Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

Terms related to business, including definitions about project management and words and phrases about human resources, finance and vertical industries.

just-in-time manufacturing (JIT manufacturing) - Just-in-time manufacturing (JIT manufacturing) is a production model in which items are created to meet demand, not created in surplus or in advance of need.
Kaizen (continuous improvement) - Kaizen is an approach to creating continuous improvement based on the idea that small, ongoing positive changes can reap significant improvements.
kanban - Kanban is a visual system used to manage and keep track of work as it moves through a process.
knowledge management (KM) - Knowledge management is the process an enterprise uses to gather, organize, share and analyze its knowledge in a way that's easily accessible to employees.
last mile delivery - Last mile delivery is a term used for transportation of merchandise from the nearest distribution hub to the final destination, such as a home or business.
law of unintended consequences - The law of unintended consequences is a frequently-observed phenomenon in which any action has results that are not part of the actor's purpose.
leadership - Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of people to influence and guide followers or members of an organization, society or team.
Lean Six Sigma - Lean Six Sigma is a data-driven approach to improving efficiency, customer satisfaction and profits.
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, more commonly known as LEED, is an environmentally oriented building certification program run by the U.
letter of intent (LOI) - A letter of intent (LOI) is a written, nonbinding document that outlines an agreement in principle between two or more parties before a legal agreement is finalized.
lights-out management (LOM) - Lights-out management (LOM) is a form of out-of-band management.
limitation of liability clause - A limitation of liability clause is the section in a service-level agreement (SLA) that specifies the amounts and types of damages that each party will be obliged to provide to the other in particular circumstances.
limited liability company (LLC) - A limited liability company (LLC) is a business structure in the United States that provides its owners with limited liability protection while allowing the flexibility of being taxed as a partnership or sole proprietorship.
line card - A line card may be a modular electronic telecommunications switching component on a printed circuit board, or a printed brochure or document that contains the names, descriptions and products that are sold by a third party.
logistics - Logistics is the process of planning and executing the efficient transportation and storage of goods from the point of origin to the point of consumption.
logistics management - Logistics management is the governance of supply chain management functions that helps organizations plan, manage and implement processes to move and store goods.
managed IT service - A managed IT service is an information technology (IT) task provided by a third-party contractor and delivered to a customer.
managerial grid model (The Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid model) - The managerial grid model was developed by Robert R.
manufacturing execution system (MES) - A manufacturing execution system (MES) is an information system that connects, monitors and controls complex manufacturing systems and data flows on the factory floor.
market development funds (MDF) - Market development funds (MDF) are a resource that a vendor grants to its indirect sales channel partners to help the channel with sales and marketing programs.
marketing automation - Marketing automation is a type of software that allows companies to effectively target customers with automated marketing messages across channels including email, websites, social media and text messages to generate sales leads.
marketing-qualified lead (MQL) - A marketing-qualified lead (MQL) is a website visitor whose engagement levels indicate they are likely to become a customer.
material requirements planning (MRP) - Material requirements planning (MRP) is a system for calculating the materials and components needed to manufacture a product.
maturity grid (maturity model) - A maturity model is a matrix for evaluating an organization's level of progress towards a goal.
memorandum of understanding (MOU) - A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is a formal agreement that outlines plans for a common line of action between two or more parties.
microsegmentation - Microsegmentation is a security technique that splits a network into definable zones and uses policies to dictate how data and applications within those zones can be accessed and controlled.
Microsoft Intune - Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based unified endpoint management (UEM) tool that aims to help organizations manage the mobile devices employees use to access corporate data and applications, such as email.
Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) - Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) is a series of 23 documents that guide IT professionals through the processes of creating, implementing and managing efficient and cost-effective services.
microtrend - A microtrend is a tendency in the direction of some phenomenon that is fairly pervasive within a given sphere of influence and may only last for a few years, or even months.
mission-critical application - A mission-critical application is a software program or suite of related programs that must function continuously for a business or business segment to be successful.
modeling and simulation (M&S) - Modeling and simulation (M&S) is the use of a physical or logical representation of a given system to generate data and help determine decisions or make predictions about the system.
monthly recurring revenue (MRR) - Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) is income a company can reliably anticipate every 30 days and one of the key metrics for channel partner companies.
multilevel marketing (MLM) - Multilevel marketing (MLM) is a business model that involves unsalaried, hierarchical sales teams selling products directly to consumers in conjunction with recruiting additional company sales representatives.
