If these terms are already familiar to your team, we are speaking the same language. If they are not, this is a reasonable starting point for understanding what a documented, verifiable supply engagement actually involves.
- Incoterms 2020
- The international rule set that defines exactly where risk and cost transfer between buyer, supplier and carrier — agreed before a shipment moves, not argued about after something goes wrong in transit.
- HS Classification
- The Harmonized System tariff code assigned to a product, which drives duty rate, clearance treatment and, on some routes, whether the product is admissible at all.
- Proforma Invoice
- The preliminary commercial document a buyer typically needs before internal funds or import approvals can be released on their side, ahead of the final commercial invoice.
- Certificate of OriginALSO: CoO
- Formal evidence of where a product was manufactured, which determines duty treatment under applicable trade agreements and, on some routes, whether the product is admissible.
- Bill of LadingALSO: B/L
- The document that functions simultaneously as a receipt for goods, a contract of carriage and a document of title — an error here can stop a shipment at the port regardless of how correct everything else is.
- CMR Consignment Note
- The standard international road-freight document governing overland cargo movement, relevant to shipments transiting through Turkey and Iraq by truck.
- TIR Carnet
- A customs document that allows sealed road freight to transit multiple international borders under a single guarantee, without a full customs inspection at each one.
- Pre-Shipment InspectionALSO: PSI
- An independent, physical check confirming that the goods actually loaded match the goods specified — performed before departure, while a discrepancy is still cheap to correct.
- Letter of CreditALSO: LC
- A payment mechanism where a bank guarantees payment to the supplier against the presentation of specified documents, used where the trust level between parties does not yet support open-account terms.
- Packing List
- The carton-level breakdown of a shipment's contents that both customs authorities and the receiving workshop depend on to verify what actually arrived.
- OEM Cross-Reference
- The process of matching an original equipment manufacturer part number to a viable equivalent, without silently dropping the duty rating, tolerance or service life the original part carried.
- Warranty Terms
- The specific commitment a supplier will actually stand behind once a part is in service — distinct from a general claim of quality, and worth confirming in writing before, not after, a failure.