Enterprise resource planning (ERP)

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

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.
production planning - Production planning is the act of developing a guide for the design and production of a given product or service.
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 charter - A project charter is a formal short document that states a project exists and provides project managers with written authority to begin work.
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.
PTO (paid time off, personal time off) - Paid time off (PTO) is a human resource management (HRM) policy that provides employees with a pool of bankable hours that can be used for any purpose.
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.
quality of experience (QoE or QoX) - Quality of experience (QoE or QoX) is a measure of the overall level of a customer's satisfaction and experience with a product or service and the vendor that's providing that product or service.
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.
red herring - A red herring is a logical fallacy in which irrelevant information is presented alongside relevant information, distracting attention from that relevant information.
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.
resource allocation - Resource allocation is the process of assigning and managing assets in a manner that supports an organization's strategic planning goals.
Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) - A Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) is one in which the most important criteria for evaluating employee performance is the completion of satisfactory work on time.
return on equity (ROE) - Return on equity (ROE) is a measure of a company’s financial performance that shows the relationship between a company’s profit and the investor’s return.
revenue cycle management (RCM) - Revenue cycle management (RCM) is the financial process, utilizing medical billing software, that healthcare facilities use to track patient care episodes from registration and appointment scheduling to the final payment of a balance to ensure proper identification, collection and management of revenues from patient services.
revenue operations (RevOps) - Revenue operations (RevOps) is the strategic integration of sales, marketing and service departments to provide a better end-to-end view to administration and management, while leaving day-to-day processes within the departments.
reverse logistics - Reverse logistics is the set of activities that is conducted after the sale of a product to recapture value and end the product's lifecycle.
risk assessment framework (RAF) - A risk assessment framework (RAF) is a strategy for prioritizing and sharing information about the security risks to an information technology (IT) infrastructure.
risk avoidance - Risk avoidance is the elimination of hazards, activities and exposures that can negatively affect an organization and its assets.
risk exposure - Risk exposure is the quantified potential loss from business activities currently underway or planned.
risk map (risk heat map) - A risk map (risk heat map) is a data visualization tool for communicating specific risks an organization faces.
risk profile - A risk profile is a quantitative analysis of the types of threats an organization, asset, project or individual faces.
role mining - Role mining is the process of analyzing user-to-resource mapping data to determine or modify user permissions for role-based access control (RBAC) in an enterprise.
sales and operations planning (S&OP) - Sales and operations planning (S&OP) is a process for better matching a manufacturer's supply with demand by having the sales department collaborate with operations to create a single production plan.
sales lead - A sales lead is a potential sales contact, individual or organization that expresses an interest in your goods or services.
Salesforce - Salesforce, Inc.
Salesforce Community Cloud (Community Cloud) - Community Cloud is a social platform from Salesforce.
Salesforce Customer 360 - Salesforce Customer 360 is a collection of tools that connect Salesforce apps and create a unified customer ID to build a single view of the customer.
Salesforce Health Cloud - Salesforce Health Cloud is a health IT CRM system that incorporates doctor-patient relationship and record management services.
Salesforce Trailhead - Salesforce Trailhead is a series of online tutorials that coach beginner and intermediate developers who need to learn how to code for the Salesforce platform.
SAP MII (SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence) - SAP MII (SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence) is an SAP application for synchronizing manufacturing operations with back-office business processes and standardized data.
SAP SuccessFactors - SAP SuccessFactors is a leading suite of cloud-based talent management and human capital management (HCM) software.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) Section 404 - Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) Section 404 mandates that all publicly traded companies must establish internal controls and procedures for financial reporting and must document, test, and maintain those controls and procedures to ensure their effectiveness.
Scrum - Scrum is a framework for project management that emphasizes teamwork, accountability and iterative progress toward a well-defined goal.
