California Transportation and Logistics Institute

Home

About Logistics Industry

About CaTLI

Success Story

Participating CA Community Colleges & State Universities

Career Paths

Training & Education for Workers

Customized Training for Employers

Logistics Glossary

CaTLI News

CaTLI Staff

Contact Us

CaTLI is funded by:

Department of Labor

Verizon

Bank of America

Logistics Glossary - B

 

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

 

Backhaul: The process of a transportation vehicle returning from the original destination point to the point of origin. The 1980 Motor Carrier Act deregulated interstate commercial trucking and thereby allowed carriers to contract for the return trip. The backhaul can be with a full, partial, or empty load. An empty backhaul is called deadheading.

Bar Code: A symbol consisting of a series of printed bars representing values. A system of optical character reading, scanning, and tracking of units by reading a series of printed bars for translation into a numeric or alphanumeric identification code. A popular example is the UPC code used on retail packaging.

Bar Code Scanner: A device to read bar codes and communicate data to computer systems.

Barrier to Entry: Factors that prevent companies from entering into a particular market, such as high initial investment in equipment.

Batch Number: A sequence number associated with a specific batch or production run of products and used for tracking purposes. Synonym: Lot Number

Batch Picking: A method of picking orders in which order requirements are aggregated by product across orders to reduce movement to and from product locations. The aggregated quantities of each product are then transported to a common area where the individual orders are constructed. Also See: Discrete Order Picking, Order Picking, Zone Picking

Best Practice: A specific process or group of processes which have been recognized as the best method for conducting an action. Best Practices may vary by industry or geography depending on the environment being used. Best practices methodology may be applied with respect to resources, activities, cost object, or processes.

Bill of Lading (BOL): A transportation document that is the contract of carriage containing the terms and conditions between the shipper and carrier.

Bill of Material (BOM): A structured list of all the materials or parts and quantities needed to produce a particular finished product, assembly, subassembly, or manufactured part, whether purchased or not.