Glossary of terms

(of goods and services) – The process of obtaining goods or services to meet the needs of the enterprise.

– A mid-level job title in many purchasing organizations used to describe all individuals engaged in purchasing activities, regardless of their rank in the organization.

– an informal association of peers with a common set of interests expressed via a website. In the case of SupplierEvaluations, our community includes representatives of the purchasing profession and suppliers working with them.

– users of the community website that can contribute to the community via submitting content to the community website, participating in blogs and forums, and purchasing content from the site.

– in this particular case relates to the process of collaboration between buyers and suppliers.

– see FAQ

– set of criteria that provide a good understanding of supplier performance against expectations.

– direct experience of a community member in working with a selected supplier. This includes supplier selection, negotiations, buying from the supplier, resolving issues along the way, etc.

– information gap of supplier performance data that exists between suppliers in the developing countries and buyers in the developed countries.

– written input received from buyer members about suppliers with whom they have worked.

(with suppliers)– level of relationship with suppliers that allows leveraging supplier resources as an extension of your own business and achieving the most beneficial outcome for both parties.

– as it relates to the information exchange of our community members, being professional peers and benefiting from direct input from colleagues.

– measurement of supplier success in meeting expectations and commitments. This includes multiple parameters; see Performance Evaluation below.

– set of predefined key performance indicators, such as overall value, quality, production capacity, on time delivery, service, cost, and managerial capabilities. Typically, many of these are negotiated as part of the supplier contract.

– comparison of the actual results to a planned level or standard to determine the degree of achievement as well as opportunities for improvement.

– acquisition of goods and/or services at the best possible total cost of ownership, in the right quantity and quality, at the right time, in the right place, and from the right source for the direct benefit or use of corporations or individuals, generally via a contract. Simple procurement may involve nothing more than repeat purchasing. Complex procurement could involve finding long-term partners or even "co-destiny" suppliers that might fundamentally commit one organization to another.

– acquisition of goods and/or services to accomplish the goals of the enterprise. Typically, the word "purchasing" is not used interchangeably with the word "procurement," since procurement typically also includes Expediting, Supplier Quality, and Traffic and Logistics (T&L), in addition to Purchasing.

– Degree to which a set of inherent characteristics (of the product or service) fulfills predefined requirements (ISO 9000 definition).

(of supplier) – see Supplier Qualification below.

(with suppliers) – a process of interacting with a supplier organization to accomplish mutually stated goals and objectives.

– based on the definition by the international Chamber of Commerce, SME is a commercial organization with 100 to 2000 employees.

– term used to define the entire purchasing cycle. It covers identifying sources that could provide required products or services for the organization.

(Supplier Performance Evaluation) - analysis of existing or new suppliers on the basis of key performance indicators, such as overall value, quality, production capacity, on time delivery, service, cost, and managerial capabilities.

– a Supplier Performance Evaluation Report is produced from the collection of SPE submissions by our members.

– an organization that supplies goods and/or services to its customers.

– ability of supplier to meet and exceed performance expectations negotiated with its customers.

– a process for choosing the right supplier for one’s business based upon factors such as lowest total cost of goods or services, capabilities, and certain agreed-upon benefits to each party for a defined period of time.

– process of analyzing supplier abilities in relation to the goals of the enterprise.

– risk of supply chain failure leading to the inability of the acquiring organization to meet its own obligations.

– see SPE above.