Planvisage - The Supply Chain Software People    
  
   HOME        ABOUT       SERVICES       PRODUCTS       CASE STUDIES        SUPPLY CHAIN GLOSSARY       CONTACT
 

Supply Chain Glossary

  0-9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
 

 

0-9

  3PL
    A firm that provides outsourced or "third party" logistics services to companies for part or sometimes all of their supply chain management function. Typically specialize in customised integrated warehousing and transportation services.
  4PL
    A 4PL is an integrator that assembles the resources, capabilities, and technology of its own organization and other organizations to design, build and run comprehensive supply chain solutions.
 

A

  ABC Analysis - Activity Based Costing
    Activity-based costing (ABC) is an accounting method that allows businesses to gather data about their operating costs. Costs are assigned to specific activities—such as planning, engineering, or manufacturing—and then the activities are associated with different products or services. In this way, the ABC method enables a business to decide which products, services, and resources are increasing their profitability, and which are contributing to losses.
    Link:
http://www.answers.com/Activity%20Based%20Costing
    More Detail:
There has been considerable debate whether Theory of Constraints (TOC) or Activity-Based Costing (ABC) is the more optimal approach for strategic planning.
    Case Studies/Examples:
http://costkiller.net/centre-couts/cost-cutting-analysis.htm
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=962270
http://www.accountingcoach.com/online-accounting-course/35Xpg01.html
  Acceptance Number
    The maximum allowable number of defective pieces in a sample of specified size
    Link:
http://www.answers.com/topic/acceptance-number
  Accessory Planning
    A business strategy that plans for the use of "remnant materials" (the residual or scrap materials left over after a product or process is complete) to provide added value to existing products or processes
    Link:
http://www.surveymethods.com/glossary/Accessory_Planning.aspx
  ASN - Advanced Shipment Notification
    A notification by a shipper providing instructions to all parties responsible for the movement of freight from origin to destination. An ASN refers to the information used in creating a Waybill and Bill of Lading. An Advanced Shipment Notice is an EDI formatted electronic notification of pending deliveries; an electronic packing list. Its use is today mandated by many companies.
    Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Shipping_Notice
 

B

B2B - Business to Business
    A marketing strategy which involves the transaction of goods or services between businesses (as opposed to relations between businesses and other groups, for example consumers or public administration).
    Link:
http://www.answers.com/topic/business-to-business
  B2C - Business to Consumer
    Describes activities of commercial organizations serving the end consumer with products and/or services
    Link:
http://www.answers.com/topic/b2c
  Balanced Scorecard
    A performance metric used in strategic management to identify and improve various internal functions and their resulting external outcomes. The balanced scorecard attempts to measure and provide feedback to organizations in order to assist in implementing strategies and objectives.
    Link:
http://www.answers.com/Balanced%20Scorecard
  Batch Processing
    A manufacturing process used to produce or process any product in batches, as opposed to a continuous production process, or a one-off production
    Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batch_production
  Benchmarking
    Benchmarking is a process of comparing an organization's or company's performance to that of other organizations or companies using objective and subjective criteria
    Link:
http://www.answers.com/Benchmarking
  Best Practice
    Best Practice is a management idea which asserts that there is a technique, method, process, activity, incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc
    Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_practice
  BOM - Bill of Materials
    Describes a product in terms of its assemblies, sub-assemblies, and basic parts. Basically consisting of a list of parts, a BOM is an essential part of the design and manufacture of any product
    Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Build_to_Order
  BPR - Business Process Reengineering
    Business Process Reengineering is a management approach aiming at improvements by means of elevating efficiency and effectiveness of the processes that exist within and across organizations.
    Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_reengineering
  BTO - Built to Order
    A production approach products are built after a confirmed order is received for it.
    Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Build_to_Order
    Case Study/Example link:
This approach is considered good for highly customised or low-volume products, e.g. computer Servers, or for products where holding inventories is very expensive, e.g. aircraft.
  BTS - Balance to Ship
    Refers to the quantity or order yet to be shipped or delivered
  BTS - Build to Stock
    A build-ahead production approach in which production plans are driven by historical demand information in combination with sales forecast information.
    Case Studies/Examples:
This sort of approach to logistics is considered good for a high volume products where the demand is either seasonal or easily predicted (or both)
  Business Requirements
    Business Requirements constitute a specification of simply what the business wants. This is usually expressed in terms of broad outcomes the business requires, rather than specific functions the system may perform. Specific design elements are usually outside the scope of this document, although design standards may be referenced
 

