Online Network for Entrepreneurs and Startups. This group provides you with startup support, as well as assistance with planning your new venture.

In materials management, ABC analysis is an inventory categorization technique. ABC analysis divides an inventory into three categories—"A items" with very tight control and accurate records, "B items" with less tightly controlled and good records, and "C items" with the simplest controls possible and minimal records.

Abnormal Indivisible Loads

ATA Carnet (pronounced kar-nay) is an international customs and temporary export-import document. It is used to clear customs in 87 countries and territories without paying duties and import taxes on merchandise that will be re-exported within 12 months*.

Demand not in the forecast, frequently from a customer with whom the
company has not been doing business.

Material plus labour plus overhead expenses.

Academic literacy is the ability to write and read about academic subjects. The ability to gather information, process information and understand the information in a post-secondary education environment 

The skills of academic literacy can be applied in the classroom, assignments and exams. The goal is to equip students with the ability to summarize, compare, contrast, create ideas and analyse information from a wide variety of sources. 

Acceptance sampling uses statistical sampling to determine whether to accept or reject a production lot of material. It has been a common quality control technique used in industry. It is usually done as products leaves the factory, or in some cases even within the factory. 

Controlling of access to allow only authorised personnel into the business system or warehouses.

A report or description of an event or experience.

The obligation of an individual or organisation to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted property.

Income and expenses are recorded when they are billed and earned, regardless of when the money is received or paid.

Behave in the way specified.

An uncontrollable action by a natural cause (such as a flood or earthquake).

The fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim.

Able to move quickly and easily.

An iterative approach to planning and guiding project processes. Just as in Agile Software Development, an Agile project is completed in small sections. These sections are called iterations. In Agile Software Development, for instance, an iteration refers to a single development cycle

Agile Supply the ability to match supply and demand in turbulent and unpredictable markets, by being demand driven rather than forecast driven. Agility is concerned about responsiveness.

the ground-based personnel and equipment concerned with controlling and monitoring air traffic within a particular area.

A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer.

Is a set of step-by-step procedures, or a set of rules to follow, for completing a specific task or solving a particular problem.

To examine in detail and break down into components in order to discover meaning, essential features, etc.

Is a method for systematically selecting the most desirable suppliers with respect to multiple, confliction factors influencing the supplier selection decision.

an Andon light is used to signal that there is a problem at a work centre. These can be controlled by an operator or can be automated via a system.

Officially agreed or accepted as satisfactory.

Arbitration is a formal procedure for resolving a contractual dispute, without involving the courts. The arbitrator’s decision is binding.

Authority is power that is delegated formally. It includes a right to command a situation, commit resources, give orders and expect them to be obeyed, it is always accompanied by an equal responsibility for one's actions or a failure to act.

(also known as stop orders) allows the payer to set an automatic or recurring payment with their bank to pay the biller a set amount on a set date.

A number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, in particular the mode, median, or (most commonly) the mean, which is calculated by dividing the sum of the values in the set by their number.

In negotiation theory, the best alternative to a negotiated agreement or BATNA refers to the most advantageous alternative course of action a party can take if negotiations fail and an agreement cannot be reached. 

The return movement of a transportation vehicle from the direction of its principal haul especially transporting a shipment back over part or all of the route.

Balance of payment entails whether a country is saving enough to pay for its imports. A balance of payments deficit means the country imports more goods, services and capital than it exports. It must therefore borrow from other countries to pay for its imports.

Is complete and responsive feedback to what the customer said and how they feel The feedback is customer-centric and you do not make any personal remarks. This confirms that you have listened to the customer with empathy. You did not judge, evaluate or try to interpret what is or isn’t important. You give this feedback in an unconditional manner and include the customer’s words and emotions.

Is the amount of inventory that a business needs to keep on hand in order to fulfill customer orders with a delay no greater than expected by customers.

A process of assessing existing data collection and analysis methodology

Refers to large and/or complex datasets that go beyond the capabilities of people and traditional software to capture, store, manage and analyse them in their entirety.

A bill of lading is a document issued by a carrier to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipment. Although the term historically related only to carriage by sea, a bill of lading may today be used for any type of carriage of goods.

A “bit” (short for Binary Digit) is the smallest unit of data that can be stored by a computer. Each “bit” is represented as a binary number, either a 1 (true) or 0 (false)

Is a contract to purchase a minimum quantity during a specific period, usually a year.

A Blanket Purchase Order (BPO) is the preferred method for placing orders which will require multiple payments over a period of time. Examples of BPO's are: standing orders, maintenance/service contracts, and open orders.

Is a certificate, issued by a government or a public company, promising to repay borrowed money at a fixed rate of interest at a specified time. It is a binding agreement that commits one party to make a payment to another.

The bottom line refers to a company's earnings, profit, net income, or earnings per share (EPS).

The term break bulk derives from the phrase breaking bulk—the extraction of a portion of the cargo of a ship or the beginning of the unloading process from the ship's holds. These goods may not be in shipping containers. Break bulk cargo is stored in bags, boxes, crates, drums, or barrels.

Combined customer orders are received from the manufacturer and the goods are received in bulk. The bulk goods are unpacked into smaller quantities to be shipped to individual customers.

The point where total costs equals total revenue.

A mechanical failure.

Is the area where the incoming material is deposited

The process of breaking large quantities of goods into smaller lots that will be resold is called bulk breaking.

Bulk storage is equipment and supplies stored in large quantities, typically in a warehouse setting. Goods are often stored in original containers and without packaging.

