, flexibility, maintenance, safety, and ISO quality and environmental standards.

Supplier-Owned Inventory

A variant of Vendor-Managed Inventory and Consignment Inventory. In this case the supplier not only manages the inventory, but also owns the stock close to or at the customer location until the point of consumption or usage by the customer.

Supplies

All items that are consumable. Generally, these would be commodities with a shorter life while in use than items that would remain in inventory after issuance or assignment for use.

Supply Chain

1) Starting with unprocessed raw materials and ending with the final customer using the finished goods, the supply chain links many companies together. 2) The material and informational interchanges in the logistical process, stretching from acquisition of raw materials to delivery of finished products to the end user. All vendors, service providers, and customers are links in the supply chain.

Supply chain community

One supply chain consisting of the particular trading partners (including the final customer) for a given product or service. The physical flows, information flows, and financial flows within a supply chain community have both forward and reverse flows.

Supply Chain Design

The determination of how to structure a supply chain. Design decisions include the selection of partners, the location and capacity of warehouse and production facilities, the products, the modes of transportation, and supporting information systems.

Supply Chain Event Management (SCEM)

SCEM is an application that supports control processes for managing events within and between companies. It consists of integrated software functionality that supports five business processes: monitor, notify, simulate, control, and measure supply chain activities.

Supply Chain Execution (SCE)

The ability to move the product out of the warehouse door. This is a critical capacity and one that only brick-and-mortar firms bring to the B2B table. Dot coms have the technology, but that's only part of the equation. The need for SCE is what is driving the dot coms to offer equity partnerships to the wholesale distributors.

Supply Chain Integration (SCI)

Likely to become a key competitive advantage of selected e-marketplaces. Similar concept to the back-end integration, but with greater emphasis on the moving of goods and services.

Supply Chain Inventory Visibility

Software applications that permit monitoring events across a supply chain. These systems track and trace inventory globally on a line-item level, and notify the user of significant deviations from the plans. Companies are provided with realistic estimates of when the material will arrive.

Supply Chain Management (SCM) - as defined by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)

Supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activites. Importantly, it also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers, intermediaries, third party service providers, and customers. In essence, supply chain management integrates supply and demand management within and across companies. Supply chain management is an integrating function with primary responsibility for linking major business functions and business processes within and across companies into a cohesive, high-performing business model. It includes all of the logistics managment activities noted above, as well as manufacturing operations, and it drives coordination of processes and activities with and across marketing, sales, product design, finance, and information technology.

Supply Chain Network Design Systems

The systems employed in optimizing the relationships among the various elements of the supply chain manufacturing plants, distribution centers, points of sale, as well as raw materials, relationships among product families, and other factors to synchronize supply chains at a strategic level.

Supply Chain Operations Reference Model

This is the model developed by the Supply-Chain Council SCC and is built around six major processes: plan, source, make, deliver, return and enable. The aim of the SCOR is to provide a standardized method of measuring supply chain performance and to use a common set of metrics to benchmark against other organizations.

Supply Chain Resiliency

A term describing the level of hardening of the supply chain against disasters.

Supply Chain Strategic Planning

The process of analyzing, evaluating, and defining supply chain strategies, including network design, manufacturing and transportation strategy, and inventory policy.

Supply Chain Vulnerability

Of equal importance to Variability, Velocity and Volume in the elements of the Supply Chain. The term evaluates the supply chain based on the level of acceptance of the five steps of disaster logistics being planning, detection, mitigation, response and recovery.

Supply Chain-Related Finance and Planning Cost Elements

One of the elements comprising a company’s total supply-chain management costs. These costs consist of the following: (1) Supply-Chain Finance Costs: Costs associated with paying invoices, auditing physical counts, performing inventory accounting, and collecting accounts receivable. Does NOT include customer invoicing/ accounting costs (see Order Management Costs). (2) Demand/Supply Planning Costs: Costs associated with forecasting, developing finished goods, intermediate, subassembly or end item inventory plans, and coordinating Demand/Supply

Supply Chain-Related IT Costs

Information technology (IT) costs (in US dollars) associated with major supply chain management processes as described below. These costs should include: * Development costs (costs incurred in process reengineering, planning, software development, installation, implementation, and training associated with new and/or upgraded architecture, infrastructure, and systems to support the described supply chain management processes) , *Execution costs (operating costs to support supply chain process users, including computer and network operations, EDI and telecommunications services, and amortization/depreciation of hardware) * Maintenance costs (costs incurred in problem resolution, troubleshooting, repair, and routine maintenance associated with installed hardware and software for described supply chain management processes. Includes costs associated with database administration systems configuration control, release planning, and management) .These costs are associated with the following processes:PLAN1. Product Data Management -

Supply Chian Planning

The determination of a set of policies and procedures that govern the operation of a supply chain. Planning includes the determination of marketing channels, promotions, respective quantities and timing, inventory and replenishment policies, and production policies. Planning establishes the parameters within which the supply chain will operate.

Supply Planning

The process of identifying, prioritizing, and aggregating, as a whole with constituent parts, all sources of supply that are required and add value in the supply chain of a product or service at the appropriate level, horizon, and interval.

Supply Requisition

A form used by a cost center to request the issue of a commodity or commodities carried in storeroom stock.

Supply Warehouse

A warehouse that stores raw materials. Goods from different suppliers are picked, sorted, staged, or sequenced at the warehouse to assemble plant orders.

Support Costs

Costs of activities not directly associated with producing or delivering products or services. Examples are the costs of information systems, process engineering, and purchasing. Also see: Indirect Cost.

Supportive Project Management

Managing specific activities for relocating existing customer environments into the new locations, including management of all vendors in the de-installation and re-installation of their equipment, managing/providing the transportation for the overall effort, managing the documentation (site assessment, transportation schedules, implementation plan, and so on), and providing on-site supervision for each relocation phase. See Project Management.

SUPRES

EDIFACT Supplier response message

Surcharge

An add-on charge to the applicable charges, motor carriers have a fuel surcharge, and railroads can apply a surcharge to any joint rate that does not yield 110% of variable cost.

Surplus

Commodities that are not returnable to the vendor for credit, but are useful for some purpose and are excess or obsolete for the cost center owning the goods.

Surrogate [item] Driver

In ABC costing, a substitute for the ideal cost driver, but closely correlated to the ideal driver, where [item] is Resource, Activity, or Cost Object. A surrogate driver is used to significantly reduce the cost of measurement while not significantly reducing accuracy. For example, the number of production runs is not descriptive of the material-disbursing activity, but the number of production runs may be used as an activity driver if material disbursements correlate well with the number of production runs.

Suspension

No longer qualified as a prospective bidder and may be removed from the list of vendors to receive bids.

Sustaining Activity

An activity that benefits an organizational unit as a whole, but not any specific cost object.

SWAD

Salt Water Arrival Draft

SWAS

Store-Within-A-Store.

SWDD

Salt Water Departure Draft

Swing Gear

Items or equipment used during a transition period to limit downtime and increase availability during a relocation or migration event.

Switch engine

A railroad engine that is used to move rail cars short distances within a terminal and plant.

Switching company

A railroad that moves rail cars short distances, switching companies connect two mainline railroads to facilitate through movement of shipments.

SWOT

See SWOT Analysis.

SWOT Analysis

An analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of and to an organization. SWOT analysis is useful in developing strategy.

Synchronization

The concept that all supply chain functions are integrated and interact in real time; when changes are made to one area, the effect is automatically reflected throughout the supply chain.

Syntax

The grammar or rules which define the structure of the EDI standard

SYST

System