C

Change Agent
    A person who leads a change project or business-wide initiative by defining, researching, planning, building business support and carefully selecting volunteers to be part of a change team. Change Agents must have the conviction to state the facts based on data, even if the consequences are associated with unpleasantness.
    Link:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Change_Agent-393.htm
  Change Management
    Change management is a structured approach to change in individuals, teams, organizations and societies that enables the transition from a current state to a desired future state.
  Consignment Inventory
    Consignment Inventory is inventory that is in the possession of the customer, but is still owned by the supplier.
    Link:
http://www.inventoryops.com/ConsignmentInventory.htm
    Case Studies/Examples:
consider a bicycle manufacturer that produces a wide range of bicycles ranging in price from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. He has customers (local independent bicycle shops) that stock his low-to-mid-priced models but are hesitant to stock the more expensive bikes because they do not have the confidence that their customers are willing to pay that much for a bike. And, if they do get a customer that wants a high-end bike, they could always special order it for them. The bicycle manufacturer strongly believes that getting his high-end bikes in the shops where customers can see and touch them is critical in driving up sales for these models as well as helping to promote his brand which ultimately drives up sales for the lower cost models.
  Cost Of Quality
    Cost of quality is the amount of money a business loses because its product or service was not done right in the first place. From fixing a warped piece on the assembly line to having to deal with a lawsuit because of a malfunctioning machine or a badly performed service, businesses lose money every day due to poor quality
    Link:
http://www.asq.org/learn-about-quality/cost-of-quality/overview/overview.html
  CPFR - Collaborative, Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment
    Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) is a concept that aims to enhance supply chain integration by supporting and assisting joint practices. CPFR seeks cooperative management of inventory through joint visibility and replenishment of products throughout the supply chain. Information shared between suppliers and retailers aids in planning and satisfying customer demands through a supportive system of shared information. This allows for continuous updating of inventory and upcoming requirements, making the end-to-end supply chain process more efficient. Efficiency is created through the decrease expenditures for merchandizing, inventory, logistics, and transportation across all trading partners.
    Case Studies/Examples:
1995 initiative co-led by Wal-Mart's Vice President of Supply Chain, Chief Information Officer, Vice President of Application Development, and the Cambridge, Massachusetts software and strategy firm, Benchmarking Partners.
  CRM - Customer Relationship Management
    a broad term that covers concepts used by organizations to manage their relationships with customers, including collecting, storing and analyzing customer information.
    More Detail:
1995 initiative co-led by Wal-Mart's Vice President of Supply Chain, Chief Information Officer, Vice President of Application Development, and the Cambridge, Massachusetts software and strategy firm, Benchmarking Partners.
  CTO - Configure to Order
    Represents the ability for a user to define the component make-up (configuration) of a product at the very moment of ordering that product, and a vendor to subsequently build that configuration dynamically upon receipt of the order
    Links:
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Configure-to-order.
  Customer Desired Delivery Date
    Is the latest date desired by customer on which the order should be delivered.
  Customer Desired Ship Date
    Is the latest date desired by customer on which the order should be shipped.
  Customer Requested Delivery Date
    Is the latest date requested by customer on which the order can be delivered
  Customer Requested Ship Date
    Is the latest date requested by customer on which the order can be shipped
  Cycle Time
    Time required to produce and deliver a product or service. Thus, total cycle time is the sum of value-added processing time and total nonvalue-added time
    Links:
http://www.answers.com/topic/cycle-time
 

D

Dashboard
    real time information is collated from various sources in the business displayed on the page
    Links:
http://www.answers.com/topic/dashboard-business
  Demand Planning
    It deals with the processes connected with identification, analysis and forecasting of requirements
    Links:
http://sap.ittoolbox.com/topics/t.asp?t=411&p=411&h1=411
  DFMA - Design For Manufacturing and Assembly
    A methodology and tool set used to determine how to simpilify a current or future product design and/or manufacturing process to achieve cost savings. DFMA allows for improved supply chain cost management, product quality and manufacturing, and communication between Design, Manufacturing, Purchasing and Management.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Design_For_Manufacturing_and_Assembly_DFMA-907.htm
  DOE - Design of Experiments
    Design of experiments includes the design of all information-gathering exercises where variation is present, whether under the full control of the experimenter or not.
    Links:
http://www.answers.com/topic/design-of-experiments
  Distribution Center
    Distribution centers store and sort goods using warehouse space so that full truckloads of merchandise can be sent to a single destination or to multiple destinations along a specific route.
  DPM - Defects Per Million
    constitutes a standard of measure that correlates failures of expected norms in any process. One failure per every million normative outcomes constitutes 1 DPM.
    Links:
http://www.answers.com/topic/defects-per-million-opportunities
  Due Date
    Due Date is the latest date an order has to be delivered or fullfilled to the customer
 