The bullwhip effect is a distribution channel phenomenon in which forecasts yield supply chain inefficiencies. It refers to increasing swings in inventory in response to shifts in customer demand as one moves further up the supply chain

The period of fluctuation in business activity, also known as a trade cycle.

Business functions are the activities carried out by an enterprise; they can be divided into core functions and support functions. Core business functions are activities of an enterprise yielding income: the production of final goods or services intended for the market or for third parties.

Business management focuses on the practices of an organisation within a free market context. Business management concerns itself with the various functions of a business, its employees and management tasks that are necessary for the smooth operation of the organisation. All the functions within a business operate within a system and are interrelated.

The specific processes within your company that allow it to function with optimal efficiency.

Business resources are anything and everything that helps an organisation operate and do business.

This can include the use of human capital, natural resources, tangible resources such as property or production machinery, intangible resources such as brand image and knowledge, financial resources and anything else a particular business may use to make a profit.

Business-to-business is a situation where one business makes a commercial transaction with another. This typically occurs when: A business is sourcing materials for their production process for output. Example: Providing raw material to the other company that will produce output.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) refers to the process of selling products and services directly between a business and consumers who are the end-users of its products or services. Most companies that sell directly to consumers can be referred to as B2C companies.

A by-product is a product which can be used as a raw material for another product or is even a saleable product in itself.

Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment 

A CSR assessment is an evaluation of how well an organization has integrated the principles of CSR into their business. The objective of the assessment is to get a clear picture of their Corporate Social Responsibility practices (i.e. environment, social, ethics, supply chain)

Determining something by mathematical or logical methods.

1. The procedure of calculating; determining something by mathematical or logical methods [syn: computation] 

2. Problem solving that involves numbers or quantities [syn: computation, figuring, reckoning] 

3. Planning something carefully and intentionally; "it was the deliberation of his act that was insulting"  [syn: deliberation] 

A long projecting beam or girder fixed at only one end, used in bridge construction.

Capable to promise (CTP) systems enable enterprises to commit to customer orders based on production/resource capacity (available or planned) and inventory (available or planned).

The money invested in capital assets, such as fixed assets, or the money invested in the business.

The term “Carbon Footprint” refers to an individual, group, organisation or country’s carbon emissions. It is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities.

In the United States there are two federal statutes, one for rail and one for motor that are known as the Carmack Amendment.

Carmack sets minimum time standards for filing claims (nine months from the date of delivery) and for initiating lawsuits – being two years from the date the claim is denied.

The essence of this amendment is that the carriers are considered to be a the insurer and are strictly liable for cargo claims unless the damage is due to one of 5 exceptions: (1) an act of God, (2) an act of the public enemy, (3) an act of a public authority, (4) an act of the shipper, or (5) an inherent vice of the product.

Income recorded when it is received and payments when they are made.

Similar to an income statement, but does not include non-cash items.

The total amount of money being transferred into and out of a business, especially as affecting liquidity.

Category Managers in the retail industry are generally responsible for sales optimization of a particular group of products. Category Managers are usually involved in vendor management, pricing, marketing and inventory fields as well.

The global time system which consists of 24 standard meridians of longitude 15 degrees apart from each other, beginning with the Prime Meridian through Greenwich, England. Each meridian has a different time zone, time in Greenwich, England will always be different from time in Shanghai China.

Refers to the concentration of authority to make a decision.

Centralized warehouse configuration refers to a company having one (central) warehouse where products are stored and distributed to all customers.

A document declaring in which country a commodity or good was manufactured. The certificate of origin contains information regarding the product, its destination, and the country of export. Required by many treaty agreements for cross-border trade, the CO is an important form because it can help determine whether certain goods are eligible for import, or whether goods are subject to duties.

A channel strategy is a plan for reaching customers with products and services.

Channel of distribution refers to those people, institutions or merchants who help in the distribution of goods and services. It is a set of independent organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption.

A computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the internet.

A bank account intended for day-to-day use and allows easy access to money through debit cards, checks and withdrawals.

Cloud providers (or, cloud service providers) are companies that provide IT environments like public clouds or managed private clouds that abstract, pool, and share scalable resources across a network.

Is a company manual that states the rules, values, goals, ethics, and vision of a business.

The bonding of group members or unity, feelings of attraction for each other and desire to remain part of the group.

The term cold chain or cool chain denotes the series of actions and equipment applied to maintain a product within a specified low-temperature range from harvest/production to consumption. A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain.

The cooperative management of inventory through joint visibility and replenishment of products throughout the supply chain, with suppliers and retailers sharing information to help in planning and satisfying customer demands.

Any asset pledged against the repayment of a loan.

Also known as a planned system, is controlled by a centralized authority or government.

Commonwealth's advisors offer an array of investment products, asset allocation services, financial planning and consulting services.

People who travel regularly between home and a workplace, including a place of study, by any means of transport.

When a company sets their prices based on what the competition charges.

Competitive Procurement involves opening the process to bid and tender in order to obtain the best value. Non-competitive procurement (sometimes called “sole source” or “single-source” procurement) happens when the buyer either selects the company to buy from or restricts the bidding process to certain suppliers.

Refers to a business obeying laws, regulations, rules and policies.

Components are inventory items that originated as raw materials and have been through some form of manufacturing process which has converted them from natural raw materials into parts which will be used for the manufacture of a finished product.

