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English to Spanish Technical Translators, Spanish Certified Translators and Interpreters in Madrid and Valencia
Commerce Glossary
ABC Analysis (Activity Based Cost): The prioritisation of inventory according to certain criteria such as sales or purchasing volume.
Address: Dirección.
Airport: Aeropuerto.
Assembly: Montaje (En un contexto de producción).
Assembly Line: Cadena de montaje
B2B (Business to Business): A term broadly used in the IT world and that originates from the new economy.
It is one of the two segments that make up electronic business and comprises transactions between companies using digital technology. Business to business is destined to partially or totally replace or, in some cases to complement EDI- electronic data interchange- to govern business processes between companies.
B2C(Business to Consumer): This term refers to one of the segments that make up electronic commerce and it is less relevant that b2b. Business to consumer refers to business in which a company sells products or provides services directly to end-user consumers via the Internet. There are still uncertain view regarding its potential future given the lack of volume needed for it to thrive.
Back haul: Return. This is a practice based on ensuring that a lorry returns to a staging base with freight.
Barcoding: Labelling system for freight using bar codes.
Barge: A flat-bottomed vessel for transporting freight in rivers or canals; its use is not recommended at sea where high waves might force to capsize.
Basin: Dársena.
Benchmarking: A technique by which competition performance is measured and compared with one’s own, thus encouraging high competition levels within the company.
Berth: Atraques.
Bill: Factura
Bill of Lading (BL): A very important document issued by a carrier for the receipt of goods for shipment. It contains all information the courier needs for successfully delivering the freight. It shows all contract terms and serves as a receipt note of the goods that the loading operator hands over to the freight forwarder.
Booking: Reserva.
Border: Frontera.
Bounderies: Fronteras.
Box: Container for transporting goods.
Break even: Break-even point.
Broker: Representant.
Budget: Presupuesto.
Bulk-carrier: Buque granelero.
Buyer: Comprador.
CEO (Chief Executive Officer): Consejero delegado.
CIO (Chief Information Officer): High executive responsible for all that is relevant to information technology within the company.
CPU (Central Processing Unit): The central processing unit of a computer.
CRP (Continuos Replenishment): A system used to reduce stock and improve service. Addressed mainly to large clients.
Cabotage: A term that refers mainly to transport (land, air or sea) with origin and destination within a same country. If this sector is not deregularised, it is forbidden for foreign freight forwarders to transit between two places within a same country.
Capacity: A very important term in logistics due to its decisive relevance in production. Capacity is added when market shares have been gained and it is necessary to produce more. Sometimes it is difficult to measure and one has to take into account the space and means available to meet the demand.
Cash on Delivery (COD): Cash-on-delivery is when the customer pays for merchandise when it is delivered, instead of upfront.
Carrier: Transportista.
Chairman: Presidente.
Charter: The hire of a ship or aircraft for specific deliveries.
Chamber of Commerce: Cámara de Comercio.
Claim for loss and damage: Reclamación por pérdidas o daños.
Claim: Reclamación.
Cold Store: Almacén frigorífico.
Conference: Group of shipping agencies that unite to exercise pressure on the market, propose common price policies and service standards.
Consignee: The person who receives a shipment of goods.
Consignor: The person who varies out the shipment of goods.
Consolidation: The grouping of shipments.
Container: Standard-sized rectangular box used to transport freight by ship, rail and highway. First introduced by large shipping companies to reduce port-handling costs and to avoid the rupture of the freight. The British quickly appreciated the advantages of these containers and applied them to their railway transport, giving rise to the Freightliner service.
Containership: Any type of ship that carries the above-mentioned containers.
Conveyor belt: Cinta transportadora.
ConveyorTruck: Carretilla elevadora.
Courier Services: Urgent transport service, generally for night and international transport.
Crane: A device with a boom and cable for lifting, much used in ports for handling heavy loads.
Crew: Tripulación.