E

EDI - Electronic Data Interchange
    The electronic communication of business transactions, such as orders, confirmations and invoices, between organizations. Third parties provide EDI services that enable organizations with different equipment to connect. Although interactive access may be a part of it, EDI implies direct computer-to-computer transactions into vendors' databases and ordering systems.
  ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning
    Refers to software packages that attempt to consolidate all the information flowing through the company from finance to human resources. ERP allows companies to standardize their data, streamline their analysis process, and manage long term business planning with greater ease.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/ERP-547.htm
 

F

FIFO - First in First Out
    FIFO assumes that the first goods purchased are the first sold. As a consequence, the items that remain in the inventory at the end of the year are assumed to be those purchased last
  Finite Scheduling
    Finite capacity scheduling is so-called because it takes capacity into account from the very outset. The schedule is based on the capacity available
  Finished Goods
    A product sold as a completed item or repair part or any item subject to a customer order or sales forecast. All manufacturing operations, including final test, have been completed.
  Flowchart
    A schematic representation of a sequence of operations, as in a manufacturing process or computer program. Also called flow diagram, flow sheet
    Links:
http://www.answers.com/topic/flowchart
  Forecast Consumption
    The netting of actual demand from customer or interplant orders against the forecast for a given time period. Systems for producing items to stock often use the higher of the forecast quantity or actual demand quantity when creating suggested schedules
  Forecasting
    Estimating the likelihood of an event taking place in the future, based on available data from the past.
  Fourth Party Logisitics
    A 4PL is an integrator that assembles the resources, capabilities, and technology of its own organization and other organizations to design, build and run comprehensive supply chain solutions.
    Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_logistics_provider
    More Details:
A 4PL uses a 3PL to supply service to customers, owning only computer systems and intellectual capital.It can be argued that a 4PL is the same thing as a Non Asset-Based 3PL. Term coined by global consulting firm Accenture
    Case Study/Example
http://www.logisticstoday.com/displayStory.asp?S=1&sNO=7028
  FPY - First Pass Yield
    is simply the number of good units produced divided by the number of total units going into the process
  Functional Requirements
    Functional Requirements describe what the system, process, or product/service must do in order to fulfill the business requirement(s). Note that the business requirement often can be broken up into sub-business requirements and many functional requirements. These are often referred to as System Requirements
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_analyst
Case Studies/Examples:
(1) System must provide the ability to associate notes to a project plan.
(2) System must allow the user to enter free text to the project plan notes, up to 255 characters in length.
 

I

Incoming Goods Inspection
    A verification check if the product arrived in good condition at your warehouse before accepting them into your stock.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Incoming_Goods_Inspection-802.htm
  Inventory Buffers
    stock held in individual workstations against the possibility if production falls behind schedule.
  Inventory Netting
    Netting of Demand for an item against on-hand inventory and scheduled receipts
  ISO 9000 Series of Standards
    Series of standards established in the 1980s by countries of Western Europe as a basis for judging the adequacy of the quality control systems of companies.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/ISO_9000_Series_of_Standards-14.htm
 

J

JIT (Just In Time)
    A planning system for manufacturing processes that optimizes availability of material inventories at the manufacturing site to only what, when & how much is necessary.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Just_In_Time_JIT_Manufacturing-43.htm
 

K

Kaizen
    Japanese term that means continuous improvement, taken from words 'Kai' means change and 'zen' means improvement or being better.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Kaizen-42.htm
  KPI - Key Performance Indicators
    Key Performance Indicator (KPI) indicates any key performance that gives the actual data of that particular outcome.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/KPI-880.htm
 