Interest calculated on a principal amount that includes interest from previous periods (interest on interest)

Taking digitized data, a computer and CAM program is used to control, automate, and monitor the movements of a machine.

Data collection software packages use technology to collect data automatically.

Consignment stock is stock legally owned by one party, but held by another, meaning that the risk and rewards regarding to the said stock remains with the first party while the second party is responsible for distribution or retail operations.

Distribution facilities that operate to merge flows from different sources, they may be stocked or stockless.

A body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.

An individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or resale. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether or not to purchase an item at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and advertisements.

Is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers.

Contamination comes from the Latin word contaminat-, meaning “made impure.” When something is contaminated it is thus no longer pure but hazardous for example food that has been contaminated with mold.

Is a course of action designed to help an organisation respond effectively to a significant future event or situation that may or may not happen.

To form a sequence, which the same action or event is repeated frequently.

A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. It defines the terms of engagement and the contractual obligations of each party. A contract is used in various legal situations to resolve disputes and is therefore legally binding.  

As a result of poor contract management, the expected value of the contract and value achieved through the lifecycle of the contract differ. This is known as contract leakage. 

The process of systematically and efficiently managing contract creation, execution and analysis for maximizing operational and financial performance and minimizing risk

Is the process of systematically and efficiently managing contract creation, execution and analysis for maximizing operational and financial performance and minimizing risk. 

Is the process of methodically managing contracts with the intention of minimizing financial and operational risks and optimising vendor performance.

A Contract Purchase Order is a more formal version of the Planned PO and involves legal agreements, therefore offering the most protection. 

A conveyor system is a common piece of material handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another mechanically, i.e. without human intervention 

Is an agreement between the buying firm and its supplier that involves a mutual commitment over an extended period of time, including the sharing of information, risks, and rewards.

The primary area or activity that a company was founded on, or focuses on, in its business operations.  

Many market leaders aim to maintain a strong position in their core business areas, but they usually remain open to developing new areas of activity as perceived business opportunities arise

The main strengths or strategic advantages of a business.  Core competencies are the combination of pooled knowledge and technical capacities that allow a business to be competitive in the marketplace.

Theoretically, a core competency should allow a company to expand into new markets as well as provide a significant benefit to customers.  It should also be hard for competitors to replicate.

Setting out the responsibilities of directors and establishing the accountability of the board to all the company's stakeholders [such that it] includes the systems and tools used to achieve the company's environmental objectives and their effectiveness in meeting desired outcomes.

Corporate governance is a set of standards which outline responsibilities and practices to be exercised by the board, the executive management and all employees with the goal of providing strategic direction.

Corporate strategy is concerned with the overall purpose and scope of the organisation to meet the expectations of major stakeholders.  

Individuals, groups or organisations conducting in dishonest and fraudulent practices typically involving some form of bribery

Effective or productive in relation to its cost.

The direct cost of producing the goods sold.

A CIF contract is a type of international purchasing contract which places the responsibility on the seller to arrange for the shipment of the goods, and to insure them against loss or damage during the voyage.

When the price of a product is determined by taking the cost to make the product and adding a mark-up.

The process of calculating the cost of goods or services being sold.

A systematic approach to estimate the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives requirements or projects investments.

Goods are sold directly to and collected by the customers from a warehouse or shop-front. Typical examples of the use of counter are when spare parts are sold from a wholesalers, or when reject or out-of-styles products are sold at discounted prices from the manufacturer’s warehouse.

Counter trade is the exchanging of goods or services which are paid for, in whole or part, with other goods or services, rather than with money.

It is an acute respiratory illness in humans caused by a coronavirus, capable of producing severe symptoms and in some cases death, especially in older people and those with underlying health conditions. It was originally identified in China in 2019 and became pandemic in 2020.

Cross-docking is a practice in logistics of unloading materials from an incoming semi-trailer truck or railroad car and loading these materials directly into outbound trucks, trailers, or rail cars, with little or no storage in between.

This will allow for someone to be pulled off another activity to assist with the incoming shipment incase of a shortage.

Crowdsourcing is a sourcing model in which individuals or organizations obtain goods and services, including ideas, voting, micro-tasks and finances, from a large, relatively open and often rapidly evolving group of participants.

A decentralized digital currency that is secured using cryptography.

A symmetrical three-dimensional shape, either solid or hollow, contained by six equal squares.

Using the ceiling space for storage in a warehouse.

Volume is measured in "cubic" units. The volume of a figure is the number of cubes required to fill it completely, like blocks in a box. Volume of a cube = side times side times side. Since each side of a square is the same, it can simply be the length of one side cubed.

Culture is a the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another.

Cumulative Lead Time is the total accumulated time for an end item to be available for sale. This will include the time to source and purchase all raw materials needed for the manufacture of the item. This includes time for purchase order approval, time for supplier to supply, time for delivery to our warehouse and time for receiving and inspection. In also includes time for the manufacture of the end item though all levels of the bill of material. The cumulative lead time is calculated to include all time until the item is available for sale, so this will also include the time taken to receive the finished product from production unto the FG warehouse.

Company goal is to maximize customer satisfaction and win the confidence of consumers. 

Customer Demand Planning (CDP) is a business-planning process that enables sales teams to develop demand forecasts as input to service-planning processes, production, inventory planning and revenue planning.

Is a single-item metric that measures how much effort a customer must exert to get an issue resolved, a request fulfilled, a product purchased/returned, or a question answered.

