Check out our Industrial terms glossary
E-business
Electronic business is an expression that indicates the digital ways in which business is carried out.
E-commerce
Electronic commerce or any type of transaction relating to the sale or purchase of a product or service in which the interested parties interact electronically through the Internet.
E-logistics
This includes the management and fulfilment of the entire order cycle, the management of purchasing, stock and warehouses, the management of shipments, payments and returns.
E-marketplace
Literally the “electronic market place”, this term describes a virtual marketplace where real products and services are traded, as opposed to the electronic marketspace. Marketplaces are characterized by ownership (supplier managed, buyer managed, market markers), the trading model (how buyers and sellers interact), the pricing model (how the price of the goods is established), the revenue model (as a source of revenue for the same marketplace).
E-procurement
Method of procuring goods and services via the Internet.
E-Supply Chain (and E-Logistics)
The integrated and collaborative management of the logistics process (and the supply processes in general) which is made possible by new technology. It includes the management and fulfilment of the entire order cycle, the management of procurement, the management of stock and warehouses, the management of shipments and payments and returns.
E-tailer
Company or trader who operates on the web via online shops.
Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)
An inventory management model that determines how much to order by determining the amount that will meet customer service levels while minimizing total ordering and holding costs.
EDIFACT
Electronic Data Interchange For Administration Commerce and Transportation. The electronic exchange of data for administration, commerce and transport. It is the international EDI standard, sponsored by the UN/CEFACT and defines the syntax for the transmission of electronic data.
Engagement
This is the ability of a product (a brand, a blog, an app) to create solid and lasting relationships with its users by establishing a link between the brand and the consumer.
Engineer to Order
When a partial or total design process is initiated following an order from a customer.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
A class of software for planning and managing enterprise-wide the resources needed to take customer orders, ship them, account for them, and replenish all needed goods according to customer orders and forecasts. Often includes electronic commerce with suppliers.
Equal Space Supply (ESS)
Replenishment logic used in the picking area, where the same picking volume is assigned to each item. The supply frequency is proportional to the flow of each item expressed in cubic metres.
Equal Time Supply
Replenishment logic used in the picking area, where the same frequency is adopted for all items. Each item is assigned a picking volume proportional to its flow expressed in cubic metres.
Express Courier
Large transport company, usually operating on a continental or global level, whose typical service is the “door to door” transportation of parcels and small packages. The recent evolution of the activities of these companies has extended their operations in increasingly important sectors of the postal services and integrated logistics services, where it is essential to have information on the position of goods, sometimes in real time, especially for JIT management. This activity is normally carried out by integrating local services, carried out by road, with international and intercontinental services, which use their own fleet of aircraft.
EXW (Ex Works)
This term refers to a clause whereby the seller undertakes to make the goods available on the ground at one of their pre-determined or agreed manufacturing units or warehouses and the buyer assumes all costs and transport risks. Unless otherwise agreed and included in the contract with an explicit agreement between the parties, the seller is not required either to clear the goods for export or to load them on the means of transport provided by the buyer. The buyer must therefore bear all the costs and risks of bringing the goods from the seller’s premises to the desired destination.
