M2M
see Machine-to-Machine interface

Machine Downtimes
Time during which a machine cannot be utilized. Machine downtimes may occur during breakdowns, maintenance, changeovers, etc.

Machine-to-Machine interface
A term describing the process whereby machines are remotely monitored for status and problems reported and resolved automatically or maintenance scheduled by the monitoring systems.

Macro environment
The environment external to a business including technological, economic, natural, and regulatory forces that marketing efforts cannot control.

Main Aisle
A passageway wide enough to permit the easy flow of equipment, supplies, and personnel, it generally runs the length of the building.

Mainframe
A term sometimes generically used to refer to an organization’s central computer system. Specifically the largest class of computer systems manufactured.

Maintenance, Repair, and Operating supplies
Items used in support of general operations and maintenance such as maintenance supplies, spare parts, and consumables used in the manufacturing process and supporting operations.

Major carrier
A for-hire certificated air carrier that has annual operating revenues of $1 billion or more: the carrier usually operates between major population centers.

Make-or-buy decision
The act of deciding whether to produce an item internally or buy it from an outside supplier. Factors to consider in the decision include costs, capacity availability, proprietary and/or specialized knowledge, quality considerations, skill requirements, volume, and timing.

Make-to-Order
A manufacturing process strategy where the trigger to begin manufacture of a product is an actual customer order or release, rather than a market forecast. For Make-to-Order products, more than 20% of the valueadded takes place after the receipt of the order or release, and all necessary design and process documentation is available at time of order receipt.

Manifest
Entire listing of all cargo on board a vessel as required by the relevant local authorities e.g. customs. Same as cargo manifest.

Manufacture Cycle Time
The average time between commencement and completion of a manufacturing process, as it applies to make-to-stock products. Calculation: [Average

Manufacturer
One who produces a product through assembly or combination of raw materials or components. In some instances the manufacturer may not engage in the production except to control and specify the method and design of the item.

Manufacturer’s Representative
One who sells goods for several firms but does not take title to them.

Manufacturing Calendar
A calendar used in inventory and production planning functions that consecutively numbers only the working days so that the component and work order scheduling may be done based on the actual number of workdays available. Synonyms: M-Day Calendar, Planning Calendar, Production Calendar, Shop Calendar.

Manufacturing Capital Asset Value
‘The asset value of the ”Manufacturing fixed assets” after allowance for depreciation. Examples of equipment are SMT placement machines, conveyors, Auto guided vehicles, robot cells, testers, X-ray solder machines, Burn-in chambers, Logic testers, Auto packing equipment, PLC station controllers, Scanning equipment, PWB magazines.’

Manufacturing Execution Systems
Programs and systems that participate in shop floor control, including programmed logic controllers and process control computers for direct and supervisory control of manufacturing equipment, process information systems that gather historical performance information, then generate reports, graphical displays, and alarms that inform operations personnel what is going on in the plant currently and a very short history into the past. Quality control information is also gathered and a laboratory information management system may be part of this configuration to tie process conditions to the quality data that are generated. Thereby, cause-and-effect relationships can be determined. The quality data at times affect the control parameters that are used to meet product specifications either dynamically or off line.

Manufacturing Lead Time
The total time required to manufacture an item, exclusive of lower level purchasing lead time. For make-to-order products, it is the length of time between the release of an order to the production process and shipment to the final customer. For make-to-stock products, it is the length of time between the release of an order to the production process and receipt into finished goods inventory. Included here are order preparation time, queue time, setup time, run time, move time, inspection time, and put-away time. Synonyms: Manufacturing Cycle Time. Also see: Lead Time

Manufacturing Resource Planning
A method for the effective planning of all resources of a manufacturing company. Ideally, it addresses operational planning in units, financial planning in dollars, and has a simulation capability to answer what-if questions. It is made up of a variety of processes, each linked together: business planning, production planning , master production scheduling, material requirements planning, capacity requirements planning, and the execution support systems for capacity and material. Output from these systems is integrated with financial reports such as the business plan, purchase commitment report, shipping budget, and inventory projections in dollars. Manufacturing resource planning is a direct outgrowth and extension of closed-loop MRP.

Mapping
An MRP system is intended to simultaneously meet 3 objectives:

Marginal Cost

Marine insurance
Ensure materials and products are available for production and delivery to customers.

Maritime Administration
Maintain the lowest possible level of inventory.

