Basic Terminology Flashcards
To help people feel confident about supply chain terminology.
What is MRP?
A computerized system for scheduling production and procurement which requirements from the Master Production Schedule and the Bills-of-Materials to calculate what will be needed when, netting off against all the materials already in the system.
What are Bills-of-Materials (BOM)?
A database which describes all the components that go into a product or a subassembly, together with an estimate of the leadtime needed to produce or procure the product.
What is an SKU?
SKU = Stock Keeping Unit
A category of identical items in a logistics system, typically associated with a part or reference number.
What is “Stock Turnover”?
The average period it takes for all the inventory to pass through a system, normally calculated as [sales per period]/[value of inventory held]
What is an EOQ?
EOQ = Economic Order Quantity
A theoretical approach to calculating the optimum delivery quantity of a good by considering the trade off between ordering costs and inventory costs.
What is a kanban?
The card or signal used in the Toyota Production System which is used to ensure that nothing is made in advance of when it will be really needed, which enables production to be ‘pulled’ through the system.
What is Cross-Docking?
Cross-Docking is a highly choreographed approach to managing a distribution centre which maximizes the speed of unloading, reconsolidation and reloading, meaning stock spends very little time waiting.
What is EDI?
Electronic Data Interchange is the transfer of sales, logistics and other commercial data between the business systems of customers and suppliers. The term is also used to refer to the standards used to facilitate this.
What is an MPS?
A Master Production Schedule is an organisation’s operating plan of what it is going to make or deliver in the short and medium term, often aggregated to product families to make it more manageable.
What is CPFR?
Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment is an approach where firms in the chain jointly plan key production and logistics activities, sharing foreacasts and sales data, and plans for promotions and new product introductions.
What is FIFO?
The idea of First In, First Out has at least two meanings. Physically, it could reflect the idea of stock rotation - you sell (or ship) the items from a location that have been there longest. Alternatively, it could refer to the accounting assumption that this is what is happening (even if it doesn’t in practice).
What is EDI?
Electronic Data Interchange - a method by which orders and invoices are exchanged between buyers and suppliers
What is FBA?
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is Amazon’s fulfillment service.
https://services.amazon.com/fulfillment-by-amazon/benefits.htm
What is EFTPOS?
Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale - use of direct debit (eg switch/maestro) cards at retail checkouts
In logistics, what is a Pallet?
Large flat wooden delivery unit for stacking cases on.
What is a UPC?
Universal Product Code - the number on a retail item’s Barcode
What is VMI?
Vendor Managed Inventory. The supplier is responsible for managing stock levels and inventory at the customer’s site.
What is a WMS?
Warehouse Management System
What is a Backorder?
A backorder occurs when a customer demand cannot be met from stock, leaving the customer to wait for the item to come into stock.
What is co-managed inventory?
This is where where an organization and a third party jointly manage stocks
What is Exponential Smoothing?
Exponential smoothing is a rule of thumb technique for smoothing time series data. Whereas in Single Moving Averages the past observations are weighted equally, Exponential Smoothing assigns exponentially decreasing weights as the observation get older.
In other words, recent observations are given relatively more weight in forecasting than the older observations
Source: http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handbook/pmc/section4/pmc43.htm
What is safety stock?
Safety stock is a reserve of inventory not normally needed, but held to allow for unexpected circumstances
What is the ABC Inventory Classification?
The ABC Inventory classification is a way of segmenting inventory management: ‘A’ items are generally considered items that have high value and/or high volume; C items are low value/low volume; B are somewhere in the middle. Sometimes the classification is based on a metric called ‘usage’ or ‘consumption volume’ which is the multiple of item value and volume. NB some people connect this classification with Activity Based Costing, but the fact that both are ‘ABC’ is a historical accident.
What is an AGVS?
An Automated Guided Vehicle System refers to the transportation robots that move items around factories, warehouses and distribution centres.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xvP645fVnI
What are MRO items?
Maintenance, Repair and Operating stock generally refers to inventory that is used in manufacturing but do end up in the final product or are not central to a firm’s activities. Examples might include cleaning suppliers, office stationery, lubricants etc.
What is a Planogram?
A Planogram is a diagram used to help optimise the physical layout of products in a store (e.g. on the shelves).
What is shrinkage?
Shrinkage is a term which covers how the inventory you’ve got is less than what you should have, and can be the result of accidental damage, theft or wastage.
What is ERP?
Enterprise Resource Planning refers to the large, multi-functional information systems which often cover manufacturing, distribution, accounting, and HR domains. The major providers of these systems include SAP and Oracle.
