380 terms across international trade, logistics, customs, wholesale, e-commerce, marketplace operations, payments, pricing, and analytics.
Tax
The 13th Directive is the EU framework under which non-EU businesses may reclaim VAT incurred in EU member states. Each member state sets its own process, evidence requirements, and deadlines.
Operations
A third-party logistics provider stores, handles, picks, packs, ships, returns, or otherwise operates logistics work on behalf of a brand, importer, distributor, or retailer.
Logistics
4PL (fourth-party logistics) is a model where one lead provider manages multiple logistics partners and the end-to-end transport design. It gives shippers a single control tower for performance, cost, and exception management.
5PL (fifth-party logistics) is an orchestration model that manages logistics networks at a broader, often multi-client or platform level. It focuses on network optimization and digital integration across many carriers and nodes.
Customs
A movement certificate used in Turkiye-EU customs union trade for many industrial goods when the shipment qualifies under the union movement rules.
Inventory
An inventory prioritization method that groups items by value, movement, margin, risk, or service impact so controls match importance.
Marketplace
ACOS is ad spend divided by attributed ad sales on a listing or campaign. A high ACOS can still be acceptable if contribution margin and ranking objectives support it.
Payments
The bank or acquiring processor that enables a merchant to accept card payments and settle card transaction funds.
Advance payment or cash in advance means the buyer pays before production, shipment, or document release, often as a deposit, full prepayment, or staged milestone.
Business model
Business-to-business trade where products, services, or inventory are sold to companies rather than individual consumers.
Business-to-consumer selling directly to individual end customers through ecommerce, retail, marketplace, or direct channels.
A customer order accepted for later fulfillment because available stock is not currently on hand.
Bunker adjustment factor is a fuel-related surcharge added to ocean freight rates.
A bank guarantee is a bank commitment to pay the beneficiary if the applicant fails to meet specified contractual or payment obligations.
E-commerce
Customer acquisition cost is the sales and marketing spend required to win a new customer for a defined channel or campaign.
Currency adjustment factor is a surcharge used to offset exchange-rate movement in freight costs.
The share of shoppers who add items to cart but leave before completing checkout.
Finance
Cash conversion cycle measures the time cash is tied up between paying suppliers, holding inventory, and collecting customer payments.
The timing and availability of cash coming into and leaving the business across deposits, supplier balances, freight, duty, VAT, customer receipts, and financing costs.
Direct-to-consumer selling where a brand sells to end customers without relying mainly on distributors or retailers.
Compliance
Substances or articles classified as hazardous for transport because they can harm people, property, vessels, aircraft, vehicles, warehouses, or the environment.
Incoterms
Delivered At Place means the seller arranges transport to a named destination place, with the buyer usually responsible for import clearance, duty, taxes, and unloading unless agreed otherwise.
Delivered Duty Paid means the seller takes responsibility for delivery to the named place including import clearance, duty, and taxes unless local law or contract wording limits what is possible.
Value threshold below which duties/taxes may be reduced or waived.
e-mark indicates a vehicle component type-approval under relevant UNECE rules in participating markets. Missing or incorrect marking can block import, registration, or sale of the part.
EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is used as a proxy for operating performance and cash-generation capacity before capital structure and non-cash accounting effects.
U.S. export shipment data filed electronically when reporting is required, commonly through AES, before export movement.
Entry Summary Declaration data filed before goods arrive in certain customs territories for safety and security risk assessment.
Economic Order Quantity is a planning formula that estimates an order size balancing ordering cost, holding cost, and demand.
Factoring is selling receivables to a finance provider at a discount so the seller can receive cash before the buyer pays.
Free Alongside Ship means the seller delivers goods alongside the vessel at the named port, after which the buyer handles loading, main carriage, and onward risk and cost.
FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is Amazon's service where sellers send inventory to Amazon warehouses and Amazon handles storage, picking, packing, shipping, and parts of customer service. It can improve delivery speed and Buy Box competitiveness, but adds fulfillment and storage-fee exposure.
Seller delivers goods to a named carrier/location, often before main transport.
FCC Mark indicates U.S. radiofrequency compliance for applicable electronic products. Noncompliant devices can face import detention, recalls, or enforcement action.