Customer-relationship management is an approach to manage a company's interaction with current and potential customers. It uses data analysis about customers' history with a company to improve business relationships with customers, specifically focusing on customer retention and ultimately driving sales growth

Is used by customer service professionals to measure a customer's feelings regarding a recent interaction.

A written document that employees follow when dealing with customers who are not satisfied with the company's products or services. It also lists how all employees should behave so as to improve the overall experience for customers

A customer service standard is the specified level that is required in any interaction between any organisation and its customers. Customer service standards are based on expected levels of excellence, response time, accessibility, delivery time and commitment. All trade, commerce and business lead back to the customer, so it is essential that the company continuously strives to improve the level of service that they deliver.

Customer Value can be defined as the difference between the perceived benefits that flow from a purchase, or a relationship and the total costs incurred. 

Cycle inventory is the inventory that a company cycles to satisfy regular and on-going demand. It is the inventory that a company expects to sell, or use in the manufacturing process for a given period of time.

Cycle stock is the inventory that you manufacture with the intention of selling, so by using a lead strategy you may end up with more inventory at any given time because it has not as yet been shipped to a customer.

The total time from the beginning to the end of your process, as defined by you and your customer. Cycle time includes process time, during which a unit is acted upon to bring it closer to an output, and delay time, during which a unit of work is spent waiting to take the next action.

Cyclicality in time series refers to the extent to which the projected sales are influenced by general business cycles which tend to be longer than 1 year. Some products have a fairly constant demand as they move through the product lifecycle. A cyclical pattern shows a constant growth with slight vari-ation in demand, but moving in an upward pattern.

Distribution Centre 

Materials may become damaged during the manufacturing process and these must be replaced in order for the production to continue.

This calculation works out how long inventory will last in stock be-fore it runs out. 

a term used for slowing down an order. This can be necessary when the sequence of operations changes within the factory. This means a slowing down of material issues too so that there is not excessive inventory on the shop floor.

Decentralized warehousing is the method of holding inventory at many smaller warehouses spread out in different areas for distribution to local customers.

The action or process of deciding something or of resolving a question.

Is a period of contraction or downturn in the economy.

The market for the product will start to shrink, and this is known as the decline stage. This could be due to the market becoming saturated as all the customers who will buy the product have already purchased it, or because the consumers are switching to a another type or a newer model of the product.

Is an expense that can be subtracted from taxable income in order to reduce the amount owed.

To state precisely the meaning of words, terms, etc.

A contract is a legally binding agreement between 2 or more parties. It is used in various legal situations and is therefore legally binding.

“Contract” means the written agreement entered into between the purchaser and the supplier, as recorded in the contract form signed by the parties, including all attachments and appendices thereto and all documents incorporated by reference therein.”

Means removing all damaged and expired products, as well as other items that are cluttering the warehouse or storage room sometimes for many years to free up space and use best practices to organize the warehouse.

Refers to transferring responsibility for specific tasks from one person to another.

The term "demurrage" from Old French demeurage, from demeurer – to linger, tarry – originated in vessel chartering and referred to the period when the charterer remained in possession of the vessel after the period normally allowed to load and unload cargo.

The numerical system which has 10 digits as its base.

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9

This system is used by most civilisations possibly because we have 4 fingers and 1 thumb on each hand also giving us a total of 10 digits over both hands.

Is the demand for component parts, raw materials, or sub-assemblies. This demand does not occur until there is demand for a parent item, which is typically a product.

Is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought.

The reduction of the value of an asset over time.

A severe recession 

Demurrage refers to the charge that the merchant pays for the use of the container within the terminal beyond the free time period. Detention refers to the charge that the merchant pays for the use of the container outside of the terminal or depot, beyond the free time period.

The action of departing from an established course or accepted standard.

A secondary window that allows users to perform a command, asks users a question, or provides users with information or progress feedback.

A Digital archive is used for storing documents electronically. It is a long-term storage mechanism using a computer directory or folder that contains copies of files for backup or future reference.

Collections of digital data stored in this way as a computer file containing one or more compressed files

Refers to a company's combined attempts to engage customers through digital methods.

A measurable extent of a particular kind, such as length, breadth, depth, or height.

Material plus labour involved in producing goods.

Selling directly to consumers via a single channel by means of a single delivery and includes selling via direct mail, a catalogue of products or its own eCommerce site. 

Make (secret or new information) known.

An expense that is not necessary (wants vs. needs) and can be reduced.

A Dispatch List is a document that contains a detailed listing of all the goods that need to be produced based on the priority. It is generally shared with the production team via the internal system or a hard copy.

Disposable income is the amount of money that a household will have available to spend on items other than typical living expenses such as rent, lease payments, credit accounts etc. 

A distribution centre is a storage facility where goods are temporarily stored before being distributed to retail outlets. A DC can be used for value-adding processes, cross-docking, sorting and assembly.

A distribution channel strategy is a plan for reaching customers with products and services. 

A distribution network is the entire chain of distribution intermediaries, from the supplier to the consumer.

Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status.

A sum of money paid regularly (typically annually) by a company to its shareholders out of its profits

A recoiling or resilient device that is attached to a dock in order to absorb the impact of a hit by a truck or any other transportation device.

A dock leveller is used to bridge the difference in height and distance between the warehouse floor and vehicle in the most efficient way.

Is used to dry dock and launch ships. It consists of a structural platform that is lifted and lowered exactly vertically, synchronously by a number of hoist.

