Here are some terms you may have encountered. We have sourced most of these definistions from the web. If there are relevant terms we have not included and you would like them included, please contact us at marketing@biznetsolutions.com.
360 Degree Feedback
360-degree feedback, also known as multi-rater feedback, multisource feedback, or multisource assessment, is feedback that comes from all around. Feedback is provided by subordinates, peers, and supervisors. It also includes a self-assessment and, in some cases, feedback from external sources such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. It may be contrasted with “upward feedback,” where managers are given feedback by their direct reports, or a “traditional performance appraisal,” where the employees are most often reviewed only by their managers. The results from 360-degree feedback are often used by the person receiving the feedback to plan training and development.
Balanced Scorecard
The balanced scorecard (BSC) is a strategic performance management tool – a semi-standard structured report supported by proven design methods and automation tools that can be used by managers to keep track of the execution of activities by staff / suppliers / customers within their control and monitor the consequences arising from these actions. It provides a framework that not only provides performance measurements, but helps planners identify what should be done and measured. It enables executives to truly execute their strategies.
Direct Procurement
Direct procurement occurs in manufacturing settings only. It encompasses all items that are part of finished products, such as raw material, components and parts. Direct procurement, which is the focus in supply chain management, directly affects the production process of manufacturing firms.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is an Integrated computer-based system used to manage internal and external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. It is a software architecture whose purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders. Built on a centralized database and normally utilizing a common computing platform, ERP systems consolidate all business operations into a uniform and enterprise-wide system environment. An ERP system can either reside on a centralized server or be distributed across modular hardware and software units that provide “services” and communicate on a local area network. The distributed design allows a business to assemble modules from different vendors without the need for the placement of multiple copies of complex and expensive computer systems in areas which will not use their full capacity.
Geographical Performance Map
View supplier performance across their areas of operation. An operators suppliers operate in multiple locations across the globe. This module allows users to view this performance from a geographical perspective. Each location they operate in will have an associated color score (red, amber, green) based on their performance for that service in that location. Hover over that score and you will see the breakdown, by section, of their performance which together drives the overall color score for that location.
Indirect Procurement
Indirect procurement activities concern “operating resources” that a company purchases to enable its operations. It comprises a wide variety of goods and services, from standardized low value items like office supplies and machine lubricants to complex and costly products and services like heavy equipment and consulting services.
Key Performance Indicators
Key Performance Indicators, also known as KPI or Key Success Indicators (KSI), help an organization define and measure progress toward organizational goals. KPI’s are quantifiable measurements, agreed to beforehand, that reflect the critical success factors of an organization. They will differ depending on the organization. Whatever Key Performance Indicators are selected, they must reflect the organization’s goals, they must be key to its success and they must be quantifiable (measurable). Key Performance Indicators usually are long-term considerations. The definition of what they are and how they are measured do not change often. The goals for a particular Key Performance Indicator may change as the organization’s goals change, or as it gets closer to achieving a goal.
Performance Management
Performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product or service, as well as many other areas.
Performance Slide Filters
Another way to graphically show supplier performance. Users can use sliders to filter out suppliers who fall below certain scores. Sliders are grouped by section (e.g. HSE, Cost, Efficiency, Innovation), and users can modify the sliders position to filter out those suppliers who fall below specific scores. This leaves the user with a sub-set of suppliers performing at or above the ranges set, allowing them to focus attention on them.
Procurement
Procurement is the acquisition of appropriate goods and/or services at the best possible total cost of ownership to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location. Corporations and public bodies often define processes intended to promote fair and open competition for their business while minimizing exposure to fraud and collusion.
Risk Management
Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks (defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on objectives, whether positive or negative) followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities. Risks can come from uncertainty in financial markets, project failures, legal liabilities, credit risk, accidents, natural causes and disasters as well as deliberate attacks from an adversary. Several risk management standards have been developed including the Project Management Institute, the National Institute of Science and Technology, actuarial societies, and ISO standards. Methods, definitions and goals vary widely according to whether the risk management method is in the context of project management, security, engineering, industrial processes, financial portfolios, actuarial assessments, or public health and safety. The strategies to manage risk include transferring the risk to another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of the risk, and accepting some or all of the consequences of a particular risk. Certain aspects of many of the risk management standards have come under criticism for having no measurable improvement on risk even though the confidence in estimates and decisions increase.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS (software as a service) model is a way of providing the same software to different customers via a network, usually via the Internet. In other words, the software is not hosted on the customers individual computers. Under the SaaS model, a vendor is responsible for the creation, updating, and maintenance of software. Customers buy a subscription to access it, which includes a separate license, or seat, for each person that will use the software.
