Acronyms are always an annoying communication hurdle when you first join a company or industry. They are useful for accuracy and ease of communication if you are in the same field with a similar level of expertise. However, it has the opposite effect in all other scenarios. So I recommend following the Golden Rule and being conservative when using technical terms. There is no industry standard and comprehensive list but below are some commonly used ones to get you started.
3PL | Third Party Logistics |
AWB | Air Waybill |
BOL | Bill of Lading |
DC | Distribution Centre |
EDI | Electronic Data Interchange |
EFT | Electronic Funds Transfer |
EOI | Expression of Interest |
EOQ | Economic Order Quantity |
ERP | Enterprise Resource Planning |
ETA | Estimated Time of Arrival |
FCL | Full Container Load |
FTL | Full Truck Load |
JIT | Just in Time |
LCL | Less than Container Load |
LTL | Less than Truck Load |
MRP | Material Requirement Planning |
NVOCC | Non vessel operating common carrier |
OEM | Original Equipment Manufacturer |
PO | Purchase Order |
POD | Proof of Delivery |
PR | Purchase Requisition |
QA | Quality Assurance |
QC | Quality Control |
RFI | Request for Information |
RFID | Radio Frequency Identification |
RFP | Request for Proposal |
RFQ | Request for Quote |
RFT | Request for Tender |
ROP | Reorder Point |
SKU | Stock Keeping Unit |
SLA | Service Level Agreement |
TEU | Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit |
VMI | Vendor Management Inventory |
WIP | Work In Progress |
WMS | Warehouse Management System |