L

Lead Time
    The amount of time, defined by the supplier, that is required to meet a customer request or demand.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Lead_Time-476.htm
  Lean Manufacturing
    'Lean production is aimed at the elimination of waste in every area of production including customer relations, product design, supplier networks and factory management. Its goal is to incorporate less human effort, less inventory, less time to develop products, and less space to become highly responsive to customer demand while producing top quality products in the most efficient and economical manner possible.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Lean_Manufacturing-116.htm
  Lean Six Sigma
    The first principle of Lean Six Sigma is: Delight your customers with speed and quality. The second principle says: Improve process flow and speed. Lean Six Sigma emphasizes that speed is directly tied to excellence.
  LIFO - Last in First Out
    Last In, First Out. A method of inventory rotation to ensure that the newest inventory (last in) is used first (first out).
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/LIFO-656.htm
  Logisitics
    comprised of courses and/or programs related to planning, management, and movement of people, materials, and goods by road, pipeline, air, rail and water and related professional and technical support services such as transportation infrastructure planning and management, logistics services, mobile equipment and facility maintenance
 

M

MPS - Master Production Scheduling
    The planning of production (usually End Item Production) to satisfy current and forecast orders.
  MRP - Materials Replenishment Planning
    The Material Requirements Planning process is designed to take the Master Production Schedule replenishment quantities, "explode" through the bill of materials to create component requirements which are netted against on-hand and on-order, level by level. It is a time-phased process whereby the planned orders are driven by actual requirements by date.
  MRP II - Manufacturing Resource Planning
    To effectively plan all resources of a factory. Ideally, it addresses operational planning in units, financial planning in dollars, and has a simulation capability to answer "what-if" questions and extension of closed-loop MRP.
  MTBF - Mean Time Between Failure
    An average time between machinery breakdowns.
    More Detail:
If the MTBF decreases, root cause analysis must be carried out to bring the MTBF # to a high, meaning long times between failures.
 

O

ODM - Original Design Manufacturer
    The term Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) is used to describe companies that design and manufacture a product that is then sold under other brand names and does not necessarily acknowledge the Original Design Manufacturer brand. Some OEMs (original manufacturers, not resellers) have taken on a larger role in the design of the product they are manufacturing and become ODMs.
  One Piece Flow
    Refers to the concept of moving one workpiece at a time between operations within a workcell.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/One_Piece_Flow-540.htm
  Optimization
    Adjusting the system or process inputs to produce the best possible average response with minimum variability.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Optimization-52.htm
  O2C - Order to Cash
    A process flow encapsulates a variety of smaller business processes from order entry to cash receipt.
    Links:
http://www.ebstrategy.com/selfservice/composite/order_to_cash.htm
   

 

P

P2P - Procure to Pay
    Process contains all steps from purchasing goods from a supplier, to paying the supplier.
    More Detail:
Some basic steps include: Create or Maintain Suppliers, Prepare Purchase Order, Receive Goods from Supplier, Enable Payment
  Packing List
    A Packing List gives details of the contents of all the packages making up the consignments and is required by Custom’s authorities if the packing information is not shown on the invoice. The Packaging List is usually attached to the invoice
  PPM - Parts per Million
    Parts Per Million. Typically used in the context of defect Parts Per Million opportunities
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/PPM-70.htm
  Process Baseline
    The average long-term performance of an output characteristic or a process (Y) when all the input variables (x) are running in an unconstrained fashion.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Process_Baseline-834.htm
  Process Capability
    Process capability refers to the ability of a process to produce a defect-free product or service in a controlled manner of production or service environment. Various indicators are used-some address overall performance, some address potential performance.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Process_Capability-299.htm
  Process Maturity
    An indication of how close a developing process is to being complete, and capable of continuous improvement through quantitative measure and feedback.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Process_Maturity-818.htm
  Process Owner
    The individual(s) responsible for process design and performance. The process owner is accountable for sustaining the gain and identifying future improvement opportunities on the process.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Process_Owner-436.htm
  Production Planning
    The process of creating an overall production plan for the factory, over a specified time horizon
  Production Scheduling
    The allocation of resources to the manufacture of the parts to be produced.
  Project Scope
    Defined and specific project beginning and end points. The more specific the details (what's in-scope and what's out of scope), the less a project may experience "scope creep".
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Project_Scope-55.htm
  Purchase Orders
    is a commercial document issued by a buyer to a seller, indicating the type, quantities and agreed prices for products or services that the seller will provide to the buyer.
  Pull System
    A pull system is where processes are based on customer demand. The concept is that each process is manufacturing each component in line with another department to build a final part to the exact expectation of delivery from the customer.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Pull_System-541.htm
  Push Manufacturing
    "Push" manufacturing can be described as producing an entire line of products without pre-selling and taking orders for it.
 

