Sales forecasting
and inventory optimization
Become a retail mastermind you always wanted to be.
20 minutes read
Dictionary L
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| L&D | Loss and damage. |
| Label | A piece of paper or cloth attached to a box or the product itself describing the product or some of its attributes. |
| Label Holder/Label Placard | The label holder acts as a label holding device that allows the user to label and relabelled containers, racks, and pallets. |
| Label Identification System | The system employed in identifying products and containers by use of various types of labels/placards/holders. |
| Label Table | Label Table is the one used for defining possible sales size options on the product. Minimum 1 and maximum 8 sales sizes for different country or region can be defined on Label table. |
| Labelling Solutions | Products such as placards and nameplates that are pressure sensitive labels that permanently or temporarily identify containers, racks, or pallets. |
| labour cost | The portion of a manufactured item’s standard or actual cost attributed to the usage of direct labour, as specified by the hours consumed times the pay rate per hour |
| labour efficiency variance | The cost variance created by using more or less actual labour hours than the standard labour hours for a given amount of production, while assuming the actual pay rate equalled the standard pay rate. |
| labour grade | A labour classification that indicates capabilities and sometimes an associated pay range and ranking against other labour grades |
| labour intensive | A product or product line that requires a higher usage of direct labour as compared to other products that make more use of automation |
| labour planning | A means of determining staffing policies dealing with employment stability and work schedules |
| labour utilisation | The measure of the labour hours recorded against production activities vs. the hours available or scheduled for a given period |
| labour work centre | A work centre where the specified capacity is constrained by labour availability instead of machine availability. |
| Laden on Board | A bill of lading that indicates a shipment has been loaded on board a vessel. |
| Lading | The cargo carried in a transportation vehicle |
| Lag time | The period of time after processing is complete that a given item is not available for usage due to curing, drying or other requirement that does not involved active use of resources. |
| Lagging indicator | An economic or other indicator that changes value after the underlying conditions it measures have begun to exhibit a trend. |
| Laid-Down cost | The sum of the product and transportation costs. The laid-down cost is useful in comparing the total cost of a product shipped from different supply sources to a customer’s point of use |
| LAN | Local Area Network |
| Land-bridge | Cross country rail service connecting two ocean ports. |
| Landed cost | The total cost of a product delivered at a given location, the production cost plus the transportation cost to the customer’s location. |
| Landing Certificate | Certificate issued by consular officials of some importing countries at the point or place of export when the subject goods are exported under bond. |
| Landing Gear | A support fixed on the front part of a chassis (which is retractable); used to support the front end of a chassis when the tractor has been removed. |
| Laser scanner | Device that uses a moving laser to read bar codes. Devices can be portable hand-held units, or fixed units |
| Laser-guided | Guidance system used with AGVs that uses a rotating laser (mounted on top of the vehicle) to determine the vehicles location. Reflective targets need to be strategically placed along the vehicle’s route. Must always maintain clear line-of-site to reflective targets for the system to work properly. |
| Lash Barges | Covered barges that carriers load on board ocean-going ships for movement to foreign destinations |
| Lash Vessel | Acronym for Lighter Along Ship. Vessel able to carry multiple barges. |
| Lashed | Barge system; barges loaded on a vessel instead of a container. |
| Lashing point | Point on the deck of a ship, or on a vehicle or inside a shipping container to which wires, chains, ropes or straps are attached which are used to hold goods in position. |
| Lashings | Devices, often wires, chains, ropes or straps, used to secure a cargo on a ship, truck or railway car, or inside a shipping container. |
| Last Bottom Gauge | A 2D gauge that shows the exact size of the feather edge (or the bottom shape) of the last. The LBG is provided by the last manufacturer. |
| Last Centre Line | Axis based on the last bottom gauge. |
| Late Add | Late Adds are any model or article which needs to be added to the range outside the applicable calendar, for which there is no approved development/sourcing process defined. Or Late adds are any model or article which exceed the size of agreed range plans at the beginning of a season. |
| Late finish date | The latest date a project task or activity can be completed without delaying the entire project |
| Late start date | The latest date a project task or activity can begin without delaying the entire project |