Market Demand
Plan manufacturing activities, delivery schedules and purchasing activities.

Market dominance
In transportation rating this refers to the absence of effective competition for railroads from other carriers and modes for the traffic to which the rate applies. The Staggers Act stated that market dominance does not exist if the rate is below the revenue-to-variable-cost ratio of 160% in 1981 and 170% in 1983

Market Place
The commerce sources which determine availability of goods and services and the costs that are derived from the rate of trade with those sources.

Market Segment
A group of potential customers sharing some measurable characteristics based on demographics, psychographics, lifestyle, geography, benefits, etc.

Market-Positioned Warehouse
Warehouse positioned to replenish customer inventory assortments and to afford maximum inbound transport consolidation economies from inventory origin points with relatively short-haul local delivery.

Marking
Letters, numbers, and other symbols placed on cargo packages to make easy identification.

Marks and Numbers
The identifying details on or of a package or the actual markings that appear on the packages.

Marquis Partners
Key strategic relationships. This has emerged as perhaps the key competitive advantage and barrier to entry of e-marketplaces. Get the big players in the fold first, offering equity if necessary.

Marshaller or Marshalling Agent
This is a service unique to international trade and relates to an individual or firm that specializes in one or more of the activities preceding Main Carriage, such as consolidation, packing, marking, sorting of merchandise, inspection, storage, etc. References state that Marshaling Agent, Consolidation Agent and Freight Forwarder all have the same meaning.

Mass Customization
The creation of a high-volume product with large variety so that a customer may specify his or her exact model out of a large volume of possible end items while manufacturing cost is low because of the large volume. An example is a personal computer order in which the customer may specify processor speed, memory size, hard disk size and speed, removable storage device characteristics, and many other options when PCs are assembled on one line and at low cost.

Master Air Waybill
The air waybill of lading that provides data on a consolidated shipment of goods. The consolidator is shown as the shipper.

Master pack
A large box that is used to pack a number of smaller boxes or containers. Aids in protecting the smaller cartons or packages and reduces the number of cartons to be handled during the material handling process.

Master Production Schedule
The master level or top level schedule used to set the production plan in a manufacturing facility.

Material Acquisition Costs
One of the elements comprising a company’s total supply-chain management costs. These costs consist of the following: (1) New Product Release Phase-In and Maintenance: This includes costs associated with releasing new products to the field, maintaining released products, assigning product ID, defining configurations and packaging, publishing availability schedules, release letters and updates, and maintaining product databases. (2) Create Customer Order: This includes costs associated with creating and pricing configurations to order and preparing customer order documents. (3) Order Entry and Maintenance: This includes costs associated with maintaining the customer database, credit check, accepting new orders, and adding them to the order system as well as later order modifications. (4) Contract/Program and Channel Management: This includes costs related to contract negotiation, monitoring progress, and reporting against the customer’s contract, including administration of performance or warranty related issues. (5) Installation Planning: This includes costs associated with installation engineering, scheduling and modification, handling cancellations, and planning the installation. (6) Order Fulfillment: This includes costs associated with order processing, inventory allocation, ordering from internal or external suppliers, shipment scheduling, order status reporting, and shipment initiation. (7) Distribution: This includes costs associated with warehouse space and management, finished goods receiving and stocking, processing shipments, picking and consolidating, selecting carrier, and staging products/systems. (8) Transportation, Outbound Freight and Duties: This includes costs associated with all company paid freight duties from point-of-manufacture to end-customer or channel. (9) Installation: This includes costs associated with verification of site preparation, installation, certification, and authorization of billing. (10) Customer Invoicing/Accounting: This includes costs associated with invoicing, processing customer payments, and verification of customer receipt.

Material Index
The ratio of the sum of localized raw material weights to the weight of the finished product.

Material Requirements Planning
A set of techniques that uses bill of material data, inventory data, and the master production schedule to calculate requirements for materials. It is a software based production planning and inventory control system used to manage manufacturing processes. Although it is not common nowadays, it is possible to conduct the MRP calculation by hand as well.

Material Safety Data Sheet
A document that is part of the materials information system and accompanies the product. Prepared by the manufacturer, the MSDS provides information regarding the safety and chemical properties and the long-term storage, handling, and disposal of the product. Among other factors, the MSDS describes the hazardous components of a product, how to treat leaks, spills, and fires, and how to treat improper human contact with the product. Also see: Hazardous Materials

Materials Handling
The physical handling of products and materials between procurement and shipping.