Food Trade
The percentage of protective ice coating on frozen seafood or other frozen products compared with the product weight.
Quality
Controlled manufacturing and hygiene practices used to make products consistently, safely, and in line with the relevant regulatory or buyer standard.
Gross merchandise value is the total transaction value sold through a marketplace or channel before refunds, cancellations, discounts, fees, and adjustments.
Legal
The legal system chosen to interpret a contract and decide the parties rights, obligations, and remedies.
The older EU general product safety framework for consumer goods, now important mainly as legacy context where documentation or older market files still reference it.
A preventive food-safety system that identifies hazards, critical control points, monitoring rules, corrective actions, and records for food production and handling.
Certification that a product, ingredients, production process, and sometimes logistics handling meet the requirements of the issuing halal authority.
A taller container, commonly 40ft high cube, used when cargo needs more cubic capacity than a standard container.
Documents
A bill of lading issued by a forwarder or NVOCC to its customer, usually sitting below the carrier master BL.
The international product classification code used as the starting point for tariff, control, and statistical treatment in customs declarations.
The air-cargo dangerous goods regulations used by airlines and forwarders to classify, pack, mark, document, and handle hazardous goods by air.
IBAN is an international bank account number format used in many countries to identify a specific beneficiary account for cross-border or regional payments.
Arbitration administered under International Chamber of Commerce rules, commonly used for international commercial disputes.
A food safety and quality certification standard often used by European retailers and food buyers to assess processors and packed-food suppliers.
The International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, which sets sea-freight rules for DG classification, packing, marking, labeling, documentation, segregation, and stowage.
Just-in-time replenishment aims to receive stock close to when it is needed rather than holding large safety stock.
A contract clause stating which courts or legal forum may hear disputes between the parties.
Warehousing
Kitting combines multiple components, SKUs, or packs into one sellable, shippable, or promotional unit before fulfillment.
Certification that a product, facility, ingredients, and production controls meet the kosher standard of the issuing authority.
Analytics
A KPI is a metric tied to a specific business objective, such as fill rate, CAC payback, or on-time delivery. Effective KPIs need a clear definition, owner, target threshold, and review cadence.
A U.S. declaration for covered plant and wood products identifying botanical species, country of harvest, quantity, value, and other required source details.
Costing
Total delivered cost per sellable unit after product, freight, duty, and local handling.
Securing cargo with straps, chains, braces, or other restraints so it remains stable during transport.
Last Free Day is the final date before demurrage, detention, storage, or equipment-use charges begin under the terminal, carrier, or depot rules.
The final delivery leg from warehouse, depot, store, or carrier hub to the customer or receiving site.
A transport data record listing cargo, parties, containers, routing, and shipment references for a vessel, aircraft, truck, or consolidated movement.
Packaging that changes the gas mix around food, often reducing oxygen or adding carbon dioxide/nitrogen to slow spoilage or quality loss.
Pricing
Margin is the share of sales revenue left after selected costs, usually expressed as gross margin, contribution margin, or net margin depending on what costs are included.
Markup is the percentage or amount added to cost to set a selling price, calculated from cost upward rather than from sales revenue downward.
The carrier bill of lading issued to the freight forwarder or NVOCC for the main ocean movement.
NDA is a core legal term used in commercial operations; teams define it explicitly to keep pricing, execution, and reporting decisions consistent.
Net 30 means the buyer must pay the invoice 30 calendar days after the agreed trigger, usually invoice date, delivery date, acceptance, or another written milestone.
Net 60 means payment is due 60 calendar days after the agreed invoice, delivery, acceptance, or other contractual trigger.
Net profit is what remains after all operating expenses, interest, taxes, and non-operating costs are deducted from revenue. It is the bottom-line result used to assess overall profitability and retained earnings potential.
Net weight is the weight of the goods themselves, excluding cartons, pallets, wrapping, and other transport or retail packaging.
OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a core operations term used in commercial operations; teams define it explicitly to keep pricing, execution, and reporting decisions consistent.
A selling approach where inventory, pricing, customer service, and fulfillment are coordinated across online, retail, wholesale, marketplace, and other channels.
OOS means a SKU, batch, size, or channel has no available stock to fulfill current demand.
