Order. An order is a group of one or more consignments. For example, a large order for a new kitchen could include two consignments (one of the white goods coming from Doncaster, and one of the furniture coming from Bolton). It is therefore possible that an order is handled by multiple carriers. As far as Delivery Manager is concerned, an order is simply a reference number you provide.

Consignment. A consignment is a group of parcels that are being taken by a single carrier to a destination. So, in addition to the parcels, this has the addresses associated with it, and it is the identity by which performance measurements are best taken.

Parcel. A single box in the consignment. This box may contain more than one product, or a product could be split across multiple boxes. Key information about the parcel, such as the dimensions, value, level-of-hazard, and weight are key to identifying the best carrier service to use for the consignment.

Manifest/e-Manifest. A manifest is a list of consignments that are to go onto the back of a carrier's lorry. There is a printable copy (to hand to the driver) and an electronic copy (that gets sent automatically to the carrer). The latter is also known as the e-Manifest.

Carrier. A carrier is a company that is responsible for the pickup, conveying and delivery of a consignment.

Carrier Service. Each carrier has different services available (same-day, next-day, heavy-items etc.) and they all have different names, capabilities and reference numbers.

Carrier Service Type. MetaPack has normalised the carrier services into logical groups (types) so that they might be properly compared.

Shipper (Retailer). This is the company who is responsible for the shipping of the parcels from, for example, a warehouse.

User. This is the person from the shipper company who has logged in. The user is a member of various groups/roles which, in turn, dictates the capabilities of that user.

Warehouse. Each shipper company can have one or more warehouses located in different geographical areas. The postcode of the warehouse will help dictate which carriers are available to collect consignments.

Transaction Type: Delivery. A delivery is where the consignment travels from the warehouse (where the labels are produced) to another address (eg. the home of a customer). This is the typical method of conveying.

Transaction Type: Pick-up. A pick-up is where the consignment travels from the home of a customer back to the warehouse (aka. "a return"). It is used for the returning of parcels. There is no label invovled here, as the e-Manifest informs the carrier of where to pick up from.