Cross docking: A task that consist of sending freight directly from the factory where the goods are produced to the point where they are directly sold, stopping at a warehouse where a "cross docking" operation takes place. This type of operation is very common in modern logistics where it is important to maintain zero stock levels and have continuous replenishment. This system makes logistic process much more agile and avoids errors.
Cut off time: Time from which no more orders are accepted to be delivered en route. These shall be included in the next available route.
Customs agent: Agente de aduanas.
Customer service: A fundamental and basic concept in logistics that comprises all activities destined to improve service quality to clients. High tech and quality logistic services help to attain this goal.
Customization: This consists on maintaining an attitude that focuses on personal attention to the clients, taking care of their particular needs and traits.
Damage: ño.
Deep sea: Location at port where large ships can moor.
Dealers: Corresponsales.
Delay: Retraso.
Delivery: Entrega.
Delivery time: Plazo de entrega.
Delivery window: Time span when a delivery can be made.
Depot: Almacén
Deregulation: An important phenomenon in the transport industry regarding the non-intervention of governments in pricing. These decisions are taken in order to foster competition. Its effect is to produce an improvement in the market conditions. It involves the complete revision or elimination of rules that control the transportation industry. Means freeing the market to all its extent.
Dispatch: Distribución.
Dispatcher: Jefe de tráfico.
Distribution Channell/Chain: The various phases by which freight passes until it reaches the end consumer.
Dock:
Domestic transport: Transporte nacional.
Door-to-door: Service offered by couriers by which the merchandise is collected from the shipping agent and delivered to the addressee
Dry dock: Dique seco.
E-comerce: It is the commerce derived from the so-called new economy
E-procurement: Shopping by a company using electronic means. It is a practice that derives from the so-called new economy and is tipped to predominate in this activity as it gains further transparency and since it drastically reduces the costs associated with the process of shopping.
ECR (Efficient Consumer Response): This is a new way of operating initiated by the Anglo-Saxon distributors whose object is to reduce client costs. The distributors and the suppliers work together as allies so as to maximise the satisfaction of the consumer and reduce costs.
EDI (Electronic Data Interchange): A transmission system that facilitates the sharing of information affecting the inventory between the client and supplier, procuring higher levels of efficiency.
EOQ (Economic Order Quantity): Model of inventory that determines the size of the order and calculates the quantity that will minimise the total costs, including the process of placing the order itself, and the maintenance of inventory in the installations.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Software solutions directed to facilitate integration, both inside and outside the company. It usually affects all areas of the company (accountancy, orders, foresights, logistics, invoicing, commercial, financial, etc.).
ECU (European Currency Unit): Unity of conversion for the European currency into one single currency.Economies of scale: A way of reducing costs that are directly related to the size of the company.
FAK (Freight of all Kinds): A freight that consists of many different types of merchandise.
FOB (Free On Board): Incoterm (sales term) This indicates the moment the merchandise changes ownership, specifying in this case who will be responsible for carrying out the necessary transactions relative to transport of the freight (see FOB).
Facility: Instalación.
Feeder: A short-sea vessel which transfers cargo between a central international transhipment ports called "hub port" and smaller "spoke" port, taking the freight from larger vessels that only do long-haul ocean routes.The feeder ships usually distribute the merchandise over various ports.
Feeder crane: An ideal crane for unloading containers from a feeder ship, with a half arm. The distance to cover from the edge of the quay to the furthest point of the ship is not more than 28 metres.
Fixed costs: Costes fijos
Flag of convenience: Method much used when a ship operates in foreign territory whereby the country of the ship owner and the country of the ship registration does not coincide. This is used so as to avoid restrictions and avoid stringent regulation.
Flow: Relative to materials, information, or capital. Attaining the right flow according to the needs is one of the main challenges of logistic.
Forecast: Previsión.
Foreign Traffic/Trade: Tráfico/Comercio exterior.
Forklift: Carretilla elevadora.
Free Way: Referring to the train drivers in Europe, "free" of administrative obstacles so as to facilitate transport of merchandise by railway within Europe.
Freight: Mercancía.
Freight due: Porte debido.