A credit arrangement where the seller ships or delivers first and the buyer pays later under agreed invoice terms such as net 30, net 60, or another due-date rule.
A container with a removable or open roof used for cargo loaded by crane or exceeding normal door height.
Shipment document detailing carton/pallet contents, weights, and dimensions.
Payback Period is the time required for cumulative cash inflows to recover an initial investment. It helps compare capital projects where liquidity and risk speed matter.
A payment facilitator lets sub-merchants accept payments under a master acquiring setup instead of each merchant contracting directly with an acquirer.
A service that securely captures payment details, routes authorization requests, and returns approval or decline responses for online transactions.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard for protecting cardholder data and reducing card-payment security risk.
QIZ (Qualified Industrial Zone) refers to designated zones whose qualifying goods can access specific preferential trade treatment under defined rules. Eligibility depends on product scope and origin-content requirements.
A structured check of goods, packaging, labels, quantities, workmanship, and agreed specifications before shipment, receipt, or customer release.
Quantity/value limits that can restrict or alter import treatment.
The EU chemicals framework covering registration, evaluation, authorization, and restriction of substances in products, mixtures, and materials.
A red clause LC permits an advance to the seller before shipment, usually to fund production or procurement before documents are presented.
A refrigerated container used to move cargo at controlled temperature settings.
An electrical connection point used to power refrigerated containers at terminals, vessels, warehouses, or yards.
Planning
A reorder point is the inventory level where a new purchase order or replenishment action should be triggered.
Safety stock is extra inventory held above expected demand to absorb demand spikes, supplier delays, freight disruption, customs holds, or receiving delays.
A compliance check against relevant sanctions lists for counterparties, beneficial owners, beneficiary banks, countries, vessels, ports, and payment routes before trading or paying.
A non-negotiable ocean transport release path where cargo can be released to the named consignee without original BL presentation.
The Single Euro Payments Area, a European payment scheme for euro transfers and direct debits between participating banks and countries.
SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime) is a core marketplace term used in commercial operations; teams define it explicitly to keep pricing, execution, and reporting decisions consistent.
Transit documents and systems used to move goods under customs control before final clearance or release.
TACOS measures total ad spend as a percentage of total sales, not just the sales directly attributed to ads.
The percentage of transaction value a marketplace or platform keeps as revenue or fee income.
The empty weight of a container, pallet, truck, or packaging before cargo or product weight is added.
The maximum supplier price a buyer can pay while still meeting the required sell price, margin, landed-cost assumptions, and channel deductions.
UAC (User Acquisition Cost) is a core analytics term used in commercial operations; teams define it explicitly to keep pricing, execution, and reporting decisions consistent.
UCP 600 is the ICC rule set commonly used for documentary credits, defining bank examination standards, document handling, and key LC responsibilities.
The UKCA mark indicates conformity with applicable product rules for Great Britain where UKCA is required. Using the wrong mark can block legal sale in that market.
A four-digit identifier assigned to hazardous substances or articles for dangerous-goods transport.
An unconfirmed LC is supported only by the issuing bank, without an added payment undertaking from another confirming bank.
A marketplace rule that defines how related products are grouped on one parent listing, such as size, color, flavor, count, or pack format.
A VAT refund is the recovery of input VAT paid on purchases when recovery is allowed under local law and documentation rules. Timing and eligibility vary by jurisdiction and claimant status.
An official sanitary certificate for animal-origin or regulated food products confirming that the goods meet destination health requirements.
The verified gross mass of a packed container, including cargo, packaging, dunnage, pallets, and container tare.
VGM cut-off is the deadline for submitting the verified gross mass of a loaded container before it can be accepted for vessel loading.
A warehouse picking method that groups orders into planned waves by route, carrier, cutoff, product type, zone, or labor window.
A port charge for cargo passing over, using, or occupying a wharf or terminal facility.
Commercial
Sells in bulk to business buyers rather than final consumers.
Withholding tax is tax deducted at source from specified cross-border payments such as royalties, interest, or service fees. Contract gross-up clauses and treaty rates materially change net cost.
A WMS is software used to control warehouse receiving, putaway, storage locations, inventory status, picking, packing, dispatch, and stock adjustments.