Activity Based Costing (ABC): This is a way of breaking down the cost of an operation into specific sections, known as drivers, so that you can measure the time it takes to process a product and determine the related expenses. Motion and time studies are often included in activity based costing, in order to establish the cost of completing an operation or third party fulfillment bids, also known as 3PL. This also helps establish a basis for improved operational effectiveness

Acquirer: Sometimes referred to as a credit card processor. An acquirer is a financial establishment that processes credit card receipts such as Visa and MasterCard which are collected by merchants, in a direct manner or through other independent sales organizations they are affiliated with (known as ISO). An acquiring bank gets funds from the credit card holder once the credit card transaction has cleared, and then it deposits the correct amount, retracting the bank fees, first into the merchant's account.

Advanced Shipment Notification (ASN): This is when a customer has been notified of a shipment. This notification, which is usually sent through EDI or electronic data interchange, records information such as the carton number, the lot number, the pallet or container number and the stock keeping unit (SKU) number, as well as the purchase order (PO) number.

Allocation: In regards to inventory management, an allocation is decided by how much customer demand there is for an item determined by its usage. The quantity of a particular item that's needed for an order or for a particular time period is called standard allocation. A company typically reserves the inventory for that particular order for specified period of time.

Authorization: The first requirement when processing a credit card transaction. The amount charged on the card is compared to the individuals' bank account balance, and that amount is then put on hold for approximately 72 hours. The process then goes to Settlement.

Automated Data Collection (ADC): This is a computer based system, also known as Automatic Identification and Data Collection (AIDC) or automated data capture, which keeps an automated record of the transactions between the warehousing and the shipping operations. In order for these systems to collect this data they need interfacing, like scanners, radio frequency receivers (RFID readers), and relevant software and terminals.

AVS (Address Verification System): This is an automatic check done on credit card transactions that verifies that the billing address supplied by the customer is the same address for the credit card presented at the time of payment. This is feature is built into most credit card transaction processing equipment in order to prevent fraud.

Back End: Refers to a product transaction which takes place after the original direct-over TV sale which is generated by an infomercial or short form DRTV spot. Up to 50% of all DRTV product sales can be a result of back end sales. Supplementary sales of DRTV and related products can be made from up-sales or inbound telemarketing, as well as direct mail sales and outbound telemarketing, and club programs, catalogs and continuity sales. Back-end sales can be accounted for anywhere from 50 to 90% of product sales. A retail sale is not generally considered a back-end sale.

Backorder: This is an order for a product that is currently out-of stock that will arrive after the shipping date it was originally expected on.

Batch: This is a collection of credit card transactions that a merchant collects over a certain amount of time. Typically batches of credit card transactions are collected in one day and then submitted to the acquiring bank at one time; often at the end of the day. A batch fee is charged by acquiring bank so as to encourage merchants to submit their credit card transactions in groups as opposed to doing a number of transactions each day.

Batch Picking: This is a way of grouping together a bunch of orders. Every order that is placed in a batch is picked in one pass.

Bill of Materials: This is a list of the various processes which went into putting together the components for a kit, or for the completion of a finished product.

Business to Business (B2B): This refers to actions which are directed between two or more companies.

Business to Consumer (B2C): This refers to actions channeled from businesses to consumers. These activities include having products warehoused and orders processed and handled and shipped to a consumer on behalf of a business. These products are often ordered from websites, direct mailings, catalogs, e-mails, telemarketing, print ads, and radio and television advertising.

Call Center: The place that answers inbound telephone calls and places outbound calls Customer care centers provide a variety of services with the use of sophisticated software.

Card Issuer: This refers to a financial institution, typically a bank, which institutes a line of credit with a particular cardholder, and is responsible for issuing the credit card which will be used to purchase goods and services.

Chargeback: This refers to an investigation by an issuing bank into a disputed credit card charge, at the request of the cardholder. This chargeback is different from a simple refund request made to the marketer, and the process typically proves to be too difficult for a customer to investigate on their own. A chargeback investigation is often the last ditch effort from a dissatisfied customer.
When a chargeback request is made by a customer, that customer's bank sends notification to the merchant's acquiring bank or I.S.O. The merchant then has the option of contesting the chargeback before the issuing bank begins processing a debit against the merchant's account.

Conformance: This is when a specific set of product requirements, or specified systems or services are fulfilled.

Container: This is a standardized metal compartment which is 8 feet wide, 8.5 to 9.5 feet high, and either 20, 40 or 45 feet long. A container is used for inter-modal transportation of products in the supply chain business.

