Procurement & Supply Chain Glossary

ABC analysis helps classify inventory products into specific categories A, B, and C based on their importance and value. It helps businesses understand and prioritize inventory or stock from high to low value.

Accounts payable is the total amount a business needs to pay to its suppliers in exchange for goods and services purchased on credit. It is also referred to as the process of managing supplier invoices.

Uses AI and intelligent technologies to organize, clean, govern, monitor, and optimize data for better business decisions.

AI-powered procurement is a software or a tool integrated with artificial intelligence to automate and streamline the entire purchasing process. It assists businesses with supplier selection, inventory analysis, bidding, data cleansing, spend tracking, and other actionable insights for better decision-making.

Clean, structured, accurate, and well-organized data prepared for use in AI models, analytics, and automation.

An Approval Workflow defines the suitable steps and stakeholders involved in the complete process of approval for purchase, contract, invoicing, and other business activities. However, it also ensures that every purchase follows the company's policies.

B2B eCommerce is a comprehensive platform assisting businesses to buy and sell products or services. It also helps to discover genuine suppliers, compare products, and place orders digitally.

A B2B marketplace platform is a reliable and efficient platform that connects buyers and sellers. It helps businesses discover a variety of products, suppliers, and conduct online transactions.

The combination of B2B and B2C transactions leads to a powerful business model called B2B2C. A Business-to-Business-to-Consumer is a business model where one business sells a product or service through another business to reach the consumer.

A bid is an offer created by a supplier that includes pricing, delivery terms, specifications, and other commercial conditions in response to a buyer’s purchasing opportunity, such as an RFQ or RFP.

A bill of materials contains the complete details of all components, raw materials, and quantities required to manufacture a specific product. It assists businesses in planning their product and procurement accordingly.

Catalog management is the process of creating, updating, organizing, and maintaining product information in a specific purchasing catalog. It helps buyers find accurate products and prices effortlessly.

Category management is the proper and systematic management of products and services inside a particular category. It primarily focuses on improving the overall supplier performance, reducing cost, and enhancing purchasing efficiency.

Contract management is the process of creation, approval, execution, monitoring, and renewal of various business contracts. It also helps in defining the contractual terms and obligations.

Cost Savings refers to reducing the amount spent on products, services, or operations. Businesses achieve savings through better sourcing, negotiation, pricing, and process efficiency.

Data cleansing helps in identifying and correcting inaccurate, duplicate, outdated, and even incomplete data. It also assists in supporting business decisions and data quality.

Identifies and removes duplicate records to maintain a clean, accurate, and reliable dataset.

Enhances existing data by adding relevant information from internal or external sources to improve its value and accuracy.

Data governance is a wider terminology which helps businesses manage their data quality, ownership, security, and other usage across various organizations. It helps maintain data accuracy and consistency.

Combines data from multiple sources by aligning different formats and definitions into a unified view.

Converts data into a consistent format, structure, and naming convention across different systems.

Demand Planning is the process of estimating future demand and aligning inventory, procurement, and supply with expected requirements. It helps reduce shortages and excess inventory.

Digital Procurement uses digital technologies to manage purchasing and sourcing activities. It replaces manual processes with automated, connected, and data-driven workflows.

Dual Catalog Access allows buyers to access and purchase from two or more product catalogs through a single procurement platform. It provides greater product choice and purchasing flexibility.

An e-Auction is an online bidding process where suppliers compete electronically for a purchasing opportunity. It helps buyers discover competitive prices and improve sourcing outcomes.

e-Procurement is the use of digital platforms to manage purchasing activities such as requisitions, approvals, purchase orders, and invoices. It makes procurement faster and more transparent.

Organizes, maintains, and governs data within ERP systems to ensure accuracy, consistency, and accessibility.

ERP Integration connects a procurement or business platform with an Enterprise Resource Planning system. It enables seamless exchange of data such as products, suppliers, orders, and invoices.

A Forward Auction is an online auction where buyers compete by increasing their bids to purchase goods or services. The highest eligible bid generally wins.

Fulfilment is the process of completing a customer order from order receipt to delivery. It can include picking, packing, shipping, and tracking.

Global Sourcing involves finding and purchasing products or services from suppliers across different countries. It helps businesses access competitive prices, capabilities, and supply markets.

A GRN is the document that helps in confirming the ordered and received goods. It records details such as quantities, item conditions, and receipt dates.

Industrial CRM is known as a customer relationship management system designed for assisting various types of industries and B2B businesses with managing their customers, sales, activities, leads, orders, and other business relationships.

Intelligent procurement is the combination of automation in handling purchasing data, analytics, and AI technology to improve the overall procurement process and better decision-making.

