Num A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W
I
I 2 of 5: See Interleaved Bar Code.
IATA: International Air Transport Association.
IBC: Intermediate Bulk Containers.
IDC: International Distribution Centre. Also RDC, NDC, EDC.
IES: Import-Export System. See also CHIEF, MSS.
IL: Integrated Logistics.
Implementation: Putting a system, process or practice into operation.
Import: Movement of products from one country into another. For example, the import of automobiles from Germany to the U.S.
Import/Export License: Official authorization issued by a government allowing the shipping or delivery of a product across national boundaries.
Imports: Goods and/or services provided by suppliers from outside of Canada.
Impressions: With regard to online advertising, it is the number of times an ad banner is downloaded and presumably seen by users. Guaranteed impressions refer to the minimum number of times an ad banner will be seen by users.
Inbound: A driver that is returning to the final destination of the trip.
Inbound Logistics: The movement of materials from suppliers and vendors into production processes or storage facilities.
Incoterms (International Commercial Terms): International sales terms widely used in international commercial transactions.
Independent Demand Item Management Models: Models for the management of items whose demand is not strongly influenced by other items managed by the same company. These models can be characterized as follows: (1) stochastic or deterministic, depending on the variability of demand and other factors; (2) fixed quantity, fixed cycle, or hybrid (optional replenishment). Also see: Fixed Reorder Cycle Inventory Model, Fixed Reorder Quantity Inventory Model, Optional Replenishment Model.
Infinite Loading: Calculation of the capacity required at work centres in the time periods required regardless of the capacity available to perform this work.
Insourcing: The opposite of outsourcing; that is, a service performed in house.
In-Store Signage: Professional signs that can be created in stores.
Integrated EDI: EDI transmissions that flow directly into appropriate business systems without human processing, thus reducing administrative costs.
Integrated Logistics: A comprehensive, system-wide view of the entire supply chain as a single process, from raw-materials supply through finished-goods distribution. All functions that make up the supply chain are managed as a single entity, rather than managing individual functions separately.
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN): A computer term describing the networks and equipment for integrated broadband transmissions of data, voice and image, from rates of 144 Kbps to 2 Mbps. ISDN allows integration of data, voice and video over the same digital links.
Intelligent Hubs: Wiring concentrators that can be monitored and managed by network operators.
Intelligent Messaging: A system that intelligently acts upon incoming data or messages, determining the necessary action based upon user-defined rules, automatically either taking action or alerting the correct manager in the manner that that manager prefers.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR): A combination of hardware and software that allows a person to ask questions and provide answers by pressing keys on their touch-tone phone. IVR systems are used to automate data entry, eliminating the need for 24-hour staffing of very routine jobs.
Interleaved Bar Code: Bar-code symbology with paired characters. Bars represent the first character and spaces represent the second, such as (Interleaved) I 2 of 5.
Intermediately Positioned Warehouse: A warehouse located between customers and manufacturing plants to provide increased customer service and reduced distribution cost.
Intermodal Transport: Shipping by two or more different types of equipment for savings or speed, such as long-distance rail transport of truck trailers followed by over-the-road delivery by truck.
Internal Customer: The recipient (person or department) of another person's or department's output (good, service or information) within an organization. Also see: Customer.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO): An organization within the United Nations to which all national and other standard-setting bodies (should) defer. Develops and monitors international standards, including OSI, EDIFACT and X.400.
Internet: A computer term that refers to an interconnected group of computer networks from all parts of the world, i.e. a network of networks. Accessed via a modem and an online service provider, it contains many information resources and acts as a giant electronic message-routing system.
Intranet: A private network inside an organization that uses the same software and protocols as the Internet.
In-transit Inventory: Material moving between two or more locations, usually separated geographically; for example, finished goods being shipped from a plant to a distribution centre. In-transit inventory is an easily overlooked component of total supply chain availability.
Inventory: Raw materials, work in process, finished goods and supplies required for creation of a company's goods and services; the number of units and/or value of the stock of goods held by a company.
Inventory Accuracy: When the on-hand quantity is equivalent to the perpetual balance (plus or minus the designated count tolerances).