Q

QC - Quality Control
    The managerial process during which actual process performance is evaluated and actions are taken on unusual performance.It is a process to ensure whether a product meets predefined standards and requisite action taken if the standards are not met.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Quality_Control-33.htm
  Quality Assurance
    A planned and systematic set of activities to ensure that variances in processes are clearly identified, assessed and improving defined processes for fullfilling the requirements of customers and product or service makers.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Quality_Assurance-105.htm
 

R

Raw Materials
    A natural unprocessed material used in a manufacturing process
  RFP - Request for Proposal
    A document prepared by a potential user of products and/or services to solicit information from a provider regarding that provider's products, capabilities, prices, and services. An RFP is generally more focused than an RFI and the responder may be bound by any information in the response, including pricing.
  RFI - Request for Information
    The document used in informal, uncompetitive solicitation of information, data, comments, or reactions from possible suppliers. This process usually precedes the issuance of a competitive procurement process. Responses to RFI’s are not the basis to select a service provider.
  RFQ - Request for Quote
    Is a document that an organization submits to one or more potential suppliers eliciting quotations for a product or service..
  Root Cause Analysis
    Study of original reason for nonconformance with a process. When the root cause is removed or corrected, the nonconformance will be eliminated.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Root_Cause_Analysis-571.htm
  Routings
    A sequenced list of the operations needed to manufacture a part. A Routing should include the amount of Resource required at each Work Centre the part passes through. Tooling should also be included in a part’s Routing. Routing information must be held on the planning system for every manufactured part and used for capacity planning and costing.
 

S

Sales Order
  document used to approve, track, and process outbound customer shipments
Scheduled Packed Date
    Is the latest scheduled date an order should be packed
  Scheduled Delivery Date
    Is the scheduled date an order should be delivered to Customer.
     
  SCM - Supply Chain Management
    Managing the movement of goods from raw materials to the finished product delivered to customers. Supply Chain Management aims to reduce operating costs, lead times, and inventory and increase the speed of delivery, product availability, and customer satisfaction.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Supply_Chain_Management-549.htm
  Ship Date
    Ship Date is the latest date an order can depart the manufacturing facility.
  Six Sigma
    Six Sigma is a rigorous and a systematic methodology that utilizes information (management by facts) and statistical analysis to measure and improve a company's operational performance, practices and systems by identifying and preventing 'defects' in manufacturing and service-related processes in order to anticipate and exceed expectations of all stakeholders to accomplish effectiveness
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Six_Sigma-85.htm
  SME - Subject Matter Expert
    A person who can perform a job or a selected group of tasks to standards. His experience and knowledge of the job designates him as a technical expert. He must know what is critical to the performance of the task and what is nice-to-know.
  SRM - Supplier Realtionship Management
    Supplier Relationship Management is the management of the flow of information between suppliers and purchasing organizations and the integration of supplier information in the procurement process by the buyer.
  SPC - Statistical Process Control
    A system by which one samples and inspects the output of a process to determine if one should adjust the process to bring the items or goods into an acceptable quality standard.
  Supplier Collaboration
    Plan collaboration with suppliers around demand and capacity coordination, as well as short-term order execution, and shipment and inventory tracking.
  Supplier Scorecard
    The Supplier Scorecard assesses suppliers based on major performance benchmarks in several key areas such as Manufacturing Critical-path Time (MCT), On-time Delivery, Quality Parts per Million, Cost of Poor Quality, Inventory Turns and Productivity Gains.
  Supply Chain Execution
    The set of supply chain activities that focus on fulfillment rather than planning- raw material delivery, manufacturing operations and shipments to customers and internal and external distribution points. Execution functions receive requirements from the planning cycle and provide the actual data in plan vs. actual measurements.
  Supply Chain Integration
    Methods of coordination and integration of processes within a traditional supply chain, including interesting practices regarding customers and suppliers, such as customers becoming co-producers.
  Supply Chain Network
    A supply network made of inter-linked nodes, including customers, distributors, producers, and suppliers.
  Supply Chain Optimization
    The coordination of linked resources across all or part of a supply chain in eliminating or reducing manufacturing and logistics bottlenecks and creating optimized schedules based on shared inventory and order information.
  Synchronization
    Is a practice in timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison.
    Case Studies/Examples:
The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time
 