Continuity Program: This is a DRTV product purchasing program which attempts to persuade consumers to buy one part of a series of products at a discount price, but then carry on to purchase the rest of the series at an increased price. This program is often used for book and music series, as well as for beauty products, self-help products and diet products.

Cost of Goods (C.O.G.): This refers to the direct costs which are associated with making and packaging a particular product

Cost Per Rating Point (C/RP): This is the calculated cost of purchasing one rating point in a particular time slot or within a general programming category such as news shows, talk shows, or soap operas.

Cross Sale: This is a sales technique which talks a customer into purchasing an additional product or service which may or may not be related to the original product.

Customer Service: This refers to a collection of telephone operators, known as TSR's, who orchestrate the shipping, the payment, and the returns of products. They also answer customer's questions about products. A quality customer service crew can greatly influence the success of product sales.

Decline: This is when a charge can't be authorized for whatever reason, whether that be because there are not enough funds available in an account or because a credit card has gone past its expiring date, or has been reported stolen.

Direct Marketer: A direct marketer in the infomercial business manufactures a product or sources a product and then puts together an infomercial campaign while they maintain ownership of the product sales. This differs from an infomercial ad agency because there's no product ownership.

Direct Response (D.R.): This is a method of marketing and sales, also known as DR, which bypasses traditional retail stores and presents a product for sale directly to the consumer. Common direct response venues are television, mail order, newspaper and magazine, catalogue, telephone, electronic kiosks, CD ROM, internet and carnival pitch men.

Direct Response Television (D.R.T.V.): Also referred to as DRTV, it is the process of selling a product directly over TV, bypassing standard retail stores. The three major marketing subgroups of DRTV are short form, long form or infomercials, and live home shopping networks.

Direct to Customer (D2C): This is the procedure where the product is marketed and shipped directly to a customer.

Discount Rate: This is a fee based on a percentage, typically between two and ten percent, which is charged by an ISO or acquiring bank for time and expense used to handle electronic transactions.

Distribution: This is when goods are stored, handled, shipped and transported. This is also a description of a facility that enables these activities like a distribution warehouse or a distribution center.

Distribution Center: This is a warehouse that ships products to retail establishments or to end users. 3PL fulfillment houses also help retail chain stores by presorting merchandise to a particular store level before shipping the merchandise to the distribution centers.

Distributor: This is like a direct marketer. A distributor owns the rights to their product or an infomercial and also comes up with the funds to pay for their own infomercial campaign.

Driving Retail: When an infomercial campaign is used to directly impact and improve the retail sales of a product In 1992, the company Braun was the first company to successfully use this strategy to improve their sales of their single stem food mixer. Retail product sales, as a result of infomercials, can sell anywhere from 2 to 10 times the amount of direct-over-TV sales.

Drop Shipping: This refers to products being on hand at a main warehouse just before the airtime of an infomercial intending to sell that product.

Dunnage: This is a term that's used to describe packing material like Styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap, paper and corrugated cardboard inserts that prevents items from getting damaged.
Originally dunnage was the material used to wrap around cargo that was stored in the hold of a ship, in order to prevent the material from sliding around the ship and becoming damaged.

E-Commerce: This refers to electronic commerce which is an automated or a semi-automated form of online commerce allowing a consumer to purchase a product or order a service electronically using a website or email.
E-commerce can also mean a transaction through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) with the use of peer-to-peer systems, intranets and additional electronic means.
An e-commerce fulfillment house specializes in importing these types of orders into its database, and then taking care of the handling, packing, and shipping of the products, as well as providing continuous customer service.

E-Fulfillment: This refers to the specific operation in which e-commerce orders are processed.

E-Logistics: In regards to third party logistics, e-logistics refers to the act of managing all back-end operations that involve handling the data as well as intramodal and intermodel communications over networks.

Electronic Data Interchange (E.D.I.): This refers to the process of trading documents, like orders, delivery schedules and invoices, with the use of electronic means from one business to another, instead of using a paper form

Electronic Check: This refers to a check which is prepared over the phone after a customer purchases a product and approves of the amount. This check is unsigned by the customer, but the customer provides bank account and pertinent information. This process is used by marketers for customers who don't have a credit card or who can't authorize credit card transactions.

ERA: refers to the Electronic Retailing Association

Fulfillment: This refers to the functions involved in an infomercial campaign, from the warehousing, labeling, packaging, shipping and tracking of a product Often fulfillment functions are subcontracted to 'fulfillment houses' who specialize in this business. Some offer their clients inbound phone customer service.

