# Logistics & Transport Glossary Clear definitions of key logistics and transport terms — OTM5, CMR, LDM, VRP, ADR, EU driving-time rules and more — explained by Transportial. ## Standards & data - [EDI](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/edi.md): EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is the structured, computer-to-computer exchange of business documents — such as orders, invoices, and shipping notices — in a standardised electronic format. - [Operational TMS (OTMS)](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/operational-tms.md): An Operational TMS (OTMS) is a transport management system that covers the full day-to-day execution of transport — planning, fleet, drivers, tracking, communication, and finance — not just freight procurement or visibility. - [OTM5](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/otm5.md): OTM5 (Open Transport Model 5) is an open standard for exchanging freight transport data — orders, consignments, stops, and statuses — between systems and partners. - [Transport Management System (TMS)](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/transport-management-system.md): A Transport Management System (TMS) is software that plans, executes, and tracks the movement of freight, from order intake through delivery and invoicing. ## Documents - [CMR](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/cmr.md): A CMR is the standard international consignment note for road freight, governed by the CMR Convention, that serves as the contract of carriage and proof that goods were received and delivered. - [e-CMR](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/e-cmr.md): An e-CMR is the digital equivalent of the paper CMR consignment note, enabled by the Additional Protocol to the CMR Convention, allowing the document to be created, signed, and shared electronically. - [Waybill](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/waybill.md): A waybill is a transport document issued by a carrier that lists the goods, the route, and the parties involved, accompanying a shipment as a record of carriage. ## Planning & routing - [Intermodal transport](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/intermodal-transport.md): Intermodal transport moves goods in one standardised loading unit — a container, swap body, or trailer — across two or more modes such as road, rail, and sea, without ever handling the goods themselves. - [Multimodal transport](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/multimodal-transport.md): Multimodal transport is the movement of goods using two or more modes of transport — such as road, rail, sea, and air — under a single contract with one operator responsible for the whole journey. - [Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP)](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/vehicle-routing-problem.md): The Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) is the optimisation problem of assigning a set of deliveries to a fleet of vehicles and sequencing the stops to minimise cost while respecting constraints like capacity and time windows. ## Compliance - [ADR (dangerous goods)](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/adr.md): ADR is the European agreement governing the international road transport of dangerous goods, setting rules for classification, packaging, labelling, documentation, and driver training. - [Cabotage](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/cabotage.md): Cabotage is the transport of goods between two points within the same country by a carrier registered in another country, subject to EU restrictions. - [CSRD reporting](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/csrd.md): CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) is an EU directive requiring in-scope companies to report standardised sustainability and ESG information, including emissions from transport. - [EU Regulation 561/2006 (driving & rest times)](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/eu-driving-time-561-2006.md): EU Regulation 561/2006 sets the rules for professional drivers’ daily and weekly driving times, breaks, and rest periods to improve road safety and working conditions. - [Tachograph](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/tachograph.md): A tachograph is a device fitted to commercial vehicles that records driving time, speed, and distance to enforce drivers’ hours rules. ## Operations - [Consignment](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/consignment.md): A consignment is a discrete shipment of goods sent from one party to another under a single transport order, with its own pickup, delivery, and status lifecycle. - [Cross-docking](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/cross-docking.md): Cross-docking is a logistics practice where incoming goods are transferred directly from inbound to outbound vehicles with little or no storage in between. - [ETA](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/eta.md): ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) is the predicted time at which a vehicle or shipment will reach a given stop or destination. - [FTL vs LTL](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/ftl-vs-ltl.md): FTL (full truckload) means a shipment fills or is charged for an entire vehicle, while LTL (less-than-truckload) means a shipment shares vehicle space with other consignments. - [Groupage](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/groupage.md): Groupage is the practice of consolidating shipments from multiple customers into a single vehicle so each shipper pays only for the space they use. - [Loading Metre (LDM)](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/ldm.md): A loading metre (LDM) is a unit that represents one metre of length along the floor of a truck across its full width, used to measure how much floor space a shipment occupies. - [Proof of Delivery (POD)](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/proof-of-delivery.md): Proof of Delivery (POD) is the documented confirmation that goods were delivered to the recipient, typically captured as a signature, photo, or timestamped status at the delivery point. - [Swap body](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/swap-body.md): A swap body is a standardised, detachable freight container that can be moved between trucks and trailers, allowing a vehicle to drop one load and pick up another quickly. - [Track & trace](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/track-and-trace.md): Track & trace is the capability to follow a shipment's location and status in real time and to review its full movement history from pickup to delivery. ## Finance - [Fuel surcharge](https://transportial.com/en/glossary/fuel-surcharge.md): A fuel surcharge is an adjustable fee added to freight rates that rises and falls with fuel prices, protecting carriers from volatility without renegotiating every contract.