Inventory Balance Location Accuracy: When the on-hand quantity in the specified locations is equivalent to the perpetual balance (plus or minus the designated count tolerances).
Inventory Carrying Cost: One of the elements comprising a company's total supply chain management costs. These costs consist of the following: 1. Opportunity Cost: The opportunity cost of holding inventory. This should be based on your company's own cost of capital standards using the following formula. Calculation: Cost of Capital x Average Net Value of Inventory. 2. Shrinkage: The costs associated with breakage, pilferage and deterioration of inventories. Usually pertains to the loss of material through handling damage, theft or neglect. 3. Insurance and Taxes: The cost of insuring inventories and taxes associated with the holding of inventory. 4. Total Obsolescence for Raw Material, WIP and Finished-Goods Inventory: Inventory reserves taken due to obsolescence and scrap and includes products exceeding the shelf life that are no good for use in their original purpose (do not include reserves taken for Field Service Parts). 5. Channel Obsolescence: Aging allowances paid to channel partners, provisions for buy-back agreements, etc. Includes all material that goes obsolete while in a distribution channel. Usually, a distributor will demand a refund on material that goes bad or is no longer needed because of changing needs. 6. Field Service Parts Obsolescence: Reserves taken due to obsolescence and scrap. Field Service Parts are those items kept at locations outside the four walls of the manufacturing plant, i.e., distribution centre or warehouse.
Inventory Deployment: A technique for strategically positioning inventory to meet customer-service levels while minimizing inventory and storage levels. Excess inventory is replaced with information derived through monitoring supply, demand and inventory at rest as well as in motion.
Inventory Management: The process of ensuring the availability of products through inventory administration.
Inventory Planning Systems: The systems that help in strategically balancing the inventory policy and customer-service levels throughout the supply chain by calculating time-phased order quantities and safety stock, using selected inventory strategies, including conducting what-if analysis that compares the current inventory policy with simulated inventory scenarios and improves the inventory ROI.
Inventory Record Accuracy (IRA): Accuracy of inventory records calculated in number of units out of 100 that fall within accepted tolerances during a stock count.
Inventory Turnover: The number of times that inventory cycles (or "turns over") during the year. Also called turns.
Inventory Turns: The cost of goods sold divided by the average level of inventory on hand. This ratio measures how many times a company's inventory has been sold during a period of time. Operationally, inventory turns are measured as total throughput divided by average level of inventory for a given period; how many times a year the average inventory for a firm changes over or is sold.
IPL: Initial Program Load: The process by which the operating instructions are loaded into the storage of the computer when the system is powered on. Includes self-testing to ensure proper operation.
Irregular Route Carrier: A carrier that does not have regulated routes. Can deliver in all states.
IS: Information Systems: Often refers to a company's management information systems (or MIS) organization. See IT.
ISDN: Integrated Services Digital Network: A standard designed to move different kinds of data (at up to 128,000 bits/sec over regular lines, but usually 56,000-64,000) over a phone line.
Islands of Automation: Stand-alone pockets of automation that are not integrated.
ISO: See International Organization for Standardization.
ISO 14000 Series Standards: A series of generic environmental-management standards under development by the International Organization for Standardization, which provide structure and systems for managing environmental compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements and affect every aspect of a company's environmental operations.
ISO 9000: A series of quality-assurance standards compiled by the Geneva, Switzerland-based International Organization for Standardization.
IT: Information Technology: Often refers to use of technology in general. See IS.
ITA: Industrial Truck Association: Industrial truck trade association in Canada, the United States and Mexico. See also BITA, JIVA, VDMA.
ITE: Internet Trading Exchange: Electronic B2B marketplace.
Item: Any unique manufactured or purchased part, material, intermediate subassembly or product.
ITP: International Trade Prototype: Proposal for seamless movement of goods between exporters and importers across borders, involving links between different customs agencies.
ITS: Intelligent Transportation System: Combination of technologies designed to increase efficiency across a variety of transport modes. See also IVHS.
IVHS: Intelligent Vehicle Handling System: Combination of technologies designed to make road transport more efficient. See also ITS.
