Glossary

API stands for Application Programming Interface, i.e. a technical interface. This allows data to be automatically transferred to another system and retrieved from this system.

Logistikbude has detailed interface documentation with which the platform can be connected to its own systems.

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CSV stands for comma-separated values and is a widely used data format that can also be opened with Excel. It is used to store simple data in a file and is therefore often used for exchange between two systems.

In terms of load carriers, circulation is the period of time that a load carrier needs to return to its own company. In addition, the number of cycles is an important key figure for assessing the quality of a load carrier and the processes of load carrier management.

This is the process of reconciliation of exchange accounts between two companies. As a rule, one company sends the other an account statement as a PDF or Excel document. The other company reviews this and reports back its corrections.

In contrast to open pools such as the Europallet, the load carriers in closed pools are managed by a central company. This organises the delivery and collection of the load carriers as well as their cleaning and preparation. Well-known operators of closed pools include the companies CHEP, IFCO, Euro Pool System and LPR.

The abbreviation stands for Enterprise Resource Planning System and describes the central IT system in an industrial company. It consists of components for the company's most important core tasks, such as personnel, sales and production planning.

With several hundred million pieces, the Euro Pallet or Europool Pallet is one of the most important load carriers in the world. It is described in standard EN 13698-1 and has the basic dimensions 800 to 1,200 mm with a height of 144 mm and a weight of approx. 20 to 25 kg depending on humidity. It is produced by numerous companies in Europe and Asia and quality assured by EPAL or UIC.

The euro pallet is an open pool, i.e. it is exchanged between companies and the companies must organise this exchange and its framework conditions themselves.

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In terms of Logistikbude, this is a moment of detection of a load carrier and the associated data, such as serial number, time, location, condition. Events can be created, for example, by the accompanying app or an IoT sensor. The softwware then visualizes this data and combines it into key figures.

The abbreviation GLT stands for large load carriers. In contrast to KLT (small load carriers), these are large transport containers that are usually moved with a forklift truck. Like KLTs, they are primarily used in the automotive industry.

The abbreviation stands for Internet of Things, i.e. the Internet of Things. This includes numerous technologies that ensure that physical objects can communicate with the virtual world. For example, a mobile radio sensor enables a pallet to share its location and condition with the logistics shop platform.

KLT stands for small load carriers. These are reusable containers that are often transported to several containers on another load carrier, such as a pallet. Like large load carriers (GLT), KLTs are primarily used in the automotive industry.

The abbreviation LPWAN stands for Low Power Wide Area Network, i.e. radio networks with a long range and low energy consumption. These are therefore special mobile networks. The most well-known LPWAN technologies are LoRaWAN, Sigfox, LTE-M and NB-IoT. The logistics shop can connect and manage trackers and sensors of all of these technologies via interfaces.

At Logistikbude, every load carrier with a serial number has a digital file. This is securely stored in the database and visualized on the website. It includes, among other things, the age, the number of revolutions, linked goods and the distance traveled by the respective load carrier. The data in the file comes from the accompanying app, IoT sensors and, via an interface, from the companies' systems.

Every company with reusable load carriers has some form of load carrier management. It records which load carriers enter and leave the company when and from whom. Depending on the quality of load carrier management, however, there may be considerable inaccuracies, resulting in costs due to shrinkage and complex coordination.

Logistikbude thinks of load carrier management holistically and combines tracking its own load carriers using identification and sensors with the management of unmarked load carriers from open pools.

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MDE stands for mobile data collection and describes the devices with which it is carried out. See also “Mobile device.”

Azure is Microsoft's cloud service. With Azure, computing and storage capacities can be rented, and the location of the servers can also be selected. The Logistikbude software runs in the Azure environment and is operated exclusively on servers in Germany.

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Mobile devices are mobile devices such as smartphones or MDEs. At Logistikbude, they are used to track marked load carriers and to document the exchange. Smartphones with iOS or Android as well as Android-based MDEs can be used for this purpose.

In a typical transport process, a company loads a pallet with goods. When picked up by a freight forwarder, the first exchange then takes place. The freight forwarder takes over the pallet of goods and returns an empty pallet to the company. When delivering the goods, the freight forwarder in turn picks up an empty pallet from the recipient of the goods.

However, since there are not always enough empty pallets available and there are also different views on qualities, the exchange often leads to discussions and complex downstream processes.

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Real time is often mistakenly equated with “in this moment.” Real time means that data processing is guaranteed to take place within a specific time interval. A more detailed definition can be found in DIN ISO/IEC 2382.

Serialization is the unique identification of objects with a serial number. This serial number can be stored in various technologies, such as 1D and 2D barcodes, plain text or RFID.

We differentiate between these three ways of capturing 1D or 2D barcodes with a camera. Individual scanning reads out a barcode, as is also known from laser scanners today. In batch scanning, on the other hand, several codes are captured in one step by moving the camera. With a bulk scan, even a photo containing several codes is sufficient and these are captured at the same time using AI algorithms.

The abbreviation TMS stands for Transport Management System and describes an IT system to support various tasks in providing transport services. TMS are used in particular by freight forwarders and logistics service providers.

“Tracking and tracing” is the tracking of objects along various events (see “Event or Event”). In addition to the current position and state, this also includes the history of an object.

The abbreviation WMS stands for Warehouse Management System, i.e. an IT system for warehouse management. This in turn consists of various sub-functions such as order picking, master data management and inventory management.