Supplier
A supplier is a supply chain management term meaning anyone who provides goods or services to a company. A vendor often manufactures inventoriable items, and sells those items to a customer.
Supply Chain
A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer. In sophisticated supply chain systems, used products may re-enter the supply chain at any point where residual value is recyclable. Supply chains link value chains.
Supply Chain Management (SCM)
Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers (Harland, 1996).[1] Supply Chain Management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption (supply chain). Another definition is provided by the APICS Dictionary when it defines SCM as the “design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand, and measuring performance globally.”
Supplier Evaluation
Supplier evaluation is a term used in business and refers to the process of evaluating and approving potential suppliers by factual and measurable assessment. The purpose of supplier evaluation is to ensure a portfolio of best in class suppliers is available for use. Supplier evaluation is also a process applied to current suppliers in order to measure and monitor their performance for the purposes of reducing costs, mitigating risk and driving continuous improvement.
Supply Management
The term supply management describes the methods and processes of modern corporate or institutional buying. This may be for the purchasing of supplies for internal use, purchasing raw materials for the consumption during the manufacturing process, or for the purchasing of goods for inventory to be resold as products in the distribution and retail process. Supply management deals primarily with the oversight and management of materials and services inputs, management of the suppliers who provide those inputs, and support of the process of acquiring those inputs. The performance of supply management departments and supply management professionals is commonly measured in terms of amount of money saved for the organization. However, managing risk is one of the other critical aspects of supply management; especially the risk of non-availability at the required time of quality goods and services critical for an organization’s survival and growth.
Supplier Heat Maps
This is a dashboard report which allows the administrator to define specific time periods for comparison. The report then provides a color-coded representation of the variance between the pre-set time periods for a variety of scores (Performance, Satisfaction, Commercial). The user can drilldown through the report based on the company hierarchy i.e. Sectors/Sub-sector, SPU/BU/PU, geographical locations and view the variance in scores for a particular supplier/supplier group for a specific timeframe.
Supplier Performance Management (SPM)
Supplier Performance Management (SPM) is a business practice that is used to measure, analyze, and manage the performance of an organization’s performance in an effort to cut costs, alleviate risks, and drive continuous improvement. The ultimate intent is to identify potential issues and their root causes so that they can be resolved to everyone’s benefit as early as possible. You can find out more here (LINK)
Supplier Performance Scorecard
The Supplier Performance Scorecard is a mechanism to track supplier progress towards meeting an operator’s goals, and give immediate feedback to the supply base on their individual performance. A Supplier rating (or vendor rating as it sometimes referred) is a business term used to describe the process of measuring an organization’s supplier capabilities and performance.
Supplier Rating
A Supplier rating (or vendor rating as it sometimes referred) is a business term used to describe the process of measuring an organization’s supplier capabilities and performance. Supplier rating often forms part of an organization’s supplier relationship management program. Such systems can vary in the criteria that are assessed; this broadly falls into quantative and qualative types can be used as when undertaking vendor rating, the process varies from one organization to another – common criteria often include quality – for example number of not right first-time deliveries, delivery schedule adherence, Cost/Price, capability and service.
Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)
Supplier relationship management (SRM) is a discipline of working collaboratively with those suppliers that are vital to the success of your organisation, to maximise the potential value of those relationships. It is a comprehensive approach to managing an enterprise’s interactions with the organizations that supply the goods and services it uses and is part of the information flow component of supply chain management (SCM). The goal of supplier relationship management (SRM) is to streamline and make more effective the processes between an enterprise and its suppliers and includes both business practices and software. SRM practices create a common frame of reference to enable effective communication between an enterprise and suppliers who may use quite different business practices and terminology. As a result, SRM increases the efficiency of processes associated with acquiring goods and services, managing inventory, and processing materials.
Vendor
See Supplier
Vendor Relationship Management (VRM)
Vendor Relationship Management (VRM) is the reciprocal of CRM or Customer Relationship Management. VRM describes a set of tools, technologies and services that help individuals go to market and manage relationships with vendors. In turn, vendors who align themselves to these tools, technologies and services will have the opportunity to build better relationships with their customers. The goal of VRM is to improve the relationship between the demand-side and the supply-side of markets by providing new and better ways for the former to relate to the latter. In a larger sense, VRM has the potential to improve markets and their mechanisms by equipping customers to be independent leaders and not just captive followers in their relationships with vendors and other parties on the supply side of the marketplace.
