Tone of voice

General rules

Do's

  • In English we use British English (i.e. optimise instead of optimize)
  • In English and German we use the formal way of writing
  • In Dutch we use the informal way of writing
  • In English - Use a dot for decimals (euros and cents), a comma to separate thousands and don’t add space between the currency symbol and the amount (i.e. €1,000.50 – not € 1.000,50)
    - In German and Dutch - Use a comma for decimals and a dot for thousands (e.g. 1.000,50). Currency formatting varies: Dutch uses €1.000,50, while German use 1.000,50 €.
  • Use the day–month–year format. Separators vary by language: English use 25/03/2026, German 25.03.2026, and Dutch uses 25-03-2026.
  • Time should be written in 24-hour format (i.e. 14:00, not 2:00 PM)
  • When an acronym appears for the first time, spell it out and include the acronym in parentheses, unless it’s commonly known, like ZIP code. (i.e. Shipcloud Energy Index (SEI))
  • We write Shipcloud with a capital S (not shipcloud)
  • We use Sentence case in headings and titles (not title case)
  • We always speak about our carriers and partners in a positive and respectful way (i.e. no carrier comparison)
  • We can say: the best parcel logistics solution in Europe. We can’t say: the #1 parcel logistics solution of Europe
  • We prefer ‘cross-border’ instead of ‘international’
  • Dutch/English: e-commerce / German: E-Commerce
  • It’s ‘peak season’, not ‘Peak Season’ or ‘Peak season’.
  • Use terms like ‘reliable’, ‘smooth’, ‘efficient’

Don'ts

  • We don’t use the word ‘Suite’ anymore, because we have a ‘platform’
  • We do not use the product names: Shipcloud Send, Shipcloud Track, Shipcloud Return and Shipcloud Managed anymore
  • We don’t use the Chat GPT em dash —
  • We don’t say or present ourselves as a SaaS-company
  • We don’t use the 100+ or 130+ carriers, but instead we say: unmatched carrier network

Glossary

#
3PL – Third party logistics
4PL – Fourth party logistics

A
API

B

C
Carriers
Crossdock
Cross-border

D
Destinations

E
ERP (Enterprise resource planning)
E-commerce

F
First mile
Final mile delivery
Fulfilment providers (not fulfillment)

G

H
Hub(s)

I
Integrations
Incoterms
International carriers

J

K

L
Last mile delivery
Linehaul(s)
Local carriers

M
Masterbox shipment(s)
Marketplaces
Multi-carrier strategy (or setup)

N

O
Onboarding

P
Parcel logistics
Platform
Plug-and-Play
Peak season

Q

R
Retail & e-commerce
Return platform
Return portal (not Return bird)
Return dock

S
SCOUT API
Sendcore API
Shipcloud (not shipcloud)
Shipcloud Energy Index (abbreviation: SEI)
Shipcloud classic?
Shipping platform
Shipping and return platform
Shop-system

T
Transit time

U

V

W
WMS (Warehouse Management System)
Warehouse

X

Y

Z