Freight Forwarder: This is a company that carries out collections that include the handing over of the merchandise to the freight transport as a simple delivery. In an international context, this company also attends to all the paperwork involved.
Freight Way: (Refer to Free Way).
Fuel: Herein referred to fuel used in ships and lorries.
GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs): An agreement similar to that contained in NAFTA that affects worlwide trading of goods.
GPS (Global Positioning System): Free positioning system, that is based on a constellation of satellites to world level standards. Developed initially by the USA army for military ends.It now permits fleets and vehicles in general to know at any given time their exact cartographical position.
Gantry crane: Type of crane especially designed for moving containers.
General Cargo: Mercancía general.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Producto interior bruto.
General Manager: Director General (en USA).
Handling: Manipulación.
Haul: Transportar.
Haulage: Mercancía transportada.
Haulier: Transportista. It is a term used together with carrier indistinctly to refer to transport.
Hazardous materials: Materiales peligrosos.
Height: Altura
Hinterland: Catchement area of a port.IPO (Inicial Public Offering): OPA (Oferta Publica de Acciones)
Igloo: Trowels and containers used in air transport that are characterised because of their peculiar form, designed so that they fit it with the architecture of the aeroplanes’ holds.
Incoterms: International sales terms that have been developed by the International Chamber of Commerce and refer to the moment that the ownership of the merchandise changes over to the purchaser, enabling to determine which party is responsible for the costs of transport, insurance, etc.,
Insurance: Seguros.
Inventory: Refers to the number of units of goods that a company keeps in stock to be able to continue to offer its services.
Inventory Costs: These are the costs derived from keeping goods in stock.These include capital costs as well as, tax, cost of storage, depreciation and obsolescence.
Inventory turnover: Provides an estimate of the number of times inventory "turns over" (i.e. is replaced), on average, during a period.
Invoice: Factura, albarán.
Investments: Inversiones.
joint Venture: Alliance or partnership that takes place between two companies in pursuance of a common strategic end.
Just in Time (JIT): Inventory control system whose main goal is to reduce the stock levels, so that the merchandise is received at the precise moment it is needed.
Label: Etiqueta.
lead time: Is a basic concept in logistics and its control is decisive, able to have multiple variants depending on how it is applied to the sectors of production, transport, or logistics itself. This concept affects the quality of service and consists in the interval of existing time (and the process that is implicated) between the moment an order is received and the moment the next order will be received.An objective of the logistic is to minimise the lead time so that the inventory that has to be maintained is also reduced, as well as any doubt in case of the lead time and point of producing another order not coinciding with an unexpected increase in demand.
Lease: Type of rent with a contract containing option of purchase on finalising payment of the last instalment
Length: Longitud
less than truck (lTl): Carga fraccionada.
letter of credit: Carta de crédito.
liner Conference: Conferencia de navieros (ver conference)
link: Conexión.
liquid bulk: Gráneles líquidos.
load: Carga.
loaded/unloaded cargo: Mercacía cargada/descargada.
logistics Operator: Company that offers services of added value in the logistic chain to manufacturing companies as well as marketing companies and or suppliers; services such as storage; stock control; transport and distribution; preparation of orders, special orders; information on-line...
Logistics Provider: Operador logístico.
Logistics Manager: Director de Logística.
Long Haul: Long distance, generally referring to road transport.
Lorry: Term used for truck in the UK.
MRP (Materials Requirements Planning): Technique that allows suitable delimitation of quantity of material to buy.
Managing Director: General Manager in the UK
Marketplace: Place where marketing activities take place, especially those deriving from the new economy, where a potential client can have access to various services of by different companies through internet.
Measures: Medidas.
Merchantship: Buque mercante.
Merger: Takes place between companies with the object of gaining further market share. Mergers tend to add dynamism to the economy and is being widely practised in the last few years.
Multimodal: Refers to the use of different forms of transport; road, railway, ship or aeroplane, in the logistic chain.
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement): Agreement that allows free circulation of merchandise in Canada, United States and Mexico.In these times, countries like Chile or Argentine are strong candidates for joining the conditions that apply to this agreement.