multisourcing (multi-sourcing) - Multisourcing (multi-sourcing) is an approach to outsourcing in which IT operations and technology infrastructure are contracted to a number of vendors, usually in combination with some internally provided elements of information technology.
negative float (negative slack) - Negative float, also known as negative slack, is a common concept in project management that refers to the amount of time that must be saved to complete a project on time.
net price - The net price is the value at which a product or service is sold after all taxes and other costs are added and all discounts subtracted.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) - Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric that organizations use for assessing customer loyalty toward their brand, products or services.
nonprofit organization (NPO) - A nonprofit organization (NPO) is one that is not driven by profit but by dedication to a given cause that is the target of all income beyond what it takes to run the organization.
normal distribution - A normal distribution is a type of continuous probability distribution in which most data points cluster toward the middle of the range, while the rest taper off symmetrically toward either extreme.
not for resale (NFR) - Not for resale (NFR) is a designation for products that vendors give to their channel partners for testing and educational purposes with the understanding that the channel partner will not resell those products to the end user.
Nutanix - Nutanix is a private and hybrid cloud software provider.
OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) - OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) encourage companies to set, communicate and monitor organizational goals and results in an effective, transparent manner.
operating model - An operating model is a visual representation of how an organization delivers value to its internal and external customers.
operational excellence - Operational excellence is a methodology of striving for efficacy throughout an organization’s processes.
operational risk - Operational risk is the risk of losses caused by flawed or failed processes, policies, systems or events that disrupt business operations.
operational-level agreement (OLA) - An operational-level agreement (OLA) is a contract that defines how various IT groups within a company plan to deliver a service or set of services.
Opex (operational expenditure) - Opex (operational expenditure) is the money a company or organization spends on an ongoing, day-to-day basis to run its business.
Oracle E-Business Suite - Oracle E-Business Suite is one of Oracle Corporation's major product lines.
order management - Order management is the administration of business processes related to orders for goods or services.
organizational change management (OCM) - Organizational change management (OCM) is a type of change management framework for managing the effect of new business processes, changes in organizational structure, or cultural changes within an enterprise.
outbound marketing - Outbound marketing is a traditional form of marketing in which an organization initiates contact with potential customers, or leads.
Pardot - Pardot is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketing automation platform by Salesforce that offers email automation, targeted email campaigns, and lead management for business-to-business (B2B) sales and marketing organizations.
Pareto principle - The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, is a theory maintaining that 80 percent of the output from a given situation or system is determined by 20 percent of the input.
Parkinson's law of triviality (bikeshedding) - Parkinson's law of triviality is an observation about the human tendency to devote a great deal of time to unimportant details, while crucial matters go unattended.
partner account manager (PAM) - A partner account manager is a job title within a vendor organization that uses channel partners to sell its products or services.
partner program - A partner program, which may also be referred to as channel partner program or alliance program, is a business strategy that vendors develop to encourage others to work with the vendor and sell its products or services.
partner relationship management (PRM) - Partner relationship management (PRM) is a combination of the software, processes and strategies companies use to streamline business processes with partners that sell their products.
passive candidate - A passive candidate (passive job candidate) is anyone in the workforce who is not actively looking for a job.
paternalistic leadership - Paternalistic leadership is a managerial approach that involves a dominant authority figure who acts as a patriarch or matriarch and treats employees and partners as though they were members of a large, extended family.
people analytics (HR analytics) - People analytics, also known as human resources (HR) analytics and talent analytics, is the use of data analysis on candidate and employee issues to understand their effect on business goals and evaluate the effectiveness of HR initiatives.
personally identifiable information (PII) - Personally identifiable information (PII) is any data that could potentially identify a specific individual.
PICK chart (Possible, Implement, Challenge and Kill chart) - A PICK chart (Possible, Implement, Challenge and Kill chart) is a visual tool for organizing ideas.
pick to light - Pick to light is order fulfillment technology that employs alphanumeric displays and buttons at storage locations to guide the manual picking and recording of items for shipment.
planogram - A planogram is a diagram that shows how and where specific retail products should be placed on retail shelves or displays to increase customer purchases.
poka-yoke - A poka-yoke is a mechanism that is put in place to prevent human error.
