Sales forecasting
and inventory optimization

Became a retail mastermind you always wanted to be.

Start 14 day free trial

14 minutes read

Dictionary U

TermExplanation
UbiquityA raw material that is found at all locations at the same time.
UCCSee Uniform Code Council.
UCP 500See Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits.
UICSee Union Internationale des Chemins de Fer.
UKASTAUnited Kingdom Agricultural Supply Association. Trade association for agricultural organizations concerned with, among other things, establishing a code of practice for road hauliers to improve cleanliness and safety in the carriage of food grains.
UKWAUnited Kingdom Warehousing Association. Trade association for warehousemen.
ULBCUltra large bulk carrier. Ship for carrying bulk materials. See also ULCC.
ULCCSee Ultra Large Crude Carrier.
ULDSee Unit Load Device.
UllageFree space above a liquid contained in a tank, drum or tank-container, expressed as a percentage of the total capacity. Ullage is often used to leave room for possible expansion of the liquid.
Ultra Large Crude CarrierA vessel designed for the carriage of liquid cargo in bulk with a loading capacity from 250.000 till 500.000 DWT. Abbreviation: ULCC
ULWUnladen weight. The weight of a vehicle inclusive of its body and parts normally used but exclusive of the weight of water, fuel, loose tools and equipment and batteries (but only where these power the vehicle). Use of the term ulw is gradually diminishing in UK legislation as metric measure is progressively introduced.
Umbrella RateAn ICC ratemaking practice that held rates to a particular level to protect another mode’s traffic.
UN/EDIFACTUnited Nations Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport. Internationally agreed standards and guidelines for the electronic interchange of commercial data.
UN/SPSCSee United Nations Standard Product and Service Code.
UnaccompaniedVehicle/trailer or semi-trailer shipped by ferry/rail without the driver. Collected at other end of transit by a local driver. In a passenger transport context it would mean the carriage of unaccompanied minors (ie children) by airlines for example.
Unbundled Payment/RemittanceThe process where payment is delivered separately from its associated detail.
UNCTADSee United Nations Conference on Trade And Development.
UndercarriageA supporting frame or structure of a wheeled vehicle. The landing gear of an aircraft.
UndercarrierA carrier in a conference or consortium who carries less cargo than the allotment distributed to him.
Undervalued currencyA currency whose rate of exchange is persistently above parity.
UNDG NumberSee United Nations Dangerous Goods Number.
UNECESee United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
UNFAIR COMPETITIONA term defining legal standards of business conduct. It provides protection against such things as simulation of trade packaging, using similar corporate and professional names, misappropriation of trade secrets and palming off one person’s goods as those of another.
Unfair dismissalDismissal of an employee on grounds which are held to be not fair. Employees (after two years’ service) have a right not to be unfairly dismissed and may complain to an Industrial Tribunal (within three months) if they are so dismissed. If case upheld, Tribunal will order reinstatement/re-engagement or award compensation.
Unfit driverVehicle driver who is not fit to drive due to the effects of drink/drugs. Also, re LGV* driver entitlement, driver who by his conduct has shown himself not fit to hold an entitlement to drive heavy vehicles , decided by TC* who may penalize the entitlement.
UnicartA means of handling a unit load from the selection aisles to the retail store aisles. It moves on four wheels and has strong sides that prevent product damage. Note: Using carts to ship merchandise lowers the cube capacity of a trailer. Carts are normally off-loaded into the trailer.
Unified driving licenseNew form of driving license in UK introduced in conformity with EU directives. Shows all of a drivers entitlements (ie ordinary/LGV/PCV) in a single document using EU system of categorization (eg Class I HGV license becomes C+E entitlement).
Uniform Code CouncilAn US association that administrates UCS, WINS, and VICS and provides UCS identification codes and UPC codes. Also, a model set of legal rules governing commercial transmissions, such as sales, contracts, bank deposits and collections, commercial paper, and letters or credit. Individual states give legal power to the UCC by adopting its articles of law.
Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary CreditsThe in 1993 revised rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) governing a letter of credit issued in respect of goods shipped applicable as from 1-1-1994.
Uniform Product Code (UPC)A standard product numbering and bar coding system used by the retail industry. UPC codes are administered by the Uniform Code Council. They identify the manufacturer as well as the item, and are included on virtually all retail packaging. Also see: Uniform Code Council.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)A string that supplies the Internet address of a web site or resource on the World Wide Web, along with the protocol by which the site or resource is accessed. The most common URL type is http://, which gives the Internet address of a web page. Some other URL types are gopher:/, which gives the Internet address of a Gopher directory, and ftp://, which gives the network location of an FTP resource.