Network: Red.
Operating Cost: Costs deriving from the operations.
Order: Pedido.
Order picking: Storage activity that consists in combining different items that form part of an order.At the moment, "picking without paperwork" is effected with the support of warehouse management software that, together with radio frequency terminals, facilitate this work enormously and much more efficiently, with the practical elimination of errors as main features.
Outsourcing: A very extensive practice in the business world.Companies tend to outsource those activities that are not considered strategically important in the business.Among these subcontracted activities we have logistic needs; transport and distribution.
Pallet: Usually made of wood although they are also made of plastic.Used for unifying and consolidating orders, and permit the transportation of heavy loads by means of lifting trucks. It is the measuring unit in modern warehouses, and an indispensable element in logistics. At the present time, the pallets most used are 1000 x 1200 mm for the industrial sector and 800 x 1200 mm, also named "euro pallet", of compulsory use in the commercial distribution scenario.
Metal platforms are now also named pallets, and are used as in airship tranport.
Parcel: Individual paquet with merchandise.
Partnership:
Panamax crane: Panamax type crane for unloading containers from ships at a maximum distance of less than 38 metres from the edge of the docks to the last line of containers.
Performance: Rendimiento.
Physical distribution: This term is used to mark the difference from commercial distribution.
Pick up: Recogida.
Pick up request: orden de recogida.
Picking: (véase arder Picking).
Pier: Pantalán. Muelle.
Piggyback: Transport Service where the haulage contractor and railway are involved to deliver a merchandise to its destiny by mounting the loaded lorry onto special railway platforms designed with lower height for this purpose, also called vagones poché.
Pilot: Service enabling entry to port an mooring.
Pipeline (1): Term that in logistics refers to the whole distribution chain.
Pipeline (2): A duct for transporting gas and oil. These pipes are used for transporting hydrocarbon or gas from the ship to land as well as from countries of origin to destiny.
Planning: Planificación.
Pool (of pallets): This is a form of contracting maintenance equipment by which the control of constant logistic flow is assured.
This equipment is usually composed of pallets. The subcontractor employs a reliable standard service with regard to availability of pallets of constant and regular quality for the storage and distribution of the company’s products.The companies that offer this service are responsible for managing the complete cycle of the pallets. Reatizando being responsible for supplying the pallets required by the client as well as collecting and proceeding with the reparation and maintenance of the lot of pallets.
Pooling: Agreement that takes place among haulage contractors to share the merchandise to be transported or share the benefits.
POS (Point Of Sale): Punto de venta.
Postal Code: the equivalent to zip code in the UK
Post Office: Oficina de Correos.
Port: Puerto.
Post-Panamax crane: Crane for unloading containers from larger ships capable of supporting arms of 46 metres similar to the ships of the series Regina Maersk of more than 6.000 TEUs.
Price: The cost of any given good or service.
Profit: Beneficios.
Profitability: Rentabilidad.
Proof of Delivery (POD): Document used mostly by packaging services as proof of delivery of merchandise.
Purchasing Department: Departamento de compras.
Quay: Place in port where cranes are usually placed and where freight from vessels is unloaded.
Railroad: Ferrocarril.(USA)
Railway: Ferrocarril (UK)
Ramp: Rampas.
Rate: Tarifa.
Receiving area: Area of receiving deliveries in a warehouse.
Reefer: Vehículo refrigerado.
Relay: Relevo.
Reliability: A criteria taken very much into account for the choosing of suppliers that value, mainly, the consistency in promised transport timing.
Rent: Tipo de alquiler.
Reorder point: Moment of determining the carrying out of an order.
ROl (Return of the in- vestment): Retorno de la inversión.
Retailer: Shops, supermarkets, or large commercial stores.
Returns: One of the main problems of logistics, as the refunds come from the normal logistic flow and very often require repackaging or reparation and produce great expense to the logistic operators or manufacturers.
Revenues: Ingresos.