What is a QR Code?
What is OLAP?
OnLine Analytical Processing refers to sophisticated analysis of business data, allowing complex calculations, trend analysis, and statistical investigation.
What is a relational database?
A relational database is a collection of data items organized as a set of formally-described tables from which data can be accessed or reassembled in many different ways without having to reorganize the database tables.
source: http://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/definition/relational-database
What is a SLA?
A Service Level Agreement is a contract for service in which a provider agrees to meet a set of quantified performance objetctives. For example, a SLA between a customer and and a supplier might specify leadtimes and order accuracy for deliveries.
What is a DSS?
A Decision Support System is a computer system designed to assist management decision making.
What is Linear Programming?
Linear Programming is a mathematical optimization technique in which an objective function (for example cost = …) is optimized according to constraints. The ‘linear’ bit refers to the fact that the constraints are expressed as simple first-order equations (i.e. involving x but not x-squareds). It is a subset of mathematical programming.
What is a Data Warehouse?
A Data Warehouse is a resource within an information system which stores and organizes current and historical operations data. It’s not a building, but part of a computer system.
What is an RFID tag?
A Radio-Frequency Indentification Tag is a device which enables contactless detection, for example for tracking inventory in a supply chain.
What is disintermediation?
Disintermediation is the removal of a player (e.g. a ‘middleman’) in a supply chain. For example, if a manufacturer can deal directly with a consumer, it can disintermediate the retailer.
What is Hadoop?
Hadoop is an open source software library project administered by the Apache Software Foundation. Apache defines Hadoop as “a framework that allows for the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of computers using a simple programming model.”
Source: http://data-informed.com/glossary-of-big-data-terms/
What is SAP Hana?
SAP HANA is an in-memory data platform best suited for performing real-time analytics and applications. At its core is a special database which uses innovative technology,
What is a backhaul?
A backhaul is “the portion of a transport trip typically associated with trucking, which is incurred when returning a vehicle to its point of origin. Ideally the carrier with find some sort of freight to carry back, if the trip is empty it is called a deadhead.”
source: https://cscmp.org/sites/default/files/user_uploads/resources/downloads/glossary-2013.pdf
What is S&OP?
Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP): A strategic planning process that reconciles conflicting business objectives and plans future supply chain actions. S&OP Planning usually involves various business functions such as sales, operations and finance to agree on a single plan/forecast that can be used to drive the entire business.
source: https://cscmp.org/sites/default/files/user_uploads/resources/downloads/glossary-2013.pdf
What is SaaS?
Software as a Service describes the use of computer systems provided by a remote third party, similar to what has traditionally been called a “Service Bureau” or “Application Service Provider (ASP)”
source: https://cscmp.org/sites/default/files/user_uploads/resources/downloads/glossary-2013.pdf
What is a Bill of Lading?
A BIll of Lading is “A transportation document issued by a carrier that acknowledges that specified goods have been received onboard as cargo for transfer to a named delivery point and a named consignee (receiver). It is not a title document, but identifies the consignee as having the right to take possession at time of delivery.”
source: http://supplychainanalysis.igd.com/Hub.aspx?id=45&tid=8
What is Category Management?
Category Management is “ the strategic management of product groups through trade partnerships, which aims to maximize sales and profits by satisfying consumer needs.”
Source: http://supplychainanalysis.igd.com/Hub.aspx?id=45&tid=8
What is ECR?
Efficient Consumer Response is “an initiative within the food & grocery industry based around retailers and suppliers working together to fulfil consumer wishes, better, faster and at less cost.”
source: http://supplychainanalysis.igd.com/Hub.aspx?id=45&tid=8
http://www.lean-manufacturing-japan.com/scm-terminology/ecr-efficient-consumer-response.html
What is an LSP?
A Logistics Service Provider is a distribution company that provides some mix of transport, warehousing, distribution centres, packing and information services.
In Europe, what’s the function of the SAD-H (Single Administrative Document)?
The SAD-H is a single trading document used within the European Union as part of harmonised and simplified import/export procedures between member states, which aims to speed up processes and customs clearance.
source: http://supplychainanalysis.igd.com/Hub.aspx?id=45&tid=8
What is a 4PL?
A 4PL is a ‘Fourth-Party Logistics Provider’ that provides an integrated service managing other logistics providers.
What is a 3PL?
3PL refers to a “third party logistics provider”.
What is a “Bonded Warehouse”?
a customs-controlled warehouse for the retention of imported goods until the duty owed is paid.
