Plain answers, plainly stated.

The terms

Lead-to-load

The share of marketing enquiries that turn into a booked shipment. It is the number that matters most in freight marketing, and the one most agencies never set up, because cost per lead on its own tells a forwarder almost nothing about whether a campaign paid for itself.

Quote-to-shipment conversion

The share of the quotations a desk issues that turn into a moved shipment. When the ratio falls, the usual cause is quoting for work the desk was never going to win, which is a targeting problem rather than a sales problem, and it is far cheaper to fix upstream.

Survey-to-quote

In relocation, the share of completed surveys that lead to a quotation. Together with the share of quotations that become moves, it decides the economics of a moving business far more directly than the number of enquiries does, which is why we measure it from the first week.

First-party data

Customer information a business collects directly and owns outright, instead of renting access to an audience from a platform. It is the asset that keeps working when advertising costs rise, and the one most brands neglect while they are paying for reach.

Landed cost

The true cost of goods once they reach the buyer's warehouse, meaning the price at the factory gate plus freight, insurance, duty, tax, handling and clearance. It is the number a price list has to survive, it is the first thing we work out before an order is committed, and it is where an attractive unit price quietly disappears.

Greige

Woven fabric as it leaves the loom, before it is dyed or finished. Its quality decides most of what can go right or wrong later in dyeing, finishing and cutting, which is why a mill's greige store tells a buyer far more about that mill than its showroom ever will.

Letter of credit

A bank instrument that pays the seller once the documents presented match its terms exactly. In trade the documents are the transaction, so a letter of credit drafted around the wrong term costs real money at the port, and the time to read it closely is before it is issued.

Incoterms

The standard trade terms, such as FOB, CIF and DDP, that fix exactly where cost and risk pass from the seller to the buyer. A surprising number of trade disputes come down to an Incoterm chosen carelessly at the quotation stage, repeated on every order afterwards, and never questioned until something goes wrong.

Pre-shipment inspection

Checking goods against the agreed tolerances before the vessel sails, as a condition of payment. While the goods are still at origin there is real recourse, and once they have arrived a claim becomes a negotiation, which is a much weaker position from which to start.

Cash on delivery

In Gulf online retail, an order paid at the door instead of at checkout. Until the courier has been paid, a cash on delivery order is a choice the customer still holds rather than revenue, and that distinction changes how stock, dispatch and marketing should all be planned.

Return to origin

A cash on delivery parcel refused at the door and shipped back to the seller. It is the quiet cost line, covering outbound freight, return freight, repacking and a missed season, that decides whether many businesses selling directly to consumers actually make money.

Retention channel

A shop, list or messaging channel whose job is repeat purchase from customers already won, instead of finding new ones. It is usually where a brand's own website earns its keep, once retail and the marketplaces are doing the work of discovery, and it is the cheapest revenue most brands ignore.

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