Materials Management
The planning of acquisition, maintaining inventory and disposition. This process is based upon scheduling according to need and anticipated usage.

Materials planning
The materials management function that attempts to coordinate the supply of materials with the demand for materials.

Matrix Organizational Structure
An organizational structure in which two (or more) channels of command, budget responsibility, and performance measurement exist simultaneously. For example, both product and functional forms of organization could be implemented simultaneously, that is, the product and functional managers have equal authority and employees report to both managers.

MAWB
see Master Air Waybill

MAX
The lowest inventory quantity that is desired at a ship to location or selling location. This quantity will over-ride the forecast number if the forecast climbs above the MAX. Maximum stock

Maximum Inventory
The planned maximum allowable inventory for an item based on its planned lot size and target safety stock.

Maximum Order Quantity
An order quantity modifier applied after the lot size has been calculated, that limits the order quantity to a pre-established maximum.

m-Commerce
Mobile commerce applications involve using a mobile phone to carry out financial transactions. This usually means making a payment for goods or transferring funds electronically. Transferring money between accounts and paying for purchases are electronic commerce applications. An emerging application, electronic commerce has been facilitated by developments in other areas in the mobile world, such as dual slot phones and other smarter terminals and more standardized protocols, which allow greater interactivity and therefore more sophisticate services.

M-Day Calendar
See Manufacturing Calendar

Mean
The arithmetic average of a group of values. Synonym: arithmetic mean.

Measurement ton
Equals 40 cubic feet, used in water transportation rate making.

Median
The middle value in a set of measured values when the items are arranged in order of magnitude. If there is no single middle value, the median is the mean of the two middle values.

Medium Lot Storage
A medium lot is generally defined as a quantity of material which will require one to three pallet stacks stored to maximum height. Thus, the term refers to relatively small lots as distinguished from definitely large or small lots.

Merchant Haulage
Inland transportation performed by an inland carrier contracted by and for the account of the shipper or consignee.

Merge In Transit
A logistics management tool that allows you to stage the simultaneous delivery of shipments from a variety of origin points.

Merger
The combination of two or more carriers into one company for the ownership, management, and operation of the properties previously operated on a separate basis.

Merit System
The system of employee promotion that is based upon an evaluation of abilities and accomplishments rather than personal favoritism or political appointment.

MES
see Manufacturing Execution Systems

Message
The EDIFACT term for a transaction set. A message is the collection of data, organized in segments, exchanged by trading partners engaged in EDI. Typically, a message is an electronic version of a document associated with a common business transaction, such as a purchase order or shipping notice. A message begins with a message header segment, which identifies the start of the message (e.g., the series of characters representing one purchase order). The message header segment also carries the message type code, which identifies the business transaction type. EDIFACT’s message header segment is called UNH, in ANSI X12 protocol, the message header is called ST. A message ends with a message trailer segment, which signals the end of the message (e.g., the end of one purchase order). EDIFACT’s message trailer is labeled UNT, the ANSI X12 message trailer is referred to as SE.

Meta Tag
‘An optional HTML tag that is used to specify information about a web document. Some search engines use ‘’spiders” to index web pages. These spiders read the information contained within a page’s META tag. So in theory, an HTML or web page author has the ability to control how their site is indexed by search engines and how and when it will ”come up” on a user’s search. The META tag can also be used to specify an HTTP or URL address for the page to ”jump” to after a certain amount of time. This is known as Client-Pull. What this means, is a web page author can control the amount of time a web page is up on the screen as well as where the browser will go next.’

Metrics
See Performance Measures

Micro-land bridge
An intermodal movement in which the shipment is moved from a foreign country to the U.S. by water and then moved across the U.S. by railroad to an interior, nonport city, or vice versa for exports from a nonport city.

Mileage allowance
An allowance based upon distance and given by railroads to shippers using private rail cars.

Mileage rate
A rate based upon the number of miles the commodity is shipped.

Milk run
A regular route for pickup of mixed loads from several suppliers. For example, instead of each of five suppliers sending a truckload per week to meet the weekly needs of the customer, one truck visits each of the suppliers on a daily basis before delivering to the customer’s plant. Five truckloads per week are still shipped, but each truckload contains the daily requirement from each supplier. Also see: Consolidation

Mill Broke
Waste paper that is generated in the paper manufacturing process and then recycled or introduced again into the development or repulping process.