Looks at the demand side of the supply chain toward the final assembly unit, retailer, and consumer. It is a part of a supply chain system or process or relationship between a company and its final user or customer.

A drone, in technological terms, is an unmanned aircraft. Drones are more formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft systems (UASes). Essentially, a drone is a flying robot that can be remotely controlled or fly autonomously through software-controlled flight plans in their embedded systems, working in conjunction with onboard sensors and GPS.

A process of gathering, analysing and evaluating supplier’s background information

Dunnage is material employed to protect a given cargo from damages that may occur during transportation. It is normally cheap or waste material that is employed to secure items being shipped.

Dyadic relationship is a collaboration and information sharing type of relationship between the agents of supply chain.

Refers to all aspects of operating an online business, ecommerce refers specifically to the transaction of goods and services.

Also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions.

Environmental Impact Assessments

Electronic Point Of Sale – A system at the retailer’s point of sale to capture details about the individual transactions made by customers, with the ability to extract this data to understand buying patterns, demand activity and customer behaviours

European Union. A union of countries based on the continent of Europe where agreements are made related to common currency, trade relations, border controls etc.

The concept of Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) is that organisations involve suppliers at an early stage in the product or service development/innovation process. Ideally the suppliers are involved as early as the conceptual de-sign stage although this could be a challenge. 

Economic development is a broader term, and is often defined based on what a country is trying to accomplish, and not by what is has achieved. A country’s economic development is generally the focus of local governments to improve standard of living through the creation of jobs, the support of innovation and new ideas, creation of higher wealth for all and striving towards overall better quality of life. Objectives include new schools, public safety enhancement, incentivizing new businesses to open locations in a community, infrastructure programs (roads and facilities) and small business development programs to promote job creation.

A period of sustained economic expansion.

Is the study of consumer choices and the behaviours that effect those choices. 

The ability of an economy to support a defined level of economic production indefinitely.

The way in which a society or country organizes and distributes goods and resources.

These are the cost advantages that a business can exploit by expanding their scale of production. The effect of economies of scale is to reduce the average (unit) costs of production and purchasing.

The amount the company receives after accounting for discounts, promotions, and other incentives.

In any business, one of the heaviest drains on profitability is waste, the core principle in lean methodology is the removal of waste within an operation. The 8 wastes of lean manufacturing include: Defects, Excess Processing, Overproduction, Waiting, Inventory, Transportation, Motion, and Non-Utilized Talent.

The transfer of information and data electronically between systems, usually different organisations, such as retailer and supplier or logistics provider.

Refers to the probability of an event occurring when an experiment is conducted.

To give someone authority or power to do something.

The ability of the environment to support a defined level of environmental quality, and natural resource extraction rates, indefinitely.

Where the demand for a product meets the supply for a product.

The amount the business owes to the owners and/or shareholders.

Money from a person or institution who takes a share of the company in return for capital.

Ethical behaviour in governance is defined as the way in which an organization’s stakeholders try to manage collective action from the perspective, and in the interest, of the majority, thereby avoiding damaging behaviours, and through a better control of the power and responsibilities of the organization’s managers.

A system of shared and transparent governance which seeks to establish the general frameworks and guidelines for managers of large organizations by enforcing the values of transparency, responsibility and professionalism.

Refers to the discipline that examines one’s moral standards or the moral standards of a society to evaluate their reasonableness and their implications for one’s life.

Ethnocentrism is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behaviour, customs, and religion

The European Council of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering (Euro-CASE) is a European non-profit organization, which groups 19 to 20 European national academies of engineering, applied sciences and technology. The organization provides a European forum for exchange and consultation between European institutions, industry, research, and national governments.

The mission of the organization is to pursue, encourage and maintain excellence in the fields of engineering, applied sciences and technology, and promote their science, art and practice.

Another form of scrap is where there is excess materials and cut-offs as a result of the manufacturing process.

The cost of one currency by another.

A tax charged on specific products, such as fuel, alcohol, and tobacco.

A senior executive within the buyer organisation that has overall executive responsibility for the relational development between the organisation and nominated key suppliers.

a term used for hurrying something along. The term is used both in production and in purchasing. If a job or a purchase order is late, some-one will be assigned to expedite. Expediting requires detailed monitoring of the progress of the order and examining the delays at every step along the way. If there is a problem that can be resolved, the expeditor will address this in order to speed up the order.

Refers to the probability of an event occurring when an experiment is conducted.

Expired inventory is often a problem for companies that deal in items that may spoil. ... Unsold food items have a potential to spoil and become a cost on the company’s accounting books. Accountants often track inventory and account for all items, whether ready to sell or spoiled.

Goods and services that are produced in one country and sold to another.

Free on Board

The vehicle transporting goods is filled to capacity, hence the term Full Truck Load.

The resources used in the creation of goods and services, and are the foundation of an economy.

The neglect or omission of expected or required action.

Goods which do not have a shelf life as such, but are fast moving nonetheless. Such products are appliances, electronic goods, books etc.

An assessment of the practicality of a proposed project or system

A contract for a monetary asset, that can be purchased, traded, created, modified, or settled for. The contract places each party under obligation to do something.

The conclusions reached after analysis.

Permanent assets which will not be convert into cash in the short term.

Money used to buy fixed assets.

Is the amount of business expenditure which does not change in direct proportion to the quantity that is manufactured, bought or sold.

An account that allows for a sum of money is invested for a fixed period of time at a fixed rate of interest.