Scrum master - A Scrum master is a facilitator for an Agile development team.
security (finance) - A security, in a financial context, is a certificate or other financial instrument that has monetary value and can be traded.
segregation of duties (SoD) - Segregation of duties (SoD) is an internal control designed to prevent error and fraud by ensuring that at least two individuals are responsible for the separate parts of any task.
semiotics - Semiotics is the study of the use of symbolic communication.
service assurance (SA) - Service assurance (SA) is a procedure or set of procedures intended to optimize performance and provide management guidance in communications networks, media services and end-user applications.
service lifecycle management (SLM) - Service lifecycle management (SLM) describes the strategy and software for managing the maintenance and repair of products and maximizing the profit opportunities from these activities.
service supply chain - The service supply chain is the part of the supply chain dedicated to providing service on products.
seven wastes - The seven wastes are categories of unproductive manufacturing practices identified by Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System (TPS).
share of wallet (SOW) or wallet share - Share of wallet (SOW) is a marketing metric used to calculate the percentage of a customer's spending for a type of product or service that goes to a particular company.
shared services - Shared services is a delivery model organizations use to consolidate similar business functions into a single unit that supports the entire organization.
SIPOC (suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, customers) diagram - A SIPOC (suppliers, inputs, process, outputs, customers) diagram is a visual tool for documenting a business process from beginning to end prior to implementation.
SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) - SMAC (social, mobile, analytics and cloud) is the concept that the convergence of four technologies is currently driving business innovation.
Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) - A Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) is a small business that is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
smart city - A smart city is a municipality that uses information and communication technologies (ICT) to increase operational efficiency, share information with the public and improve both the quality of government services and citizen welfare.
smart manufacturing (SM) - Smart manufacturing (SM) is a technology-driven approach that utilizes Internet-connected machinery to monitor the production process.
SMB (small and medium-sized business or small and midsize business) - SMB is an abbreviation for a small and medium-sized business, sometimes called a small and midsize business.
social media marketing (SMM) - Social media marketing (SMM) is a form of internet marketing that uses social media apps as a marketing tool.
social media policy - A social media policy is a corporate code of conduct that provides guidelines for employees who post content on the internet either as part of their job or as a private person.
social media recruitment (social media recruiting) - Social media recruitment, or social media recruiting, is the process of using social media platforms to identify, engage and vet people the organization may want to hire.
soft copy - A soft copy (sometimes spelled 'softcopy') is an electronic copy (or e-copy) of some type of data, such as a file viewed on a computer's display or transmitted as an email attachment.
soft skills - A soft skill is a personal attribute that supports situational awareness and enhances an individual's ability to get a job done.
solution provider - A solution provider is a vendor, service provider or value-added reseller (VAR) that comprehensively handles the project needs of their client from concept to installation through support.
solution selling - Solution selling refers to the philosophy or practice of uncovering a customer's pain points and then providing products and services that address the underlying business problem.
SPI model - The SPI model is an abbreviation of the most common cloud computing service models: software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
SPIF (sales performance incentive fund) - A SPIF(sales performance incentive fund) is a financial incentive that encourages a sales representative to sell a specific item or group of items.
spiral model - The spiral model is a systems development lifecycle (SDLC) method used for risk management that combines the iterative development process model with elements of the waterfall model.
stacked ranking (stack ranking) - Stacked ranking (stack ranking) is an employee evaluation method that slots a certain percentage of employees into each of several levels of performance.
stakeholder - A stakeholder is a person, group or organization with a vested interest, or stake, in the decision-making and activities of a business, organization or project.
standardization - Standardization is the process of developing, promoting and possibly mandating standards-based and compatible technologies and processes within an industry.
startup culture - A startup culture is a workplace environment that values creative problem-solving, open communication and a flat hierarchy.
statement of work (SOW) - A statement of work (SOW), in project management, is a document in which a contracting officer or chief procurement officer (CPO) specifies the objectives and deliverables for a particular project or service contract.
steering committee - A steering committee comprises a group of high-ranking IT professionals who provide guidance and strategic direction to an organization or organizational segment.
strategic management - Strategic management is the ongoing planning, monitoring, analysis and assessment of all necessities an organization needs to meet its goals and objectives.
strategic planning - Strategic planning is a process in which an organization's leaders define their vision for the future and identify their organization's goals and objectives.
strategic sourcing - Strategic sourcing is an approach to supply chain management that formalizes the way information is gathered and used.
subscription management - Subscription management is the process of overseeing and controlling all aspects of products and services sold repeatedly through a weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription-based pricing model.
succession planning - Succession planning is the strategic process of identifying and developing internal candidates to fill key organizational roles to ensure business continuity and leadership in the face of role transitions, departures, or unforeseen events.
sunsetting - Sunsetting is the intentional phasing out or termination of something, and in business, the term is used often regarding brands, partnerships, agreements, policies, and hardware and software.