1. functional organizational structure An organization of specialists grouped into distinct departments. Click here for Hint actual authority or centralized organizational policy or functional organizational structure?

2. lean Operating without waste. Click here for Hint green or lean or ethics?

3. matrix organizational structure An organization that groups differing functions together according to requirements of the work. Click here for Hint functional organizational structure or decentralized organizational policy or matrix organizational structure?

4. vendor-managed inventory (VMI) Transferal of ownership and management of inventory within a system to its external provider, who will be compensated after its use by the system. Click here for Hint vendor-managed inventory (VMI) or supplier positioning or third-party logistics (3PL)?

5. centralized organizational policy Assigning decision making and authority to one individual or set of individuals within a larger organization. Click here for Hint actual authority or centralized organizational policy or implied authority?

6. purchasing agent A person empowered to buy on behalf of an organization. Click here for Hint sales representative or sales agent or purchasing agent?

7. collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR) A business model where supply chain partners share information and plan jointly in inventory management. Click here for Hint collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment (CPFR) or supplier positioning or boilerplate?

8. sales representative A person who solicits orders but cannot bind the selling organization in contracts with buyers. Click here for Hint sales representative or sales agent or apparent authority?

9. downstream Closeness to the end customer in the supply chain. Click here for Hint downstream or upstream or green?

10. contract The total legal obligation among two or more parties. Click here for Hint contract or tender or counteroffer?

11. fourth-party logistics (4PL) Logistical consulting provided by a firm without logistical assets. Click here for Hint fourth-party logistics (4PL) or third-party logistics (3PL) or inbound logistics ?

12. spend analysis Collecting, classifying, and reporting the expenditures of an organization. Click here for Hint electronic data interchange (EDI) or commodity/category plans or spend analysis?

13. electronic data interchange (EDI) The linking of two information systems from two different organizations to transfer data and conduct transactions. Click here for Hint electronic data interchange (EDI) or smart seals or business-to- business (B2B)?

14. tier 1 supplier An organization’s immediate supplier. Click here for Hint tier 2 supplier or third-party logistics (3PL) or tier 1 supplier?

15. boilerplate In purchasing, standard terms and conditions of contract, covering major generic risks. Click here for Hint boilerplate or tender or smart seals?

16. ABC policy Prioritizing the management of inventory according to the significance of each item’s annual dollar volume to the organization. Click here for Hint contract or ABC policy or linear averaging?

17. business-to-consumer (B2C) Commercial transactions between an organization and individual consumers. Click here for Hint business-to-consumer (B2C) or business- to-business (B2B) or request for quotation (RFQ)?

18. linear averaging A numerically weighted evaluation method used in situations such as awarding contracts, selecting locations, or ranking candidates. Click here for Hint linear averaging or supplier positioning or commodity/category plans?

19. request for quotation (RFQ) An invitation to offer a price for a particular product or service. Click here for Hint tender or request for quotation (RFQ) or counteroffer?

20. counteroffer An offer that is made in response to a previous offer. Click here for Hint contract or tender or counteroffer?

21. upstream Closeness to the supplier in the supply chain. Click here for Hint downstream or upstream or green?

22. implied authority Authority an organization intends the agent to have. Click here for Hint implied authority or actual authority or apparent authority?

23. supply chain A system that includes every organization playing a role in supplying a particular product to a customer. Click here for Hint supplier positioning or supply chain or procurement?

24. sales agent A person empowered to bind a selling organization in contracts with buyers. Click here for Hint sales representative or sales agent or apparent authority?

25. resilience The ability of a system to adjust to or recover from a shock or sudden change. Click here for Hint resilience or sustainability or ethics?

26. petty cash A very small fund supporting incidental purchases. Click here for Hint contract or tender or petty cash?

27. apparent authority Giving the impression of actual authority without having actual authority. Click here for Hint actual authority or apparent authority or implied authority?

28. sustainability The degree to which immediate activity does not incur greater costs in the long term. Click here for Hint downstream or sustainability or green?

29. outbound logistics Management of flow departing a facility or other system. Click here for Hint inbound logistics or outbound logistics or fourth-party logistics (4PL)?

30. tender Bid or cost provided to a potential buyer. Click here for Hint offer or counteroffer or tender?

31. ethics Principles governing conduct, delineating good from bad. Click here for Hint ethics or contract or green?

32. decentralized organizational policy Distributing decision making and authority to individuals or groups throughout a larger organization. Click here for Hint decentralized organizational policy or implied authority or ethics?

33. green Assures sustainability. Click here for Hint downstream or upstream or green?

34. business-to-business (B2B) Commercial transactions between organizations. Click here for Hint battle of the forms or business-to- business (B2B) or request for quotation (RFQ)?

35. inbound logistics Management of flow into a facility or other system. Click here for Hint fourth-party logistics (4PL) or outbound logistics or inbound logistics?

36. offer To present a proposal for acceptance or rejection. Click here for Hint offer or counteroffer or tender?

37. supplier positioning Classifying purchases according to the buyer’s annual procurement cost versus relative risk. Click here for Hint supplier positioning or supplier preferencing or spend analysis?

38. battle of the forms Determining which version of a contract has precedence. Click here for Hint implied authority or decentralized organizational policy or battle of the forms?

39. procurement The acquisition of goods and services on behalf of an organization. Click here for Hint supplier positioning or supply chain or procurement?

40. supplier preferencing Classifying a supplier by how it would likely view the buyer. Click here for Hint supplier positioning or supplier preferencing or spend analysis?

41. commodity/category plans Consolidating related products or services to increase buying leverage. Click here for Hint supplier positioning or commodity/category plans or inbound logistics?

42. radio frequency identification (RFID) The tagging of objects with devices that may be detected and interrogated for information by remote electronic readers, allowing identification and tracking without contact. Click here for Hint radio frequency identification (RFID) or smart seals or electronic data interchange (EDI)?

43. third-party logistics (3PL) Outsourcing logistics activities to a provider. Click here for Hint third-party logistics (3PL) or outbound logistics or supplier positioning?

44. tier 2 supplier The supplier of an organization’s immediate supplier. Click here for Hint tier 2 supplier or third-party logistics (3PL) or tier 1 supplier?

45. actual authority Authority specified explicitly, often in the job description. Click here for Hint actual authority or centralized organizational policy or implied authority?

46. smart seals Tamper-evident seals that guarantee shipments have not been tampered with after inspection at the port of origin. Click here for Hint radio frequency identification (RFID) or smart seals or electronic data interchange (EDI)?

47. purchase order (PO) A written offer to a supplier to buy a particular product in a particular quantity at a particular price. Click here for Hint purchase order (PO) or contract or petty cash?