India Logistics Glossary: 50 Supply Chain Visibility Terms Explained

Supply Chain Visibility and Logistics Terms for Indian Enterprises

This glossary covers the key terms, acronyms, and concepts used in Indian road freight, supply chain visibility, and logistics technology — explained in plain language for logistics managers, supply chain heads, and operations teams.

A

AWB (Air Waybill) — The document issued by an air carrier for air freight shipments, serving as a receipt, contract of carriage, and customs declaration. Also used in PTL and courier logistics as the primary tracking reference number.

Activity Sensing Using Sensors — A technology approach that uses IoT sensors to detect physical activity at vehicle level — unloading events, tampering, door openings — without relying on driver reporting. Intugine's IAS (Intugine Activity Sensing) module uses this approach for cargo security intelligence.

C

Control Tower — A centralised operations command centre that monitors all active shipments in real time, automatically detects exceptions, and coordinates resolution. Can be self-serve (enterprise-operated) or managed (operated by the logistics platform on behalf of the enterprise).

CTD (Committed Time of Delivery) — The agreed delivery deadline for a shipment, used as the benchmark for on-time delivery calculations and SLA measurement.

D

Demurrage — A charge levied when containers, wagons, or vessels are held beyond the agreed free time at a port, rail terminal, or origin point. The road freight equivalent is detention.

Detention — The time a truck waits at a loading or unloading point beyond the agreed free time window, for which the transporter charges a time-based fee. One of the largest hidden cost drivers in Indian logistics operations.

Dispatch Advice — The document generated at the time of shipment creation, containing shipment details, vehicle information, and delivery instructions. Triggers the logistics tracking process in most Indian ERP systems.

Dwell Time — The total time a vehicle spends at a facility (plant, warehouse, or delivery point) from arrival to departure, including loading/unloading time and waiting time. The sum of detention and productive loading time.

E

E-POD (Electronic Proof of Delivery) — A digital delivery confirmation captured via mobile app at the delivery point — geo-tagged, timestamped, and optionally including a digital signature or photo. Replaces paper POD and enables automated freight reconciliation.

E-Way Bill — India's mandatory electronic document for the movement of goods worth more than ₹50,000 across state lines, generated on the GST portal. Required to accompany all qualifying freight movements.

ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) — The dynamically calculated expected arrival time for a vehicle or shipment, based on current location, speed, route conditions, and historical performance data. Distinguished from CTD (committed time) by being a real-time prediction rather than an agreed deadline.

Exception Management — The systematic process of detecting, classifying, routing, and resolving deviations from planned logistics execution — delays, route deviations, SLA breaches, and cargo security events.

F

FASTag — India's RFID-based electronic toll collection system, mandatory for all four-wheeled vehicles on national highways. FASTag transaction data provides a near-universal vehicle movement dataset for logistics tracking platforms.

FOIS (Freight Operations Information System) — Indian Railways' information system for tracking rail freight wagons. Intugine's IntuDB API integrates FOIS data for real-time rail freight visibility alongside road freight tracking.

FTL (Full Truckload) — A freight arrangement where the shipper books the entire truck capacity for a single shipment from origin to destination. Contrasted with LTL/PTL where multiple shippers share truck capacity.

G

Geofencing — A virtual geographic boundary defined around a location (plant, depot, customer site) that triggers an event — arrival alert, departure alert, or dwell time calculation — when a tracked vehicle enters or exits the boundary.

GPS Tracking — Real-time vehicle location tracking using satellite signals received by a device installed on the vehicle. Provides continuous location with 10–20 metre accuracy, updated every 1–5 minutes.

I

IAS (Intugine Activity Sensing) — Intugine's proprietary IoT module that uses activity sensing using sensors to detect physical events at vehicle level — unloading, door opening, tampering — providing cargo security intelligence independent of driver reporting.

IntuDB — Intugine's logistics intelligence API platform providing access to FASTag transaction data, vehicle RC verification, e-Challan records, e-Way Bill data, FOIS rail freight information, and SIM-based tracking via a single API suite.

L

LR (Lorry Receipt) — The primary freight document in Indian road logistics, issued by the transporter as a receipt for goods and a contract of carriage. Used for freight payment, insurance claims, and financing in Indian supply chains.

LTL (Less Than Truckload) — See PTL. A freight arrangement where multiple shippers share truck capacity, with each paying for their portion of space rather than the full truck.

M

Multimodal Tracking — The capability to track freight movement across multiple transportation modes and data sources — GPS, FASTag, SIM, RFID, rail — within a single unified platform.

O

OTD (On-Time Delivery) — The percentage of shipments delivered within the committed delivery window. The primary headline metric for carrier performance scorecards and supply chain reliability benchmarking.

P

POD (Proof of Delivery) — Physical or digital documentation confirming that a shipment was delivered to the consignee. Triggers freight payment and closes the shipment in the logistics system.

PTL (Part Truckload) — A freight arrangement where multiple shippers share truck capacity on a common route. Common in FMCG distribution and courier logistics. Also called LTL.

R

Route Deviation — A shipment event where the vehicle moves outside the planned route corridor by more than a defined threshold — indicating a possible shortcut, unauthorised halt, or cargo diversion event.

S

SIM-Based Tracking — Vehicle location tracking using the driver's mobile phone SIM card via mobile network triangulation or phone GPS — enabling logistics visibility without vehicle-mounted hardware installation.

SLA (Service Level Agreement) — The contractual performance commitment between shipper and transporter, defining delivery windows, detention free times, documentation deadlines, and escalation procedures.

T

TAT (Turnaround Time) — The total time from trip creation or dispatch to delivery confirmation, or from plant arrival to departure. A key fleet efficiency metric in Indian logistics.

TMS (Transportation Management System) — Software that handles logistics planning — rate procurement, carrier allocation, load optimisation, and dispatch scheduling. Distinct from visibility platforms which focus on execution tracking after dispatch.

V

Visibility Platform — Software that provides real-time tracking, exception management, and operational intelligence for in-transit shipments — the execution layer that complements TMS planning capabilities.