Expenses that occur every month, and the amount does not vary.

A loan repayable over a fixed term, also called a term loan.

When a government or central bank tie the exchange rate of that country to another’s exchange rate, or to the price of gold.

When a currency fluctuates according to foreign exchange (forex) market events.

The calculation of food miles is the total distance that goods will travel from the source to the end consumer. 

Forecasts are predictions about the future. The better those predictions, the more informed decisions can be.

Is the trading of different national currencies.

Foreign Sectors are transactions with foreign countries, which include imports and exports of goods and services as well as capital movements.

Forward contract is an exchange rate that is set now for currencies that are to be exchanged at a future date

 Crude oil, coal and natural gas are all considered fossil fuels. They have been formed from the fossilized, buried remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. They are irreplaceable once they have been consumed making this an unsustainable form of energy.

The fourth industrial revolution, also sometimes referred to as Industry 4.0, is a term used to describe the digitalisation that is occurring across entire value chain processes in many companies.

It has introduced the pervasive use of digital technology to manage, track and monitor every aspect of business processes.

Fraud is an act of deliberate deception, with the intention of gaining some benefits.

Is when a seller quotes a price that includes the cost of ship-ping, thereby passing the full cost of shipping onto the buyer. 

Free Trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports, i.e. without tariffs, quotas or other restrictions

Goods or cargo distributed in bulk by various means of transport.

Their role is to provide necessary customs and documentation services.  

A discrete measurement defined as the percentage of orders delivered to the right place, with the right product, at the right time, in the right condition, in the right package, in the right quantity, with the right documentation, to the right customer, with the correct invoice. 

This is a third-party (3PL) warehouse where warehousing, order processing, picking, packing, and shipping for eCommerce partners is handled.

FCL (full container load) is an ocean shipment in which the cargo occupies a full container (of any size). An FCL shipment can be stuffed at the supplier, and then trucked directly to the CY (container yard): The container can either be live unloaded at the destination, or the trucker can do a drop.

An activity that is natural to or the purpose of a person or thing.

Global Positioning System is an accurate worldwide navigational and surveying facility based on the reception of signals from an array of orbiting satellites.

A bridge-like overhead structure with a platform supporting equipment such as a crane, signals, or cameras.

A technique that an organisation uses to determine steps needed to move from its current state to desired future state.

Gearing refers to the level of a company’s debt related to its equity capital, usually expressed in percentage form. It is a measure of a company’s financial leverage and shows the extent to which its operations are funded by lenders versus shareholders. The term "gearing" also refers to the ratio between a company’s stock price and the price of its warrants.

A record of all of a business’s transactions, written on the date they occur.

The term global village represents the simplifying of the whole world into one village through the use of electronic media. Global village is also a term to express the constituting relationship between economics and other social sciences throughout the world.

A Goal is a general outcome statement.

A consumer tax on goods and services sold domestically, charged by the seller and passed on to the government.

'Gravity Flow Racking' is a storage system that relies on gravity flow to load, organize, and retrieve stored cartons or pallets within a warehouse. Maximizing space and efficiency, gravity flow racks will save your business money, improve your productivity, and increase safety for your employees

Refers to operations conducted within a regime where environmental pressures, such as road congestion, air pollution, fuel efficiency and waste minimisation are key determining factors in policy decisions.

The Gross Domestic Product measures the value of economic activity within a country. Strictly defined, GDP is the sum of the market values, or prices, of all final goods and services produced in an economy during a period of time.

The difference between price and cost divided by price.

Is two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have a stable relationship, a common goal, and perceive themselves to be a group.

Changes that may occur in any part of the group and bring out actions and reactions in the group structure that affects group members. 

The process of reorganizing and grouping products to be managed collectively in the warehouse and during transportation

Is a mode of thinking that occurs when the members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise the alternative courses of action.

This stage is usually characterized by a strong growth in sales and profits, and because the company can start to benefit from economies of scale in production or sales, the profit margins, as well as the overall amount of profit, will increase, and makes it possible for businesses to invest more money in the promotional activity to maximize the growth.

Hard Currency is the currency with value that can buy other currencies or goods.

(not so good)

The situation where most of the "borrowing" comes from long term loans, usually bank loans with a monthly interest rate that must be paid every month with dire consequences if payments are missed.

The hinterland is described as the inland area beyond the coastal region where goods are transported from to reach the sea port. It is also used to describe rural areas away from larger cities.

Allows a company to buy an asset by paying off the cost on a monthly basis.

It's an empty space, caused by few items being stored.

Horizontal integration involves any moves related to the same “level” of the chain as the organization making them. Integration could include merging with or purchasing firms that supply similar products, such as a central processing unit (CPU) manufacturer buying another in order to serve a larger swath of the CPU market. This type of relationship could help the firm gain many more customers, and give them greater control over the price and supply of CPUs.

A system used for transportation and distribution where there is a large central distribution centre where goods are stored and/or managed (hub) and smaller satellite centres (spoke) to which goods are transported for storage, cross-docking and/or repackaging before being delivered to consumers.

In disaster relief is the efficient and effective management of humanitarian emergency assistance supplies from source to recipients.   

Competition where products and services differ, prices are not set solely by supply and demand, market share varies between companies, and customers may not have all the information regarding product availability and prices.

Import tariffs are duties or taxes on products imported into a country. They are used to protect domestic firms against competition from imports

Goods and services that are produced in one country and brought to another.