| Lateness | The degree to which an order or project task is past its due or scheduled date. Some systems prioritise action messages based on the items most late, or past due. |
| Latent Defect | A flaw, defect or condition not observable at the initial inspection but obviously occurring over a period of time. |
| Latest Forecast | Article forecast submitted monthly or weekly to International Logistics. The forecast will be stored in ILS. |
| LAYCAN | Laydays/Cancelling (date): Range of dates within the hire contract must start. |
| Layers | Different pieces of material put together to act as one material. |
| LCL / FCL | Cargo packed into container by the shipping company and unpacked by the consignee on their respective responsibility. |
| Lead Logistics Provider (LLP) | An organisation that manages a full scope of logistics services for a company by aggregating and coordinating the services of multiple logistics service providers. |
| Lead Time | The total time that elapses between an order’s placement and its receipt. It includes the time required for order transmittal, order processing, order preparation, and transit |
| Lead-time demand | Forecasted demand during the lead-time period. For example, if your forecasted demand is 3 units per day and your lead time is 12 days, your lead-time demand would be 36 units |
| Lean | Manufacturing efficiency programme to improve overall factory performance in terms of delivery, quality and cost. |
| Lean Enterprise | An enterprise with a total focus on waste elimination and the customer’s needs, in all parts of the operation. Emphasis is given to flexibility of response, lean structure and processes, and efficient methods and techniques to continually seize new opportunities as they arise |
| Lean Production/manufacturing | A team-based method of just-in-time production that removes non-value adding wastes (such as waiting, inspection, transport, motion, overproduction, defects, and inventory) from the production process. |
| Least Unit Cost | A dynamic lot-sizing technique that adds ordering cost and inventory carrying cost for each trial lot size and divides by the number of units in the lot size, picking the lot size with the lowest unit cost. |
| Ledge-type Shelving | A shelving unit designed to accommodate two different depths of shelves. Larger shelves are placed at the bottom, and the unit is stepped back with smaller shelves on top. This step-back forms a ledge across the face of the shelf. The shelving may be either open or closed type. In some instances, a ledge unit can be added to a regular shelving unit |
| Leftover | Inventory not ordered or delivered, where planned volumes of merchandise exceeded demand for the goods. |
| Left-to-right Dimension | As applied to welded-wire rack decking, the horizontal direction of a decking section parallel to the beams of the rack. |
| Leg | An element attached to the base of a container that provides handling clearance and safe stacking. |
| Legacy system | implies a business computer/information system that is old or outdated. Often used to describe home-grown (custom built) mainframe systems, however, software companies will use the term legacy system to define any system that is not based on the current version of a business software package. |
| LES | Logistics Execution Systems manage inventory, space, material handling equipment, labour and transportation resources to assure timely, error-free fulfilment and visibility of order status throughout the supply chain. |
| Less Packing | Air freight requires less packaging because of faster delivery and better security |
| Let Down | Handling a unitised load from its position in the stack or storage rack down to a location where partial withdrawals can be made. |
| Letter of Credit | Bank-issued document authorising transfer of funds from buyer to seller (L/C, Elcee)under established terms and conditions in international transactions. |
| Letter of Guarantee | Letter provided to carrier in lieu of surrender of original bill of lading. |
| Letter of Indemnity | Frees one from any responsibilities. Protection in writing to carrier from performing a deviation to normal business. |
| Level material use | The use of frequent, high-quality, small lot sizes that contribute to just-in-time production |
| Level scheduling | Mixing products so that each day’s production meets the demand for that day. |
| Level Selling | A system of customer relations that attempts to eliminate surges in demand caused by the selling system itself (for example, quarterly or monthly sales targets) and, instead, strives to create long-term relations with customers so that future purchases can be anticipated by the production system. |
| LGV Large Goods Vehicles | May also refer to Light Goods Vehicle <3500kg gross vehicle weight in some contexts |
| Library Shelving | A form of cantilevered shelving that is primarily utilised in application where ease of reconfiguration is necessary. This type of shelving is configured to satisfy book and technical manual storage requirements. Space between shelves can be expanded to accommodate taller items. |