Reverse logistics: These are necessary logistic activities so that recyclable materials arrive at their destiny with the object of being recycled once they have completed their life span.
Ro-Ro (Roll-on-roll-off): Ship designed for loading and unloading cargo by rolling method. From a practical point of view, it consists of loading the lorries directly into the ship’s decks which are prepared for this purpose. It now also used to refer to the loading of automobiles.
SKU (Stock Keeping 16 Unit): Final units of production prepared for sale where the final specifications of the product are specified, including size, quality, etc. These are the different types of units that are taken into account in stock taking.
Safety stock: This is the minimum level of stock that a company must have. It is a safety measure against delays on receiving orders.
Sales Department: Departamento de ventas.
Scheduling: The programming of an activity specifying the sequence which certain activities are to take place. It is mainly applied to the production sector.
Schedule: Lista de horarios.
Send: Enviar.
Ship: Send something physically by a means of transport.
Shipowner: Armador. Referred to the ownership of the ship.
Shipment: Envío, expedición. The contents of a delivery that might be compiled of various individual bulks.
Shipper: Cargador.
Shipping area: Area of the wharehouse from where freigh is delivered.
Shipping line: Naviera.
Shipyard: Place where ships are made.
Shorthaul: Short distance, generally referring to road transport.
Shuttle service: Acarreo.
Size: Tamaño.
Slipway: Varadero.
Solid Bulk: Gráneles sólidos.
Sorting area: Área de clasificación.
Sorting hub: Centro de clasificación.
Short sea shipping (SSS): Marine activity related to transport between relatively near places where the competition of railway or road may take place.
Stock: Level of stock necessary for a business to function. Modern logistics are continuously trying to reduce this.
Stock out: This is the moment when available stock is exhausted and could paralyse the company’s activity. One of the most important tasks of logistics is to avoid this type of situation being produced.
Stock market: Bolsa de valores.
Storage facilities: These are the areas of storing in a port; this term is similar to that of the stacking area.
Stowage Society: Sociedad de estiba.
Supplies: This refers to the necessary merchandise for the correct working of the ship and its crew.
Supplier: Proveedor.
Supply & demand: Laws that regulate market activities in countries with market economy.
Supply Chain: These are the different stages the merchandise goes through until it reaches the final client.
Surcharges: It is the opposite situation to undercharging.
TOFC (Trailer on Flat Car): Type of container easily adapted to railway wagons for intermodal transportation.
Take over: This is when a company enters into the shareholding of a third party.
Tankership: Normally an oil tanker
Target: Objetivo.
Taxes: Impuestos.
TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit): Basic measure unit of multimodel transport capacity. It is a standard size taken a container of 20" (feet). Different measurements exist 10", 20" 30", 40" or 45" (feet) and the total is measured in Teu’s to unify the measurement.
Third party logistics(3PL): Operador logístico.
Throughput: Replacement of merchandise in a warehouse according to volume, weight and number of units.
Tonnage: Tonelage.
TQM (Total Quality Management): It is a management system that gives special importance to the continuingimprovement of quality.
Track & trace: An activity that determines the situation and location of the merchandise when it is in movement.
Trade: Comercio
Traffic Manager: Jefe de tráfico o director de transportes.
Transit Time: Tiempo de tránsito.
Truck load (TL): Carga completa.
Tumover: Facturación.
Undercharges: When a haulage contractor states he has charged less than the service carried out is really worth.
User: Usuario.
Van: Furgoneta
Variable costs: Costes variables.
VAT (value added tax): Impuesto del Valor Añadido (IVA).
Vendor: This is a term equivalent to a seller.
Vessel: These are ships used for marine merchandise traffic.
Warehouse: Almacén.
Warehouse Manager: Director o Jefe de Almacén.
Wharve: Muelle.
WHM (Warehouse R Management): Techique applied to manage warehouses.
Wholesaler: This is a company that wholesales its products to shops.
Wide: Ancho.
Width: Anchura.
Wrapped pallet: Palé retractilado.
Zip Code: Postal code in USA
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