Min Max System
‘A type of order point replenishment system where the ”min” (minimum) is the order point, and the ”max” (maximum) is the ”order up to” inventory level. The order quantity is variable and is the result of the max minus the available and on-order inventory. An order is recommended when the sum of the available and on-order inventory is at or below the min.’

Mini-land Bridge
An intermodal movement in which the shipment is moved from a foreign country to the U.S. by water and then moved across the U.S. by railroad to a destination that is a port city, or vice versa for exports from a U.S. port city.

Minimum Charge
Least charge for which a shipment will be handled.

Minimum Inventory
The amount of stock on hand that has been designated as safety stock.

Minimum Truckload Weight
Least weight at which a shipment is handled at a Truckload (TL) rate.

Minimum weight
(1) The shipment weight specified by the carrier’s tariff as the minimum weight required to use the TL or CL rate, the rate discount volume. 2. Specified minimum-weight basis on which shipment charges will be assessed (1,000 lbs.). If a shipment weighs less, it still will be charged at a 1,000-lb. rate.

Minority Business
A business that is owned or controlled by a person or persons who are certified to have minority status.

Misguided Capacity Plans
Plans or forecasts for capacity utilization, which are based on inaccurate assumptions or input data.

Mission Critical
Is any equipment, asset, process, or item that is required for a customer to maintain operations.

Mixed loads
The movement of both regulated and exempt commodities in the same vehicle at the same time.

Mixed Shipment
Shipment consisting of items described in and rated under two or more rate items within a tariff.

MLB
An abbreviation for Mini Land Bridge Containers moving from a foreign country by vessel, and then sent to an inland point in the U.S. or elsewhere by land transportation (rail or truck). See also Land Bridge.

Modal split
The relative use made of the modes of transportation, the statistics used include ton-miles, passenger-miles, and revenue.

Mode
See Transportation Mode

Monopoly
An unfair advantage or control of the market place with regard to the trade of certain goods or services. This type of exclusive marketing advantage serves to restrict competition in that particular activity.

Mother Vessel
Main ocean vessel in a liner service designated to move containers from set origin points to set destination ports/points on a regular basis.

Move Management
Customized and standard relocation services to meet the customer needs for availability, asset protection, data protection, and time constraints.

Move ticket
A document used to move inventory within a facility. Warehouse management systems use move tickets to direct and track material movements. In a paperless environment the electronic version of a move ticket is often called a task or a trip.

MPS
see Master Production Schedule

MRO
see Maintenance, Repair, and Operating supplies

MRP
see Material Requirements Planning

MRP-II
see Manufacturing Resource Planning

MSDS
see Material Safety Data Sheet

MSI Plessey
This barcode is a variable length barcode that can encode up to 15 numeric digits. Checksum generation is dependent on the value of the checksum parameter. The following table indicates the value of the checksum property and the type of checksum created. Setting, Description, 0, one modulus 10 checksum, 1, two modulus 10 checksums, 2, one modulus 11 checksum/one modulus 10 checksum.

MT
Metric Ton. 1 MT = 2,204.62lbs or 35.314 cft.

MTO
see Make-to-Order

MTS
see Make-to-Stock

Multi-Block Course Pattern
An arrangement of warehousing units in which two uni-block patterns are used.

Multi-Currency
The ability to process orders using a variety of currencies for pricing and billing.

Multi-destination
A single shipment that includes multiple deliveries at separate destination locations.

Multinational company
A company that both produces and markets products in different countries.

Multi-origin
A single shipment that includes multiple pick-ups at separate origin locations.

Multiple Award
Awarding contracts to more than one bidder for the same types of goods or similar items. This would be appropriate under circumstances when a single contractor would not be able to adequately serve the entire area that needs to be provided for.

Multiple-car rate
A railroad rate that is lower for shipping more than one carload rather than just one carload at a time.

Multi-Skilled
Pertaining to individuals who are certified to perform a variety of tasks.

Multi-Step Competitive Bidding
A competitive purchasing method requesting that bidders submit a technical proposal as the initial process. Negotiations may take place with regard to technicalities and job completion processes. Following the first step a competitive price bid is requested. The price bid is not negotiable.

Make-to-Order
See Make-to-Order

Make-to-Stock
A manufacturing method in which finished goods are produced and stocked prior to receipt of a customer order. It uses a forecast based on past demand history to initiate production of end items when inventory has fallen below desired levels, instead of waiting until a final quantity and configuration is described on a customer order.