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| daily value (DV) | A list of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, etc., printed on a product label. |
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| dairy/deli case extender | An insulated container display attached to a refrigerated case that extends into an aisle to stimulate impulse buys. |
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| dairy products | Milk (including dry milk), cream, sour cream, yogurt, eggs, butter and substitutes such as margarine, cheese, and ice cream. |
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| damage center | A place where damaged merchandise is sent. |
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| damaged goods | An unsalable product, such as sliced box tops and dented cans. |
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| danger zone | The temperature range, 40 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit at which foods spoil. Perishable foods should be held at temperatures above or below this temperature range. |
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| dangler | A small, eye-catching sign that hangs from a product or a shelf to draw attention to an item or display. |
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| data mining | A process of searching data bases for unique trends or occurring situations and displaying those trends to the user. |
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| data model | The complete set of data elements which must be taken into account whenever software systems are written. Industry efforts are underway to define a standard data model for retailers. |
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| data/voice network | A telecommunications system that handles both voice and data transmissions over the same line. |
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| data warehousing | A compilation of data from a variety of sources for storage and easy retrieval. |
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| dataviews | An easy-to-read table of data, which measures dollar sales, gross margin, and unit movement. |
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| date code or coding | A "sell by" date stamped on a product to ensure freshness. The date assists with quality control (first in, first out) and proper rotation. It may also apply to affixing a "sell by" or "pull by" date on merchandise which is on display (as in the Bakery De |
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| dating | A supplier's offer that provides discounts for payment of an invoice at some future date. The longer the time period the better the arrangement. See extended dating. |
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| day letter | A daily bulletin with current product and pricing information sent to retail stores See bulletin. |
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| days-of-supply (D-O-S) | The amount of product calculated to meet customer demand between replenishments. |
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| DC | Distribution center. |
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| dead-heading | Returning an empty vehicle to a warehouse. |
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| dead net | The lowest cost for goods after all allowances are subtracted, also known as net-net. |
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| deal | A buying arrangement or terms of sale that offer special purchasing incentives; a promotion or a trade deal. |
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| deal pack | A manufacturer's method of packaging products for special customer promotions at a store. |
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| deal period | A manufacturer's time frame for special allowances to retailers for a promotion. |
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| deal sheet | A vendor (DSD supplier) generated information sheet listing current or upcoming products on allowance. Includes product description, UPC codes, allowance, cost, start date and end date for each SKU listed. |
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| decentralization of store operations | A shift in responsibility and accountability for maintaining store conditions and profitability from a store's headquarters to a store manager. |
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| deduct/deduction | An amount that is subtracted from a paycheck or an invoice. |
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| deep discount | Lowering the price of merchandise to a minimal markup over the wholesale price. |
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| deep-discount drug store | A low-margin, GM/HBC store with 25,000 SKUs. These stores typically carry fewer sizes, but more GM/HBC brands than a supermarket. |
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| delete | To no longer stock an item in the warehouse or a retail store. |
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| deli-bake | A combination in-store bakery and deli department where equipment, floor space, and labor are shared, usually under common supervision. |
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| deli product ends | Meat and cheese ends used for sandwiches, salads or samples. |
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| delicatessen | An in-store department with cooked foods, salads, cold cuts and cheeses, etc. |
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| delinquent account | Past due customer accounts (accounts receivable). |
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| delivery cycle | The time between an order and its delivery. |
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| delivery receipt | A receipt acknowledging the product count, date and time of a delivery. |
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| demand | The amount of goods that consumers will buy at a specific price. |
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| demand item, demand brand | A product or brand whose consumer popularity makes it an essential item for a store to stock. |
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| demographics, demographic characteristics, demographic profile | A snapshot of customers, such as their age, ethnic group, gender, income, education or marital status. |
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| demonstration or demo | A product promotion in a store with samples to eat and cooking-tip handouts and/or coupons. |
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| demurrage | A daily rate charged by railroads for failure to unload a rail car within a specified time frame. |
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| depalletize | To remove product from the original shipping pallet and repalletize it for shipping or storage. |
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| department | An area in a retail store designated for a category of products, such as, grocery, meat, produce, bakery, among others. |
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| department flow | A continuous, logical flow from one commodity to another. For example, summertime fruit, to hard fruit, to exotic soft varieties in the display. |
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| department i.d. label | A department's label affixed to a package, so that the sale is credited to that department at the checkout. |
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| department sales report | A daily breakdown of each department's sales. |
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| depreciation | A reduction in a fixed asset's value over time. |
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| descriptive label | The label showing the name of the product, price per pound, total price and possibly the "sell by" date or "pull by" date. |
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| detail person | A manufacturer's or broker's representative responsible for category conditions, merchandising and writing credits. See retail representative. |
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| detention | A shipper's fee charged when a truck is not loaded within a certain time frame, which holds up the truck at the warehouse or processing plant. |
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| DEX/UCS (direct exchange) | A telecommunications system between a retailer and supplier that allows for the exchange of sales data, product movement, billings and replenishment needs. |
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| dexter deli express | A free-standing computer used by customers for deli orders. |
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| dial-up communication | A telecommunications link used to exchange data, such as ATM and bankcard authorizations. |
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| diary panel | A sampling technique used to spot consumer trends. Targeted households keep a record of supermarket purchases for a short period of time. |
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| dietetic foods | Low-calorie foods for special diets, such as salt-free, low-sugar, including dietetic soft drinks, organic and health foods. |