Money received, especially on a regular basis, for work or through investments.

Incoterms are a set of contractual conditions or terms that can be adopted into international contracts and which are designed to be understood and interpreted correctly on a worldwide basis.

It occurs by the request of customers for products, kit products, service parts. This demand also individually and independently happens for each item, and has no relationship with other items.

A clause that can form a complete sentence standing alone, having a subject and a predicate.

A distribution channel which makes use of more than one intermediary to move goods from the manufacturer to the customer.

Of or for a particular person

Is something that is incapable of being divided or separated into parts.

Is the process through which employees adjust or acclimatise to their new jobs and working environment.

A industry is a classification of a group of product or services that relate to each other. Industries are generally named after the main product or service used in the sector, for example the Automotive Industry or the Entertainment Industry. 

a. The capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behaviour, opinions, etc., of others: He used family influence to get the contract.  

b. The action or process of producing effects on the actions, behaviour, opinions, etc., of another or others: Her mother's influence made her stay.  

c. A person or thing that exerts influence: He is an influence for the good”. 

An information silo is an information management system that is unable to freely communicate with other information management systems. Communication within an information silo is always vertical, making it difficult or impossible for the system to work with unrelated systems.

Creates brand awareness and knowledge of new products or new features of existing products. 

Is a small cross-functional team of senior managers that oversee and direct innovation management activities across all business functions

What is put in, taken in, or operated on by any process or system.

Unable to pay debts owed.

Is where the business uses its own resources and people to accomplish a task rather outsourcing.

Inspection can be described as the process of examining, measuring, testing, or gauging the characteristics of a product or a service.  By comparing the results of the inspection with required specifications, one can determine whether conformity is achieved for each characteristic.

An arrangement by which a company or the state undertakes to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a specified premium

A product that cannot be touched but represents a service which is offered, such as an insurance policy, bus tickets or cell phone airtime. These products are also considered consumer goods, although they are not all sold through a physical retail store. They can however be sold on-line and many retail stores do also offer an opportunity to purchase these products thorough a retail store.

Assets that are not physical, so they cannot be seen, felt or touched.

Integrated operations refers to the integration of people, disciplines, organizations, work processes and information and communication technology to make smarter decisions. In short, IO is collaboration with focus on production.

The charge made for borrowing money, typically charged over a year.

Also seen as a „middle man‟. Intermediary is a company or person (such as a broker or consultant) who acts as a mediator or a link between parties for a business deal, investment decision, negotiation, and so forth.

A term to denote that more than one mode of transport has been used to complete a journey, i.e. more than one of the following in a variety of different combinations; road, rail, air, water. 

A container or pallet suitable for multimodal transport

Internal Stakeholders are those parties, either individual or group, that participate in the running of the company

They may influence and may be influenced by the success or failure of the business or its people, because they have a vested interest in the organisation

An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The International Maritime Organization is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping.

Intrepid is the hub for motivated, creative visionary entrepreneurs who want to launch and continually grow as a passion drive founder.

This is the most expensive stage for a company launching a new product. The initial size of the market for the product is usually small (not always, think of Apple launching a new iPhone), which means sales are low, although they will be increasing.

Inventory level refers to the amount of inventory.

This policy outlines guidelines and accounting policies to ensure that inventory is properly controlled and costed, and losses or shortages are prevented. It applies to all inventory items, including raw materials/parts, work in progress, and finished goods and consigned inventory.

Is a planning process which measures the rate at which inventory is used againts how much is purchased at a time.

A supply chain network/group composed of buyers and sellers, working closely to ensure each other’s success

Think of a KPI as something like an instrument on a car dashboard, such as a speedometer. If you are driving your car and you wish to maintain a speed of 60 KPH, you will use your speedometer to maintain that speed. You will drive a little faster if your speedometer needle drops below 60 KPH or you will slow down if it climbs above the required speed. You will use a KPI in the same way as your car’s speedometer. The only difference is that in most cases, you won’t wish to lower performance when a business activity exceeds the required standard. In fact, if your car has a fuel consumption gauge and you use this to try and drive economically, then you are making use of a bona fide KPI.

Lead Logistics Providers

Lift-on/lift-off or LoLo ships are cargo ships with on-board cranes to load and unload cargo. While the common abbreviation of lift-on/lift-off is LoLo, it is sometimes abbreviated as LOLO, LO/LO or Lo/Lo. Ships with cranes or other cargo handling equipment on-board are also termed geared vessels.

The vehicle transporting goods is not filled to capacity, there is space in the vehicle to transport additional goods. Hence the term Less than Full Truck Load.

Work, especially physical work.

A large goods vehicle, also called a heavy goods vehicle, is the European Union term for any truck with a gross combination mass of over 3,500 kg. Sub-category N2 is used for vehicles between 3,500 kg and 12,000 kg and N3 for all goods vehicles over 12,000 kg as defined in Directive 2001/116/EC.

Is the final movement of the goods from a distribution hub or warehouse to is last final destination which may be a personal residence. The last leg of the journey is often the most costly portion of the journey as it requires many different transportation means for the goods to reach such a vast number of individual destinations.

The phenomenon that prices tend to be higher when demand is high in relation to supply and low when supply is high in relation to demand.

Is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a common goal.

Leadership could be taken as a process or act of influencing the work and actions of an organized group to lay down its objectives and achieving them.

Leadership is the behaviour of an individual when he is directing the activities of a group towards a shared goal.