Inventory Optimization ensures businesses maintain the right amount of stock at the right time. It helps balance product availability with inventory holding costs.

Invoice Reconciliation compares invoices with purchase orders and goods receipt records to verify accuracy. It helps identify pricing, quantity, or billing discrepancies before payment.

Last-Mile Delivery is the final stage of delivering an order from a distribution point to the customer. It directly impacts delivery speed, cost, and customer experience.

Lead Time is the time between placing an order and receiving the required goods or services. It helps businesses plan to purchase, inventory, and production schedules.

Master Data Management is the process of creating and maintaining consistent core business data. It manages information such as products, suppliers, customers, and locations.

Maverick Spend is purchasing made outside approved procurement processes, contracts, or suppliers. It can reduce cost control and increase compliance risks.

MRO refers to the products and supplies required to maintain and operate business facilities and equipment. Examples include tools, safety equipment, electrical items, and maintenance supplies.

Non-Moving Inventory refers to stock that has not been sold, used, or issued for a long period. It can tie up working capital and increase storage costs.

Order-to-Delivery Visibility provides real-time information about an order from placement through delivery. It helps businesses track order status and identify delays.

OTP-Based Onboarding uses a one-time password to verify a user's or supplier's identity during registration. It makes onboarding faster and adds an extra layer of verification.

Predictive Analytics uses historical and current data to predict future outcomes and trends. In procurement, it can support demand, pricing, risk, and supplier predictions.

Price Benchmarking compares the prices paid by a business with market prices, supplier quotes, or historical prices. It helps identify competitive pricing and savings opportunities.

Procure-to-Pay is the complete purchasing process, which covers everything from the purchase request to pay the supplier. It typically includes requisition, approval, PO, receipt, invoice, and payment.

A Purchase Order is an official document issued by a buyer to a supplier to request goods or services. It typically specifies quantities, prices, delivery details, and terms.

A Purchase Requisition is an internal request to purchase goods or services. It usually requires approval before a Purchase Order is created.

Quotation Turnaround Time is the time a supplier takes to respond to a request for quotation. A shorter turnaround can help buyers make faster purchase decisions.

Quote comparison is a process of comparing various quotations provided by the suppliers on the basis of price, specification, delivery time, payment terms, and other essential factors.

Real-Time Inventory Tracking provides up-to-date information about stock levels and movements. It helps businesses monitor availability and make timely replenishment decisions.

A Reverse Auction is an online bidding process where suppliers compete by offering lower prices to win a buyer's requirement. It can help businesses achieve competitive procurement costs.

An RFQ is a formal request sent to suppliers asking them to provide pricing and commercial details for specific products or services. It helps buyers compare supplier offers.

An SKU is a unique code used to identify and track a specific product or product variant. It helps businesses manage inventory, orders, and stock movements.

Slow-Moving Inventory refers to products that sell or are consumed less frequently than expected. It can increase storage costs and tie up working capital.

Sourcing is the complete and comprehensive process of finding, examining, and approving suppliers for specific products or services. It also includes other activities like the discovery of suppliers, quotation, negotiation, and choosing the right product.

Spend Analytics involves analyzing procurement spending data to understand where and how money is being spent. It helps identify savings, supplier consolidation, and purchasing opportunities.

Supplier Onboarding is the process of registering and verifying a new supplier in an organization's procurement system. It may include collecting companies, taxes, banking, and compliance information.

A Supplier Scorecard measures supplier performance using factors such as quality, price, delivery, service, and compliance. It helps businesses evaluate and improve supplier relationships.

Technical Evaluation assesses whether a supplier's product or solution meets the required technical specifications and standards. It is often performed before commercial evaluation.

Total Cost of Ownership is the complete cost of buying and using a product or service over its lifecycle. It can include purchase, delivery, maintenance, operating, and disposal costs.

Unit of Measure defines how a product or service is quantified for purchasing, selling, or inventory purposes. Common examples include pieces, kilograms, litres, and metres.

UNSPSC Classification is a standardized coding system used to categorize products and services. It helps organizations organize catalogs, analyze spending, and improve procurement data.

Vendor Management is the process of managing supplier relationships, performance, contracts, and compliance. It helps businesses maintain reliable and cost-effective supplier partnerships.

Voice of Customer refers to collecting and analyzing customer feedback, needs, expectations, and preferences. It helps businesses improve their products, services, and customer experiences.

Warehouse Management involves controlling and optimizing activities inside a warehouse. It includes receiving, storage, picking, packing, inventory tracking, and dispatching.

Workflow Automation uses technology to automatically execute repetitive business processes based on predefined rules. It reduces manual work, speeds up approvals, and improves process accuracy.