Glossary
Delivery operations terms
Operational definitions for big & bulky final mile and retail fleet delivery—written for dispatchers and ops leaders.
- Final mile
- The last leg of delivery to the end customer—often the most expensive and customer-visible part of the supply chain.
- Proof of delivery (POD)
- Documentation that a delivery was completed or why it failed—photos, signatures, and notes tied to a stop.
- Failed delivery
- A delivery attempt that did not complete as planned—customer unavailable, access issues, refusal, or partial completion.
- White glove delivery
- Premium inside delivery with placement or light assembly, typically requiring trained crews and extra handling time.
- Inside delivery
- Delivery beyond the curb or threshold—into the home, garage, or jobsite—with placement, access notes, and often longer stop times than parcel drop-off.
- Big & bulky
- Large, heavy products—furniture, appliances, mattresses, building materials—that need specialized handling and longer stop times.
- Dispatch
- The process of assigning drivers to routes and managing changes through the delivery day.
- Retail fleet
- Delivery trucks owned and operated by a retailer rather than outsourced to a national parcel carrier.
- Delivery window
- The promised time range when a customer should expect arrival—narrow windows reduce frustration when accurate.
- WISMO
- "Where is my order?"—customer inquiries about delivery status, often reduced with proactive notifications.
- Delivery exception
- Any deviation from a successful delivery—failed, rescheduled, partial, or refused.
- TMS
- Transportation management system—often focused on freight contracts and linehaul, not customer final mile execution.