Glossary of Terms

Glossary of Terms used in the storage and distribution sector

Dolavs	Pallet sized food grade plastic bin – typically measuring 1200mm wide z 1,000mm long x 1,000mm tall.

Dusseldorf Pallet	Also known as ‘half euro’ pallet. Wooden pallet measuring 800mm x 600mm. A standard 44ft artic can carry around 60 Dusselforf pallets.

Euro Pallet	A wooden pallet measuring 800mm x 1200mm. A typical 44ft artic can carry either 32 or 33 euro pallets, depending on which direction the pallets are loaded.

Standard UK Pallet	Also known as an ‘Industrial Pallet’. This is a wooden pallet with full perimeter base measuring 1200mm by 1000mm.

Chep Pallet	Also known as GKN Chep pallets. These pallets are rented rather than owned. Chep pallets are heavy duty and are blue. This is the standard normally insisted upon by UK retailers. Other suppliers are now in the market who can supply similar standard pallets such as LPR. Chep can supply euro, industrial and dusseldorf pallets.

Roll Cage	The most common method of retailers transporting their goods from their RDC to their shops. Cages can have multiple shelves or simply be tall open units. Cages can be designed to ‘nest’ whereby when they are empty, the cages can be consolidated to take up around as little as 30% of the space occupied by the cages when they are full.

Freeze down/Chamber Freeze	Reducing temperature from ambient or chilled to –18ºC.

Groupage	Accumulation of product from more than one supplier on one vehicle to be delivered to one or multiple destinations.

Rapid Freeze	Reducing product temperature by re-stacking with the use of layer pads to ensure consistent temperature reduction throughout pallet

SKU	Stock Keeping Unit. Often referred to as a 'product line'. Can be confusing because you could have one product line e.g. Cheddar Cheese, but this may be sold to the retailer in various case sizes such as cases of 6 packs per case and 12 packs per case- i.e. this would be 2 Stock Keeping Units or SKUs.

Pallet Wrapping	To apply plastic stretch film to minimise product movement within transit or storage.

RDC	Reception, Handling and Despatch – The initial charge incurred when storing. Includes removal of product from delivery vehicle, moving and locating within storage area, removing from storage area and loading onto collection vehicle.

Dock Leveler	A mechanical device used to allow pallets to be transferred from the truck to the warehouse without the need for forklift trucks or tail lifts. Used in many warehouses, especially those which are temperature controlled because it allows for vehicles to back up against the building and effectively form a seal between the truck and the building to prevent temperature loss.

VEHICLES

Artic	Standard artics now have a carrying capacity of 26 standard pallets, 33 euro pallets, 60 dusseldorf pallets or between 44 and 54 roll cages.

24 tonne	Typically capable of holding up to 16 standard pallets or 21 euro pallets

17 tonne	Typically capable of holding up to 12 standard pallets or 15 euro pallets

7.5 tonne	Typically capable of holding up to 8 standard pallets or 10 euro pallets – some large distribution centres do not allow deliveries on 7.5 tonne lorries because of their loading bay restrictions using dock levelers.

Transhipping/ Cross-docking	Movement of pallets from one vehicle to another. This may involve a short storage period of up to 24 hours.

EDI ASN	(Electronic Data Interchange) Electronic transfer of data via a secure route.Advance Shipment Notification. Electronic communication between the supplier and its warehouse provider to notify them in advance of what the delivery is made up of. Also a requirement now for suppliers into Tesco and Sainsbury's

RF Stock System Handball	Radio frequency (i.e. wireless and remote) using product scanners and computers. This is where stock has to be manually transferred either from pallet to pallet or bulk stock (for exmaple on a shipping container) onto new pallets.

Primary Logistics	Also known as Factory Gate collections. This is where the retailer themselves organize their own vehicles or subcontracted vehicles to collect from a supplier or their appointed warehouse provider.