Uniform Warehouse Receipts ActThe act that sets forth the regulations governing public warehousing. The regulations define a warehouse manager’s legal responsibility and define the types of receipts he or she issues.
Union Internationale des Chemins de FerInternational railway union, in which most of the European national railway companies are united. Abbreviation: UIC
Unit CostThe cost associated with a single unit of product. The total cost of producing a product or service divided by the total number of units. The cost associated with a single unit of measure underlying a resource, activity, product, or service. It’s calculated by dividing the total cost by the measured volume. Unit cost measurement must be used with caution as it may not always be practical or relevant in all aspects of cost management.
Unit loadMaterial handling term that describes any configuration of materials that allow it to be moved by material handling equipment as a single unit. While smaller manually handled configurations could be considered unit loads, the term generally defines larger configurations that would be moved by a lift truck such as palletized loads, crates, bales, etc. a.k.a. unitized load
Unit Load DeviceAny type of container or pallet, in which a consignment can be transported by air whether or not such a container is considered aircraft equipment. Any type of air freight container, aircraft container, aircraft pallet with a net, or aircraft pallet with a net over an igloo. Abbreviation: ULD
Unit of Driver MeasureThe common denominator between groupings of similar activities. Example: 20 hours of process time is performed in an activity center. This time equates to a number of common activities varying in process time duration. The unit of measure is a standard measure of time such as a minute or an hour.
Unit trainAn entire, uninterrupted locomotive, care, and caboose movement between an origin and destination.
United Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentA United Nations agency whose work in shipping includes the liner code involving the sharing of cargoes between the shipping lines of the importing and exporting countries and third countries in the ratio 40:40:20. Abbreviation: UNCTAD
United Nations Dangerous Goods NumberThe four-digit number assigned by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods to classify a substance or a particular groups of substances. Note: The prefix ‘UN’ must always be used in conjunction with these numbers. Abbreviation: UNDG Number
United Nations Economic Commission for EuropeThe UN/ECE is one of a number of Economic and Social Commissions established by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Despite its name it embraces both Europe and North America. The UN/ECE comprises twenty nine core member states, as well as any country which is a member of the United Nations and which applies under Article 11 of the United Nations constitution for delegate status. The aim is to advance the economic development of Europe and associated countries through trade facilitation and common agreements. Abbreviation: UN/ECE
United Nations Layout KeyA standard (ISO6422) which lays down the basic principles for the design of the image area on documents for use in international trade. Synonym: Layout Key. Abbreviation: UNLK
United Nations Standard MessageA collection of structured data that is exchanged to convey information related to a specific transaction between partners engaged in electronic data interchange. Messages are composed of logically grouped segments required for the type of message transaction covered. Note: A set of segments in the order specified in a message directory starting with the message header and ending with the message trailer (ISO9735). Abbreviation: UNSM
United Nations Standard Product and Service Code (UN/SPSC)Developed jointly between the United Nations and Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). It has a five-level coding structure (segment, family, class, commodity, business function) for nearly 9,000 products.
United States Railway AssociationThe planning and funding agency for Conrail; created by the 3-R Act of 1973.
UnitizationIn warehousing, the consolidation of several units into larger units into larger units for fewer handlings.
UnitizeTo consolidate several packages into one unit; carriers strap, band, or otherwise attach the several packages together.
Unit-of-measure conversionsA unit-of-measure conversion is needed whenever you work with multiple units of measure. For example, if you purchased an item in cases (meaning that your purchase order stated a number of cases rather than a number of pieces) and then stocked the item in eaches, you would require a conversion to allow your system to calculate how many eaches are represented by a quantity of cases. This way, when you received the cases, your system would automatically convert the case quantity into an each quantity.
UnixA family of operating systems known for its relative hardware independence and portable applications interface.
UNLKSee United Nations Layout Key.
UnloadingThe action that goods are move out of the vehicle / container.
Unmanned machinery spacesA space where alarm bells are installed on the bridge of a ship to trace or rectify any machinery faults. The computerized devices will report any fault immediately when it appears and the engineers on board can attend to the necessary ramifications.
Unplanned OrderOrders which are received that do not fit into the volumes prescribed by the plans developed from forecasts.