Pomodoro Technique - The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method based on 25-minute stretches of focused work broken by five-minute breaks.
positioning statement - A positioning statement is an expression of how a given product, service or brand fills a particular consumer need in a way that its competitors don’t.
power usage effectiveness (PUE) - Power usage effectiveness (PUE) is a metric used to determine the energy efficiency of a data center.
Predictive Index (PI) - The Predictive Index (PI) is a theory-based, self-report measurement of normal, adult, work-related personality that was developed and validated for use in occupational and organizational populations.
predictive modeling - Predictive modeling is a mathematical process used to predict future events or outcomes by analyzing patterns in a given set of input data.
press kit - A press kit is an information package provided for members of the media to promote events, organizations, products or candidates.
private sector - The private sector is the part of a country's economic system that is run by individuals and companies, rather than a government entity.
process innovation - Process innovation refers to a change in an existing operation or product that creates significant value for an organization.
process intelligence (business process intelligence) - Process intelligence is data that has been systematically collected to analyze the individual steps within a business process or operational workflow.
process manufacturing - Process manufacturing is a production method in which goods are created by combining supplies, ingredients or raw materials using a predetermined formula or recipe.
procure to pay (P2P) - Procure to pay is the process of requisitioning, purchasing, receiving, paying for and accounting for goods and services.
product data management (PDM) - Product data management (PDM) is the process of capturing and managing the electronic information related to a product so it can be reused in business processes such as design, production, distribution and marketing.
professional services - A professional service is an intangible product that a contractor or product vendor sells to help a customer manage a specific part of their business.
profit and loss statement (P&L) - A profit and loss statement (P&L), also called an income statement or statement of operations, is a financial report that shows a company's revenues, expenses and net profit or loss over a given period of time.
project constraint - A constraint in project management is any restriction that defines a project's limitations.
Project planning: What it is and 5 steps to create a plan - Project planning is a project management discipline that addresses how to complete a project in a certain time frame, usually with clearly defined stages, milestones and designated resources.
project scope - Project scope is the part of project planning that involves determining and documenting a list of specific project goals, deliverables, tasks, costs and deadlines.
proof of concept (POC) - A proof of concept (POC) is a demonstration of a product in which work is focused on determining whether an idea can be turned into a reality.
prototyping model - The prototyping model is a systems development method in which a prototype is built, tested and then reworked as necessary until an acceptable outcome is achieved from which the complete system or product can be developed.
public-private partnership (PPP) - A public-private partnership (PPP) is a funding model for public infrastructure projects and initiatives such as a new telecommunications system, public transportation system, airport or power plant.
purchase intent - Purchase intent is the probability that a consumer will buy a product or service.
pure risk - Pure risk refers to risks that are beyond human control and result in a loss or no loss with no possibility of financial gain.
quality control (QC) - Quality control (QC) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to ensure that a manufactured product or performed service adheres to a defined set of quality criteria or meets the requirements of the client or customer.
radical innovation - Radical innovation is an invention that destroys or supplants an existing business model.
rainmaker - A rainmaker is an individual who generates an unusually high amount of revenue for an organization by bringing new clients and new business to the company.
Real time gross settlement (RTGS) - Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) is an electronic form of funds transfer where the transmission takes place on a real time basis.
recruitment - Recruitment is the process of finding, screening, hiring and onboarding qualified job candidates.
recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) - Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is when an employer turns the responsibility of finding potential job candidates over to a third-party service provider.
remote office/branch office (ROBO) - A remote office/branch office (ROBO) is a corporate business site located at some distance from the organization's headquarters or main office.
remote terminal unit (RTU) - A remote terminal unit (RTU) is a microprocessor-based electronic device used in an industrial control system (ICS) to connect hardware to a distributed control system (DCS) or supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system.
replenishment - Replenishment is the controlled and regular movement of inventory from an upstream point on the supply chain to a downstream location that requires sufficient stock to cover demand.
Request for Offer (RFO) - A Request for Offer (RFO) is a document an organization issues to solicit bids or proposals from potential suppliers for goods or services.
requisition - A requisition, in procurement, is a request for goods or services made by an employee to the person or department in a company that is responsible for purchasing.
reshoring - Reshoring is the process of bringing back manufacturing or production operations to their country of origin or a nearby region.
residual risk - Residual risk is the risk that remains after efforts to identify and eliminate some or all types of risk have been made.