| License Plate | License plates are often used with warehouse management systems. They are basically an ID number placed on a pallet, tote, carton or other container, and are used to track the contents of that container as it moves through the warehouse. The license plate will almost always have a bar code that contains this ID number. So by scanning a single bar code on the pallet you can initiate or complete movement transactions for all items and quantities on that pallet. |
| Licensing | Licensing is when one organisation authorises another organisation to manufacture and sell its products |
| Life Cycle Cost | In cost account, a product’s life cycle is the period that starts with the initial product conceptualisation and ends with the withdrawal of the product from the marketplace and final disposition |
| Life Time Value | Literally value life of a customer. Particularly useful concept in the development of consumer loyalty. The value life of a customer can be represented by the sales turnover which a faithful customer can generate throughout his life for a company or by the margins that it will get for the company (expectation of margin). |
| Lifecycle | The series of different phases in form and functional activity through which something (as an individual, culture, or product) passes during its lifetime. |
| LIFO | Last In First Out warehousing term, meaning that the most recently received (last in) items are the first to be used or sold (first out). |
| Lift on, Lift off (LO/LO) | A method by which cargo is loaded onto and unloaded from an ocean vessel. |
| Lift truck | Vehicles used to lift, move, stack, rack, or otherwise manipulate loads. |
| Lifted Item | A consumable or repairable product for which the manufacturer has specified a finite life in either some form of time period or in a number of cycles or activities |
| Lighter | A barge-type vessel used to carry cargo between shore and cargo ship |
| Lighterage | The cost of loading or unloading a vessel by means of barges. |
| Lights-out warehouse | Describes fully-automated facilities. The idea being that if the facility requires no human operators, you can run it with no lights. Use of AS/RS units, AGVs, automated conveyors, robots, etc makes this possible. |
| LIM | Logistics Inventory Management |
| Limited Service Retailers | More sales assistance, more shopping goods because customer require more information. |
| Limited, or finite, population | A queuing system in which there are only a limited number of potential users of the service |
| LIMS | Logistics Inventory Management System |
| Line Functions | The decision-making areas companies associate with daily operations. Logistics line functions include traffic management, inventory control, order processing, warehousing, and packaging |
| Line haul | A movement between major terminals over 100 to 150 miles in distance. |
| Line Haul Charge | Transportation of your move. These charges apply in addition to the additional service charges. |
| Line Item | A specific and unique identifier assigned to a product by the responsible enterprise |
| Line List | List of products available for production for one specific season that is updated permanently. It includes development data from PDM, and RMS, additional pricing and logistics data, and carry over models. |
| Line Scrap | Value of raw materials and work-in-process inventory scrapped as a result of improper processing or assembly line |
| Line side Warehouse | A supplier warehouse positioned as close as possible to the production location to facilitate Just In Time manufacture |
| Linear Bar Code | A method of automatic identification using a series of light spaces and dark bars of differing densities, in standard formats, to enable a computer to read data and letters accurately without keyboard entry |
| Linear Bays | The total amount of hanging rail space expressed in bays. |
| Linear decision rule | An aggregate planning model that attempts to specify an optimum production rate and work-force level over a specific period |
| Linear Metres | The measurement of display space, either flat displays, shelving, or hanging rails. |
| Linear programming | A mathematical technique designed to help production and operations managers in planning and decision making relative to the trade-off necessary to allocate resources. |
| Linear regression analysis | A straight-line mathematical model to describe the functional relationships between independent and dependent variables is common quantitative causal forecasting model |
| Liner Service | International water carriers that provide service on fixed routes on published schedules. |
| Liner Train | Specially designed rail line for regular movement of liner/contain |
| Link | The transportation method a company uses to connect nodes (plants, warehouses) in a logistics system |
| Link Access Protocol | Any protocol of the Data Link Layer, such as EtherTalk. |
| Linked Distributed Systems | Independent computer systems owned by independent organisations linked in a manner to allow direct updates to be made to one system by another |
| LIS | Logistics Information System |
| Live | A situation in which the equipment operator stays with the trailer or boxcar while it is being loaded or unloaded |