Fulfillment House: This refers to a business which provides various fulfillment services.

Hand Insertion: This is the process of handling packing shipments with the use of human contact as opposed to mechanical handling. Hand insertion is typically used when fulfilling multi-step product orders that require packing materials of various sizes, configurations and weights within a package.

Infomercial Monitoring Service, Inc. (I.M.C.): This service keeps track of the number as well as the volume of direct response programs that are aired on particular networks and then issues a weekly report which ranks the leaders.

Infomercial: This refers to any TV commercial or radio broadcast which lasts more than two minutes Many infomercials are almost 29 minutes long. They also offer a toll free phone number to call and place an order for the product during the broadcast.

Infomercial Retail Multiple (I.R.M.): This is a way of predicting retail sales of a product as a result of an infomercial media campaign. They usually rate this multiple from 1 to 10. If the multiple of a product is 6 then with every product that is sold during the infomercial it is predicted that 6 of those products would sell in retail stores.

Inquiry: This is a DRTV commercial phone response that don't result in an order for the product Individuals may call to clarify the cost, the payment plan, the content of the product or comment on its competing products. Inquiries are classified as separate from orders or problem calls.

Integrated Logistics Supply (ILS): This is a US Army technique which ensures that the ability to support equipment has been considered when that equipment is being designed and developed.

Issuing Bank: This is the bank that keeps the consumer's credit card account and is responsible for taking the money out of a merchant's account in order to pay for a purchase made from a credit card. Then the issuing bank sends a bill to the consumer for the amount paid.

Just-In-Time (JIT): In terms with managing inventory, this refers to having materials arrive 'just in time' for the last preparations and the shipment of those materials. JIT fulfillment saves money because it reduces inventory holding costs, and uses warehouse space for a limited time, but it requires superb supply chain management skills (SCM) to make sure that all of the pieces arrive in time to get the materials ready, so as not to slow down shipment of the product.

Kitting: This refers to the process of collecting and putting together materials needed for presentations, packages or products.

Less-Than-Truck-Load (LTL): This refers to a shipment that is not a full trailer load. A less-than-truck-load shipment requires more logistics management than a full truck load because there must be many pickups and deliveries scheduled for the same truck. Some freight carriers specialize in LTL shipments.

Location: This is the warehouse in which the inventory is physically staged or stored. Location also refers to the identification number recorded in the database which corresponds to the 'slot' or location.

Logistics Management: This refers to the act of minimizing freight costs by organizing the packaging and shipping of a product in the most cost effective way, as well as negotiating with carriers in order to get the most economical cost for shipment.

Market: This is a distinct geographic area which is surrounding a major city or cities which is determined to be an area of dominant influence for that city's television stations.

Media Buy: This refers to the amount of money paid for one or more time slots over a particular time frame.

Merchant Account: This is an agreement between the company who is selling a product and the credit card company whose responsible for collecting the money for the sale of the product. Marketers typically have a merchant account with MasterCard, Visa, AMEX, etc. If a company is new to direct marketing it might find it difficult to get a merchant account because there are certain risks in long distance credit card transactions.

Merchant Bank: This is a financial institution that provides merchants with credit card processing accounts. It's also an acquiring bank that receives funds from a cardholder once the credit card transaction is finalized, and deposits that payment amount, minus any fees, into the merchant's account.

Minimercial: This is a DRTV commercial that is more than 2 minutes long but under 10 minutes long

Mockup: This is when initial product packaging, such as video cassette boxes, product labels and boxes, and brochures are created in order to meet production deadlines for filming. It's often the case where new product infomercials are schedule before the completion of product packaging, so the products will be filmed with mock-ups.

Multiple Payments: This is a sales offer technique which breaks down the retail price of a product into smaller amounts which can be paid in installments with the use of a credit card or with advertiser sponsored financing. "Pay three installments of $24.95"

Multiple Product Offer: This is a sales technique which offers a number of products in the same infomercial. There can be a variety of products in the same category or a different category.

One-step Offer: This is an offer made on DRTV inviting viewers to call a number and purchase a product now with their credit card.

One Time Only (O.T.O.): This is an infomercial that is offering a product that's not regularly available and will be sold only once.

Orders: These are phone calls to a DRTV commercial's inbound telemarketing company to place make a purchase.