T

Theory of constraints TOC
    Also called constraints management, it is a set of tools that examines the entire system for continuous improvement. The current reality tree, conflict resolution diagram, future reality tree, prerequisite tree and transition tree are the five tools used in its ongoing improvement process.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Theory_of_constraints_TOC-1105.htm
  Third Party Logisitics
    A firm that provides outsourced or "third party" logistics services to companies for part or sometimes all of their supply chain management function. Typically specialize in customised integrated warehousing and transportation services.
    Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-party_logistics_provider
    More Detail:
Hertz, and Alfredsson (2003) describe four categories of 3PL providers:

Standard 3PL provider: this is the most basic form of a 3PL provider. They would perform activities such as, pick and pack, warehousing, and distribution (business) – the most basic functions of logistics. For a majority of these firms, the 3PL function is not their main activity.

Service developer: this type of 3PL provider will offer their customers advanced value-added services such as: tracking and tracing, cross-docking, specific packaging, or providing a unique security system. A solid IT foundation and a focus on economies of scale and scope will enable this type of 3PL provider to perform these types of tasks.

The customer adapter: this type of 3PL provider comes in at the request of the customer and essentially takes over complete control of the company’s logistics activities. The 3PL provider improves the logistics dramatically, but do not develop a new service. The customer base for this type of 3PL provider is typically quite small.

The customer developer: this is the highest level that a 3PL provider can attain with respect to its processes and activities. This occurs when the 3PL provider integrates itself with the customer and takes over their entire logistics function. These providers will have few customers, but will perform extensive and detailed tasks for them.
  TQM - Total Quality Management
    A conceptual and a philosophical context which requires management and human resources commitment to adopt a perpetual improvement philosophy, through succinct management of all processes, practices and systems throughout the organization to achieve effectiveness in the organizational performance and fulfilling or exceeding the community expectations.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Total_Quality_Management-15.htm
  Transit Time
    A time period for cargo to move between two points (ie, from shipper to consignee)
  Trading Partner
    A supply chain vendor or customer that does business with a given organization and normally has linked communications.
 

V

Value Added Manufacturing
    To be a value added action the action must meet all three of the following criteria:
1) The customer is willing to pay for this activity.
2) It must be done right the first time.
3) The action must somehow change the product or service in some manner.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Value-Added-134.htm
  Value Chain
    The sequential set of primary and support activities that an enterprise performs to turn inputs into value-added outputs for its external customers.
    Case Studies/Examples:
An IT value chain is that subset of enterprise activities that pertain to IT operations, both to add value directly for external customers and to add indirect value by supporting other enterprise operations.
  Value Stream Mapping
   

Value stream mapping is a paper and pencil tool that helps you to see and understand the flow of material and information as a product or service makes its way through the value stream.A value stream map (AKA end-to-end system map) takes into account not only the activity of the product, but the management and information systems that support the basic process. This is especially helpful when working to reduce cycle time, because you gain insight into the decision making flow in addition to the process flow. It is actually a Lean tool.

The basic idea is to first map your process, then above it map the information flow that enables the process to occur.

    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Value_Stream_Mapping-413.htm
  VMI - Vendor Managed Inventory 
    An inventory planning and fulfillment technique in which a supplier is responsible for monitoring and restocking customer inventory at the appropriate time to maintain predefined levels. The vendor is given access to current customer inventory, forecast and sales order information and initiates replenishment as required.
    Case Studies/Examples:
Vendor Managed Inventory was first applied to the grocery industry, between companies like Procter & Gamble (supplier) and Wal-Mart (distributor). But increasingly, Vendor Managed Inventory is providing the benefits of smoother demand, increased sales, lower inventories and reduced costs to other industries.
  Vendor capacity planning
    Process of assessing and allocating the capacity earmarked by the vendors.
 

W

Work in progress
    Products in various stages of completion throughout the plant.
  Work assignment
  The process of allocating work to work centres.

Y

Yield
    Yield is the percentage of a process that is free of defects.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Yield-362.htm
 

Z

Zero Defects
    A practice that aims to reduce defects as a way to directly increase profits. The concept of zero defects lead to the development of Six Sigma in the 1980s.
    Links:
http://www.isixsigma.com/dictionary/Zero_Defects-550.htm
     
 

Next Step: Ask Us A Question

If you face a production planning problem, or are just curious about any aspect of supply chain management, just ask your question in the box below. We love discussing supply chain challenges and will get back to you within one business day.

 

* Your Name
* Your Email Address
* Your Supply Chain or Planning Question
 

© 2007 Planvisage Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.