Leadership is the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants. A leader is one who successfully marshals his human collaborators to achieve particular ends.

Leadership is a process of giving purpose or meaningful direction to the collective effort and causing willing effort to be expended to achieve a purpose.

Leadership is an interaction between two or more members of a group that often involves a structuring or restructuring of the situation and the perceptions and expectations of members. Leadership occurs when one group member modifies the motivation or competencies of others in the group.

Leadership is the process of interactive influence that occurs when, in a given context, some people accept someone as their leader to achieve common goals.

Leadership was a process by which an individual motivated or influenced others to achieve organizational goals.

Involves influencing others towards the attainment of organizational objectives.

Simply, lean means creating more value for customers with fewer resources. A lean organization understands customer value and focuses its key processes to continuously increase it. The ultimate goal is to provide perfect value to the customer through a perfect value creation process that has zero waste.

Lean manufacturing or lean production is a business and operations improvement methodology and culture which has as its foundation and main objective to minimize wasted resources, maximize the output in a value adding process with a set amount of inputs and reduce costs .

Lean Supply the elimination of duplication of effort and capability (i.e. costs and waste) at any and all points of the supply chain.

Legislation (or "statutory law") is law which has been promulgated (or "enacted") by a legislature or other governing body or the process of making it.[1] Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to as "legislation", while it remains under consideration to distinguish it from other business. Legislation can have many purposes: to regulate, to authorize, to outlaw, to provide (funds), to sanction, to grant, to declare or to restrict. It may be contrasted with a non-legislative act which is adopted by an executive or administrative body under the authority of a legislative act or for implementing a legislative act.

LCL (Less-than-container Load) is a shipping term used to describe container loads which are filled by multiple orders or goods. When shipping a small volume of stock by container ship, it's more economical to combine your delivery with other orders.

A liability is defined as a company's legal financial debts or obligations that arise during the course of business operations. Liabilities are settled over time through the transfer of economic benefits including money, goods or services. Recorded on the right side of the balance sheet, liabilities include loans, accounts payable, mortgages, deferred revenues and accrued expenses.

A genuine attempt at estimating the loss that will arise from the contract breach

This ratio evaluates the ability of a company to pay short-term obligations using current assets (cash, marketable securities, current receivables, inventory, and prepayments). The higher this ratio, the better it is. 

Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities

Litigation is taking legal action through courts.

A marketing and research tool used to classify standards of living and disposable income of potential consumers.

When someone grants the business a sum of money for a period, with the understanding that it must be paid back within a certain period of time at a given interest rate.

Money borrowed to run the business.

Is the term given for the interconnectedness of the different elements which comprise the end-to-end supply chain and logistics management. This includes making using of the Internet of Things (IoT), cyber-physical systems, emerging technologies, advanced data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This is also known as Smart Supply Chain.

Logistics strategy is the set of defining principles and service levels that help to coordinate goals, plans and policies to optimize the Supply Chain of an organisation.

Debt that must be repaid over a longer period.

Refers to the quantity of an item ordered for delivery on a specific date or manufactured in a single production run.

(Good)

Shows that most of the "borrowing" to buy assets from the company shareholders - Shareholders get paid in dividends, once or twice a year, and only if the company makes a profit.

Containers designed to fit inside an aircraft. Cargo may be transported in lower deck containers. If the aircraft carries passengers as well, lower deck containers are placed below the cabin.

Incorporates wider factors in the market and society in which the organization operates.

 Is the name for an item or place within which ammunition or other explosive material is stored.

MRO refers to any supplies or goods that are used within the production process, but that aren't part of the final product.

Is a process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, the human resources, financial, physical, and information resources of an organization to reach its goals efficiently and effectively.

Measures the efficiency of extending credit and collecting the same. It indicates the average number of times in a year a company collects its open accounts. A high ratio implies efficient credit and collection process.

Receivable Turnover = Net Credit Sales / Average Accounts Receivable

List price, or recommended retail price (RRP) of a product is the price the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell the product for.

The manufacturing lead time is the time period between the placement of an order and the shipment of the completed order to the customer. A short manufacturing lead time is a competitive advantage; many customers want the delivery of their products as soon as possible following the placement of the order. Manufacturing lead time consists of wait time and throughput time.

Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) is an integrated information system used by businesses. Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) evolved from early Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) systems by including the integration of additional data, such as employee and financial needs. The system is designed to centralize, integrate and process information for effective decision making in scheduling, design engineering, inventory management and cost control in manufacturing.

The benefit gained in supplying an additional item or service.

The amount it will cost to add the item or service.

The difference between price and cost divided by cost. 

Market Economy also known as a Market System is a system allowing people to produce, sell, determine the how and what of this production and selling. The laws of supply and demand direct the production of goods and services.

Driven by free markets with no interference from government. Prices are determined by the laws of supply and demand.

When a company lower’s prices in order to reach the highest amount of customers.

A master production schedule (MPS) is a plan for individual commodities to be produced in each time period such as production, staffing, inventory, etc. It is usually linked to manufacturing where the plan indicates when and how much of each product will be demanded.

Matching is the process performed for goods and services ordered through a purchase order that takes place during receiving and approval processes.  

The "match" refers to comparing the quantities, price per unit, terms, and other information appearing on the three documents.  

Matching rights typically exist alongside rights of first refusal and usually bite after a right of refusal period has passed. A matching right is a promise that: “If any other person makes me an offer for my rights, I will come to you and, if you are willing to make me the same offer, I will sell you those rights.”