Outsourcing: This is when a client hires an outside company to perform a service on behalf of their client. The key is to outsource jobs which are considered non-core services, which aren't considered competitive. In this way a company can put all of their time, effort and finances into services that can bring the most profit to their business.
Manufacturing companies have even been known to outsource manufacturing; typically offshore. These companies chose to focus their time and efforts on branding, merchandising and marketing their company when they were threatened by foreign competition, and by outsourcing they were able to stay competitive.
Many manufacturers and marketers choose to outsource logistics and certain fulfillment operations to a third party fulfillment company, so that their 'back-room' operations can be handled by employees considered to be specialists.
Some of the benefits of outsourcing things like order processing, warehousing, shipping, customer service and other fulfillments are that it often reduces cost, accelerates shipping times, and increases customer satisfaction.

Pallet: This is a device, also called a skid that is used for storing and moving freight. The pallet acts as a base for stacking, storing and transporting products which are bundled as a unit load. A standard pallet is roughly 4 inches in height and is 40" by 48". It is built in way that the prongs of a forklift can fit between its levels to make it easier to be lifted onto a freight care of transported into a warehouse.
The term 'pallet' is also used to describe a unit load of freight, i.e.; the amount of freight that will fit on one pallet is called 'a pallet of freight'.

Payment Processing: This is a secure processing system done in real time for online debit card and credit card transactions. This process also includes the verification and the authentication of a credit card that is used to buy products or pay for services.

Pick: This is when a product is taken from its storage slot within a warehouse so that it can be packed and shipped to the customer, in order to complete the order fulfillment cycle.

Pick and Pack: This is a term which is sometimes called a 'pack and ship' which refers to the part of an order fulfillment where items arrive at a fulfillment house from its warehouse location and is then packed so that it is ready for shipment to the customer.

Q.V.C.: This is the live, 24 hour, 7 day a week home shopping network, like HSN. Q.V.C. started in 1986.

Quantity Per: This is the amount of a specific item that is required in order to make up one unit of another product or item. A 'quantity per' is located on a bill of materials or on a production order materials list.

Radio Frequency (RF): This is a portable device that uses radio frequencies to collect and transmit data to a host system for the purposes of reporting on and managing inventory.

Radiomercial: This is a long commercial (from 5 to 30 minutes long) which is aired on the radio.

Refurbishing: This is when a product is restored to a 'good as new' condition, as deemed by the client's standards. Refurbishing typically involves the examination and testing of a returned product, the replacement of any parts or collateral materials, the repackaging of the product and the return of the product to inventory.

Response: This refers to the results of an infomercial telecast.

Retail: These are the major establishments that fulfillment houses ship their products to; either through distribution centers or directly to retail locations. Direct-to-consumer sales are fulfillment operations which support sales which are not wholesale orders, but that are delivered directly to the consumer. These are also referred to as direct-response sales ore business-to-consumer (B2C) sales.
In order to successfully deal with retail a company must have efficient supply-chain management, a good understanding of each store's compliance guidelines, and EDI order processing.

Returns: This is the number of items, the dollar amount or the calculated percentage of total sales returned to the direct marketer in order to get a refund.

Reverse Logistics: When returns are handled, which includes inspecting, restocking or recycling a product, and processing the customer's refund.

RF Scanning: This is a precise process of locating every item in a warehouse.

Save-the-Sale: When a call center agent tries to appease a complaining customer in an attempt to avoid having the customer return the product.

Settlement: This is when all necessary funds are transferred so a merchant who is involved in a credit card transaction gets paid for goods or services.

Shipping and Handling (S & H.): This is an added cost charged to the consumer which is tacked on to the stated product price, which is stated on the billboard.

Shipping Manifest System: This is a type of software that associates a shipment with information such as the carriers of the shipment, the services provided and the rates charged. A shipping manifest system produces and sends a physical or an electronic report to the carrier for the purpose of billing. Shipping systems typically produce various shipping documents like bills of lading and compliance shipping labels.

Skid: This is a platform, also referred to as a pallet, that moves or stores items. The average skid is about 4" high and is 40" by 48".
A skid can also refer to the amount of products on a fully loaded skid, i.e.: "I have 3 skids of produce available."

Stock Keeping Unit (SKU): This is a number which is assigned to a product in order to identify that product. The SKU number is tracked and stored.

Slotting: These are the activities involved in optimizing a product's pick location. These activities include the time that an SKU is picked, the number of cubic feet a stored item uses, and the minimum face dimensions that are needed. Consideration is also given to the distance from the staging area and the distance from other SKU's within that same batch.