UnseaworthinessThe state or condition of a vessel when it is not in a proper state of maintenance, or if the loading equipment or crew, or in any other respect is not ready to encounter the ordinary perils of sea.
UNSMSee United Nations Standard Message.
Unsuccessful vendorA vendor whose response is not accepted for reasons such as price, quantity, failure to comply with specifications, etc.
UOMSee Unit of Measure.
UpchargesCharges added to a bill, particularly a freight bill, to cover additional costs that were not envisioned when a contract was written. These might include costs related to rapidly increasing fuel charges or costs related to government mandates.
U-Pick Selection (Perimeter, Horseshoe, or Quad Selection)A selecting (picking) pattern in which selectors move up one side of the aisle and down the other, returning to the point where the selection cart or truck is placed.
Upper CouplerLoad bearing surface on the underside of the front of a semitrailer. It rests on the fifth wheel of a tractor or dolly and has a downward-protruding kingpin which is captured by the locking jaws of the fifth wheel.
UPSUnited Parcels Service. American, reputed to be world’s largest, express parcels carrier. Its characteristic brown coloured, standard design vehicles are recognized worldwide.
UpsellThe practice of attempting to sell a higher-value product to the customer.
Upside Production FlexibilityThe number of days required to complete manufacture and delivery of an unplanned sustainable 20% increase in end-product supply of the predominant product line. The one constraint that is estimated to be the principal obstacle to a 20% increase in end-product supply as represented in days is Upside Flexibility: Principal Constraint. Upside flexibility can affect three possible areas: direct labor availability, internal manufacturing capacity, and key components or material availability.
UpstreamPrincipal direction of movement for customer orders which originate at point of demand or use, as well as other flows, such as return product movements, payments for purchases, etc. Opposite of downstream.
Urban Bus ChallengeFund provided by government for which local authorities and other agencies can bid for improving public transport provision in these areas.
Urban clearwaySection of highway marked as such by appropriate signs (illustrated in Highway Code) and where vehicles must not park on carriageway during times shown on sign (except for as long as necessary to pick up or set down passengers.
Urban Mass Transportation AdministrationA U.S. Department of Transportation agency that develops comprehensive mass transport systems for urban areas and for providing financial aid to transit systems.
Urban test cycleRegarding official tests to determine fuel consumption for new cars , one of three standard tests conducted to simulate urban driving and not exceeding 50 kph (other tests are constant speed at 90 kph and optional constant speed at 120 kph). Law requires such figures to be displayed on all new cars offered for sale (since 1978).
URLSee Uniform Resource Locator.
URTUUnited Road Transport Union. Trade union for transport drivers. Has statutory right of objection to ‘O’ license applications.
US effective controlled fleetThat fleet of merchant ships owned by United States citizens or corporations and registered under flags of “convenience” or “necessity” such as Liberia or Panama. The term is used to emphasize that, while the fleet is not U.S.-flag, it is effectively under U.S. control by virtue of the ship’s owners and can be called to serve U.S. interests in time of emergency.
Usage RateMeasure of demand for product per unit of time (e.g., units per month, etc.).
USCGUnited States Coast Guard.
USDAWUnion of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers. Trade union for shop staff and for distribution drivers. Has statutory right of objection to ‘O’ license applications.
User Acceptance TestingUser performed test to determine a system for a specific task performs according to specification.
User bodyAn organization (eg a consultative committee) representing the interests of a particular group of customers who use transport services (eg rail users). Some are statutory, having been set up through legislation, while others are voluntary.
User NetworkA public network made up of thousands of newsgroups and organized by topic. Acronym: USENET
User of vehicleThe person who drives a vehicle or who employs a person to drive it on his behalf (ie both driver and employer of the driver). Key term in transport law , most legislation is aimed at the ‘user’. For example, ‘O’ licenses must be held by the user and most C&U regulations offences are committed by the user.
USTRANSCOMUnited States Transportation Command, U.S. Department of Defense.
UTCUrban traffic control. System for controlling traffic in urban areas.
UTIUnit de Transport Intermodal. French term for Intermodal Transport Unit (ITU).
UtilizationConcept of achieving maximum use of warehouse space (vehicles, vehicle load capacity, labour, capital, etc). Measure of efficiency of use, which tells (among other things) whether there is over-capacity available, excess labour or whether capital expenditure has not been effectively used.
Utilization RateA fleet productivity measurement that tracks % of time that vehicle is being used.
UTMCUrban traffic management and control. Intelligent (modular) control systems to manage traffic in cities.
UTPUrban transport planning. Urban planning concept mainly adopted in the USA.

Sales forecasting
and inventory optimization

Became a retail mastermind you always wanted to be.

Start 14 day free trial