Glossary

Rethinking and redesigning business processes with the objective of improving performance. A process designed to make major revisions to business processes.

Carriers that use a trailer with a cooling unit designed to maintain a temperature controlled environment and protect goods from the extremes of heat or cold.

The time gap, used for support activities like moving items and line changeovers, from when manufacturing receives an order to the start of the production process.

The point when you need to reorder inventory to avoid running out of stock. The minimum inventory level that triggers an order to be placed.

The movement of inventory items from a reserve storage location to a primary picking location or to another mode of storage in which picking is performed.

A document used to gather information about a product or service from suppliers. May be used prior to or be included as part of an RFP.

A document which outlines requirements and solicits proposals from potential suppliers to outline how they can meet the needs and the cost to do so.

A document which specifies the item or service needed and solicits prices from potential suppliers. Less detailed and simpler than an RFP.

Businesses that are between the manufacturers and customers in the distribution chain. They buy in bulk and sell to others after marking up the products.

In accounting, the measure of the quantity of resource consumed by an activity. Example: the percentage of total square feet of space occupied by an activity.

Anything used in the performance of activities or to directly support cost objects, such as people, materials, supplies, equipment, technologies, and facilities.

A business that buys products from a manufacturer or wholesaler and sells them to end users or customers.

The financial charges associated with the disposal or recycling of products that have been returned due to customer rejects, end of life, or obsolescence.

The process of returning products from customers to manufacturers, including documentation, transportation, receipt, quantities and why they were returned.

An RMA number provides the authority for a defective product to be returned and as a reference for credit approval or product repair and replacement.

A metric that indicates a company's profitability in relation to its total assets; calculated by dividing a company's net income by its total assets.

A measure of how efficiently a company turns sales into profits; calculated by dividing a company's operating profit by its net sales.

The financial charges associated with managing RMAs and return-related processing costs including moving goods, handling, and storage.

Similar to an RMA but used when returning an item under warranty.

The financial charges associated with managing returned goods that are placed in inventory including repair or refurbishment and disposal.

The financial charges associated with return orders and returns inventory, plus any finance, planning, and information technology costs to support return activity.

All financial charges associated with returns - transportation, handling, storage, repair or replacement, finance, information technology, management, etc.

In economics, the measure of proportional change in output with respect to the input factors in the long run at constant technology used for the production process.

When goods are sent back to the consignor after a customer or buyer’s inspection department rejects the material.

A process that analyzes a device or program to determine its function or structure. Often done with the intent of re-creating or modifying it.