Supply Chain Management (SCM): This is the process of managing a supply chain of products or goods, which goes from the supplier of the raw materials or the components of a product, to its manufacturer and then to its distributor, its wholesale buyer and finally to its end consumer.
Supply chain management refers to the actual movement of a product through this chain of events, as well as the management of all of the product data including its origin, its payment status, its destination, the history of the ordering client, and any information about any of the parties at all linked in the process of in handling the product.
A well run third party SCM fulfillment company increases revenue for their client by streamlining inventory, increasing the inventory turnover, and speeding up the time it takes to complete transactions.

Telemarketing: Using a phone to make and receive calls in order to make a sale.

Testing: This is when an infomercial is run for a short time before it is launched nationally. The success of the infomercial is evaluated in terms of the appeal for the product, the offer, the show's content and the revised media strategy.

Test Media: This refers to a new time slot for an infomercial or a time slot that hasn't been used by the infomercial in the last 4 weeks.

Third Party Fulfillment (3PF): This is when customer shipments are warehoused and processed for a client in order to provide service for his end-user customers. Third party fulfillment (3PL) may be used for business-to-business transactions for such products as machinery, and components of machinery, as well as for replacement parts.
Third party fulfillment activities are also performed for business-to-consumer transactions which are generated from sources like websites, direct mail, emails, catalogs, telemarketing and television.
Many marketers and manufacturers choose to take care of their own fulfillment, but companies who take advantage of outsourcing third party fulfillment to specialists can reap the benefits of greater efficiencies as well as cost savings. Third party fulfillment also allows a manufacturer to focus their attention on growing the core of their business.

Third Party Logistics (3PL): This is when logistic services are provided to product manufacturers. These logistic services include the warehousing of products, management of 'just-in-time' (JIT) inventory, order processing/picking/packing, freight consolidation, as well as other forms of distribution management.
Manufacturers may choose to take care of these services themselves but a third party logistics company that specializes in these operations are able to deliver top notch service in less time and at a lower cost to manufacturers.

Truck Load: This refers to the quantity or amount of a product that is equal to one standard full sized trailer which is full of that product.

Trailer: This refers to an enclosed standard length trailer, which may be a tractor trailer or a semi trailer that ships materials from one location to another. A standard length trailer is 45, 48 and 53 feet. Its internal width is 98 to 99 inches, and its internal height is 105 to 110 inches.

Tracking Number: This is a number assigned to a product by a call center or a shipping service in order to track the current location of a product, so that customers inquiries on the status of delivery can be answered.

Two-step Offer: This is a lead generator. An infomercial invites a customer to call a number to find out more information, or to receive a brochure or video. That customer is then considered a lead and is pursued through email, phone and mail in order to get that customer to order the product.

Unit Load: This is when materials are arranged in a way that they can be moved by machinery as one unit. A unit load of freight is typically one filled pallet, in third-party logistics.

Universal Product Code (UPC Code): This is a system of coding that identifies each product and its manufacturer uniquely with a 12 digit code. A UPC code is used mainly by retailers, but is also used by product fulfillment warehouses as an SKU number, in order to control inventory of a product which is being shipped to a retail store to be distributed.
The first six digits of the 12 digit UPC code represent the labeled item's manufacturer, which is allocated by the Uniform Code Council. The following 5 digits identify a specific product that is given by the manufacturer. The last digit is a check character which is calculated based on an algorithm of the previous 11 digits.

Upsell: This refers to any product that is also offered to a DRTV customer at the time of their initial phone order. Inbound telemarketers may offer a caller a one or more additional related items for a discounted price, after the key product is ordered.

Value-added Services: These are services, such as deferred manufacturing, light assembly, preparation of store-ready pallets, and kitting, which customize a product which is about to be sold.

Wave Picking: This is a form of picking orders in which orders are not moved from one zone to another, rather, every zone is picked at once and is sorted and consolidated into single orders at a later time.
Wave picking is the fastest way to pick batches of orders which are multi-item, but this form of picking requires consolidation logic and good sorting skills.

Zone: This is a particular location within a warehouse that represents a storage area. Slots, which are specific areas inside a zone, hold specific items or SKU's.

Zone Picking: This is a method of picking orders where a warehouse is sectioned off into lots of different pick zones. This is an effective way to pick orders that consist of lots of different sized products, or for products that require special forms of storage.
A picker is given a particular zone and they move from one zone to the next picking their orders. Zone picking is also called 'the pick and pass' method.