| Lloyds’ Registry | An organisation maintained for the surveying and classing of ships so that insurance underwriters and others may know the quality and condition of the vessels offered for insurance or employment. |
| LLP | See Lead Logistics Provider |
| LNG Carrier | Liquefied Natural Gas Carrier. |
| Load Date Spread | Agreed-upon period within which pickup of a shipment is to take place |
| Load Factor | A measure of operating efficiency used by air carriers to determine a plane’s utilised capacity percentage or the number of passengers divided by the total number of seats |
| Load Length | Load length is the maximum overall dimension of a pallet or load module. It is measured in the direction perpendicular to the length of the aisle (parallel to the forks) for conventional fork lift truck handling.[1] |
| Load locks | Adjustable support bars used inside trailers to prevent movement of the load. a.k.a Load bars, Cargo bars |
| Load Optimisation | The practice of ensuring that transportation assets such as vehicles, air containers, cargo space, etc.. to minimise costs |
| Load Plan | Is the planning system especially for the delivery route planning |
| Load Planner | Is the person who does the route planning in load planning system |
| Load Ratio | The ratio of loaded miles to empty miles. |
| Load reports | A report for showing the resource requirements in a work centre for all work currently assigned there as well as all planned and expected orders |
| Load Tender (Pick-Up Request) | The offering of cargo to be loaded by a carrier. |
| Load-bearing Surface | Actual area of material in contact with and supporting a unit load. |
| Loading | (1) The labor of putting a load of something on or in a vehicle or ship or container. (2) Weight to be borne or conveyed. (3)Goods carried by a large vehicle |
| Loading Allowance | A reduced rate that carriers offer to shippers and/or consignees who load and/or unload LTL or Any Quantity shipments |
| Loading Area | The surface or plane on which a course is laid |
| Loading Area Efficiency | The percentage of the prescribed loading area occupied by the containers in the first course |
| Loading Dock | The sorting or staging platform where shipments are loaded or unloaded. |
| Loading List | A system print out documents stated the details to shipment need to load |
| Loading Port | The port where the cargo is loaded onto the exporting vessel |
| Local Cargo | Cargo delivered to/from the carrier where origin/destination of the cargo is in the local area. |
| Local Delivery | Movement of product from warehouse facility to the final destination. |
| Local Pick-Up | Movement of product from origin to a warehouse facility. |
| Local Rate | A rate published between two locations served by one carrier. |
| Local service Airlines | Provide a connecting service with domestics’ trunk line carriers for passenger and cargo services. |
| Local Service Carriers | A classification of air carriers that operate between less-populated areas and major population centres |
| Localised Raw Material | A raw material found only in certain locations |
| Location Checking | The systematic physical checking of warehouse stock against location records to ensure location accuracy |
| Locational break-even analysis | A cost-volume analysis to make an economic comparison of location alternatives. |
| Locational determinant | The factors that determine the location of a facility. For industrial facilities, the determinants include logistics |
| Locator system | Locator systems are inventory-tracking systems that allow you to assign locations to your inventory to facilitate greater tracking and the ability to store product randomly. Prior to locator systems, warehouses needed to store product |
| Lock | The latch mechanism on folding containers used with a U-shaped part called the staple to secure folding container walls and gates in a closed position. |
| Lockout / Tagout | the process of disabling (lockout) and identifying (tagout) equipment and energy sources during maintenance or service to prevent injury of personnel from an unexpected startup or power up. |
| Lockstitch | Formed by two different thread systems. A needle thread introduced from one side of the material is interlaced with an underthread supplied from a spool on the other side |
| Log Sheet | The sheet used by the security personnel to log every truck in to the warehouse premises |
| Logbook | A daily record of the hours an interstate driver spends driving, off duty, sleeping in the berth, or on duty but not driving |
| Logical Partitioning | The partitioning of a computer application’s code into distinct executable programs. Logical partitioning is independent of the platforms on which an application may be deployed. |
| Logistic Straps | Nylon straps used to tie off tiers in a trailer. |
| Logistic Track | Metal track inside a trailer onto which logistic straps are hooked. |
| Logistics | The processes involved in transferring goods through manufacture storage and transportation to business customers and end consumers |
| Logistics | The process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient and cost-effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process stocks, finished goods and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption for customers. Logistics encompasses warehousing, transport, added-value/pre-retailing services and IT solutions and covers inbound, outbound, internal, international and reverse product flows. |