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| digital scale | A programmable scale that weighs, calculates cost and prints a label. |
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| direct account | A retailer who buys directly from a manufacturer and receives all manufacturer allowances. |
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| direct buyer | A buyer who places orders directly with a manufacturer and bypasses a wholesaler. |
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| direct expense | An expense that directly relates to a specific segment of the business operation. |
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| direct mailing | Promotional materials for products received by a customer at home. |
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| direct product cost (DPC) | A product's total distribution costs, transportation, handling and advertising. |
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| direct product profit or profitability (DPP) | A formula used to measure a product's profitability. The formula is: Gross Product Margin minus Direct Product Costs equals Profitability. Usually expressed per-item or case. |
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| direct sales force | A group of salespeople employed by a manufacturing company to work exclusively in promoting and selling its own products. |
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| direct store delivery (DSD) | Products delivered directly to a store by the vendor, such as soft drinks, beer, bread and fresh baked goods, dairy products, potato chips and other fragile items. |
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| discontinued item | Product no longer available to a store. See delete. |
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| discount | A predetermined amount, deducted from the face of an invoice, earned for prompt payment. A sales promotion feature that is a markdown from the regular price for a limited time. A percentage deducted for volume purchases. |
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| disk operating system (DOS) | A read-only-memory in a computer's hard drive programmed to perform operations, such as converting keystrokes to bits and bytes, formatting, etc. |
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| dispatch/order processing | A supply center department that coordinates product shipments. |
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| display | A merchandising method of highlighting a product by arranging it in a way that attracts the attention of the customer. |
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| display advertising | Point-of-purchase signage developed to promote product on display. |
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| display allowance | A manufacturer's allowance to a retailer who displays or promotes a product. |
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| display case | A refrigerated or free-standing case for holding products on a sales floor. |
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| display module | A preassembled kit for merchandise display in aisles or shipped on a pallet (generally two to four modules per pallet). |
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| display pack | A case of product packaged in such a way as to be ready immediately to display on the shelf as a unit. |
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| display stock | Products moved from backroom storage to a sales floor. |
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| display unit load | A prebuilt retail display on a pallet ready for in-store merchandising. Also known as Display Pallets. |
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| disposable (personal) income | The measure of what people have available to spend in the marketplace after taxes. |
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| distressed merchandise | Salable merchandise that needs re-working, crisping, re-trimming or to be conditioned or packaged to sell. Product which requires a forced sale because of damage or deterioration. Also known as a distressed item. |
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| distributing area | An analysis of a market area that includes the demographics of the population, number and kind of stores, which is used for price comparisons, market saturation, budgeting, and sales purposes. See trading area. |
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| distribution | A chain of delivery from a manufacturer to a store. |
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| distribution allowance | A manufacturer's allowance to a retailer for purchasing a new product in a category. |
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| distribution center | A warehouse used to receive, store and ship products to retailers. |
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| distribution cost analysis | The accounting method that factors in the cost of handling and storing individual products and product categories. |
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| distributor | A person or company that supplies products to a retailer through a distribution center. |
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| distributors' brand | A private-label, brand product packed for a wholesaler, cooperative or chain. |
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| district manager | See store supervisor. |
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| diversified wholesale grocer | A wholesaler who stocks and sells product in a variety of categories. |
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| diverter | A reseller that buys "deal" product from manufacturers to re-sell outside of a target market area. |
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| dock | An area to receive, load and unload shipments. |
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| dock plate | A built-in or free-standing metal plate that forms a bridge between a trailer and a loading dock. |
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| dollar margin | See gross margin. |
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| dolly | A small hand-cart with two wheels used to move heavy objects. |
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| domestics | Soft goods, such as kitchen items, linens and other household textiles. |
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| DOS | Disk operating system. |
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| D-O-S | Days-of-supply. |
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| double-bagged | A bagging practice used to reinforce bags of heavy items by putting one bag inside another |
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| double-truck | A newspaper advertisement of two facing pages. |
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| DPC | Direct product cost. |
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| DPP | Direct product profit. |
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| drained weight | The weight of a canned product without the liquid. |
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| dressed fish | A whole scaled, cleaned fish, sold with or without the head. |
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| drop shipment | A retailer's order shipped directly to a store by a manufacturer. |
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| drop trailer | A van filled with merchandise that a driver leaves at a store for unloading. |
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| drop-in display | A display unit that fits into or takes the place of grocery shelves. |
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| drops | The number of retail deliveries made in a day. A list of price reductions. |
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| drug wholesalers | A pharmaceutical wholesaler who sells primarily to chain or single-unit drug stores. |
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| dry grocery | Nonperishable grocery products. |
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| dry grocery non-foods | Products that are not food, such as paper products, detergents, or pet items. |
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| dry mop | A large dust mop. |
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| DSD | Direct store delivery. |
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| dummy-up | A false bottom for displays, which gives the appearance of mass quantities of merchandise. |
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| dumb terminal | A computer terminal, also called a video display terminal (VDT), that is linked to a remote processor. |
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| dump display | Massive amounts of product displayed in bulk, in baskets, or in shipping containers. |
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| dump table | A display table where products are haphazardly piled rather than neatly arranged. |
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| dust collectors | Slow-moving products. |
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| duster | A cleaning tool made of feathers. |
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| DV | Daily value. |
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