| Logistics Channel | The network of intermediaries engaged in transfer, storage, handling, and communications functions that contribute to the efficient flow of goods. |
| Logistics control tower (LCT) | Bespoke packages of information services used to manage and control supply chain activities on behalf of customers and suppliers. Also known as logistics or transport control tower. |
| Logistics Controlling | Department which provides analytical skills to the logistics departments, in order to improve budgeting, and cost control, the logistics process, decision making and the day-to-day management of the business. |
| Logistics Costs | The factors associated with the acquisition, storage, movement, and disposition of goods. |
| Logistics Data Interchange (LDI) | An integrating computerised system that electronically transmits logistics information computer to computer. |
| Logistics France Pilot | This project supports an extension of the Supply Chain Planning process, in the area of transport & distribution between Subsidiaries and Global Operations. |
| Logistics outsourcing | The sub-contracting to external companies of tasks considered to be outside an organisation’s core competence. Logistics outsourcing is one of the most popular forms. |
| Logistics re-engineering | The study and re-design of logistics processes to achieve significant improvements in performance. |
| Logistics service provider (LSP) | An organisation that offers 3PL, 4PL or lead logistics provider services. |
| Logistics Visibility Provider | An Internet-based service that provides the integration to and captures the data from logistics service providers; cleanses, verifies and analyses the data; and reports on logistics activities to facilitate supply chain visibility |
| Log-log graphs | Graphs that use a logarithmic scale on both the x- and y- axis |
| Long Combination Vehicle | In general, vehicles longer than a standard doubles rig tractor and two 28-foot semi-trailers |
| Longest processing time (LPT) | A priority rule that assigns the highest priority to those jobs with the longest processing time. |
| Longitudinal flue space | term used by fire codes to describe the space between the rows of back-to-back racking. Flue spaces allow the water from an overhead sprinkler system to reach lower levels of the rack. Normally a longitudinal flue space of at least 6 inches is required. It is important to note that the flue space is measured as the distance between the loads, not the distance between the racks |
| Lot | A stock keeping unit that must be stored apart from other like stock keeping units. |
| Lot for lot | An order method that is driven by forecast periods. Order quantities will match demand in each specific forecast period. |
| Lot Number | The process of tracking production where groups of inventory, within a given product are produced in a batch. Lot tracking is useful for products such as fabric. |
| Lot Reconciliation | The use of sensors to count the number of objects that pass a particular point in the material handling system for purposes of reconciling actual production or material movement with planned production. |
| Lot Size | The quantity of goods a company purchases or produces in anticipation of use or sale in the future. |
| Lot Splitting | Buying large quantities of a product in bulk and selling it to retailers in smaller lot sizes. |
| Lot tolerance percent defective (LTPD) | The quality level of a lot considered bad |
| Lot-for-lot | A lot-sizing technique producing exactly what was required |
| Low-Boy | A trailer or semi-trailer with no sides and with the floor of the unit close to the ground. |
| Lower Insurance | Air freight is faster and has better security than the land and ocean freight thus the insurance premium rate generally is lower. |
| Low-level coding | A system in a bill-of-material when an item is coded at the lowest level at which it occurs |
| LPG | Liquid Petroleum Gas |
| LS or LM | Lump Sum. A local freight rate which is inclusive of all charges. |
| LT | 1 Long Ton = 2,240 lbs. |
| LTL | LTL stands for Less Than Truckload, which means the shipment does not completely fill an entire truck. A LTL shipment typically ranges anywhere from 150 lbs to10,000 lbs. Large Shipments over 10,000 lbs are usually moved by Full truckload (FTL). |
| LTL Carrier | Trucking company which consolidates less-than-truckload cargo for multiple destinations on one vehicle |
| LTL shipment | A less-than-truckload shipment, one weighing less than the minimum weight a company needs to use the lower truckload rate. |
| Lump Sum Freight | An agreed amount for the carriage of goods, not based upon quantity |
| Lumping | A term applied to a person who assists a motor carrier owner-operator in the loading and unloading of property; quite commonly used in the food industry. |
| Lust-to-Dust | Similar to “Cradle-to-Grave” but also includes the logistics considerations during the initial planning phase, prior to the acquisition process |
Sales forecasting
and inventory optimization
Become a retail mastermind you always wanted to be.