accounts payable (AP): The value of goods and services acquired for which payment has not yet been made.
accounts receivable (AR): The value of goods shipped or services rendered to a customer on which payment has not yet been received. Usually includes an allowance for bad debts.
advanced planning and scheduling (APS): Techniques that deal with analysis and planning of logistics and manufacturing over the short, intermediate, and long-term time periods. APS describes any computer program that uses advanced mathematical algorithms or logic to perform optimization or simulation on finite capacity scheduling, sourcing, capital planning, resource planning, forecasting, demand management, and others. These techniques simultaneously consider a range of constraints and business rules to provide real-time planning and scheduling, decision support, available-to-promise, and capable-to-promise capabilities. APS often generates and evaluates multiple scenarios. Management then selects one scenario to use as the "official plan." The five main components of APS systems are demand planning, production planning, production scheduling, distribution planning, and transportation planning.
pplication programming interface (API): A set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications or for communicating with programs or other systems. A good API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks that a programmer needs Although APIs are designed for programmers, they are ultimately good for users because they guarantee that all programs using a common API will have similar interfaces, which makes it easier for users to learn new programs. On the other hand, many enterprise applications vendors provide APIs for integrating other applications with their systems.
application service provider (ASP): A third-party entity that manages and distributes software-based leased services and solutions to customers across a wide area network from a central data center. In essence, ASPs are a way for companies to outsource some or almost all aspects of their information technology needs.
business intelligence (BI): Sets of tools that provide graphical analysis of business information in multidimensional views thus enabling people to make better decisions and improve their business processes.
business-to-business e-commerce (B2B) (A): Business being conducted over the Internet between businesses. The implication is that this connectivity will cause businesses to transform themselves via supply chain management to become virtual organizations, reducing costs, improving quality, reducing delivery lead time, and improving due-date performance.
business-to-consumer sales (B2C) (A): Business being conducted between businesses and final consumers largely over the Internet. It includes traditional brick and mortar businesses that also offer products online and businesses that trade exclusively electronically.
capable-to-promise (CTP): The process of committing orders against available capacity as well as inventory. This process may involve multiple manufacturing or distribution sites. Capable-to-promise is used to determine when a new or unscheduled customer order can be delivered. Capable-to-promise employs a finite-scheduling model of the manufacturing system to determine when an item can be delivered. It includes any constraints that might restrict the production, such as availability of resources, lead times for raw materials or purchased parts, and requirements for lower-level components or subassemblies. The resulting delivery date takes into consideration production capacity, the current manufacturing environment, and future order commitments. The objective is to reduce the time spent by production planners in expediting orders and adjusting plans because of inaccurate delivery-date promises.
capacity requirements planning (CRP): The function of establishing, measuring, and adjusting limits or levels of capacity. The term CRP in this context refers to the process of determining in detail the amount of labor and machine resources required to accomplish the tasks of production.
computer-assisted software engineering (CASE): The use of computerized tools to assist in the process of designing, developing, and maintaining software products and systems.
computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS): Automated software systems for handling maintenance work orders, as well as associated inventory, purchasing, accounting, and human resources functions. In some industries—particularly process production, in which manufacturers look to optimize use of capital-intensive equipment—maintenance management systems play a leading role as the enterprise system. Maintenance management systems have similar basic functionality, including:
1) use of work orders for preventive and predictive maintenance,2) equipment recording and tracking,3) inventory control,4) scheduling labor and resources, and5) purchasing.
corporate performance management (CPM): An overarching term that describes the methodologies, metrics, processes and systems used to monitor and manage the business performance of an enterprise. Applications that enable CPM translate strategically focused information to operational plans and send aggregated results.
cost of goods sold (COGS): An accounting classification useful for determining the amount of direct materials, direct labor, and allocated overhead associated with the products sold during a given period of time.
customer relationship management (CRM): Software systems that range from simple, off-the-shelf contact management solutions to high-end interactive selling suites that combine sales, marketing, and executive information tools. These include product configuration, quote and proposal management, and marketing encyclopedias. Some systems extend functions to include complex pricing, promotions, commission plans, team selling, and campaign management. Enterprise-level solutions installed at large companies with hundreds or even thousands of users have capabilities for call center and help desks; field service; forecasting; and analysis.
engineer-to-order (ETO): Products whose customer specifications require unique engineering design, significant customization, or new purchased materials. Each customer order results in a unique set of part numbers, bills of material, and routings.
enterprise application integration (EAI): The unrestricted sharing of data and business processes throughout the networked applications or data sources in an organization, since early software programs in areas such as inventory control, human resources, sales automation and database management were designed to run independently, with no interaction between the systems. There are four major categories of EAI:
1) database linking: databases share information and duplicate information as needed;2) application linking: the enterprise shares business processes and data between two or more applications;3) data warehousing: data is extracted from a variety of data sources and channeled into a specific database for analysis; and4) common virtual system: the pinnacle of EAI; all aspects of enterprise computing are tied together so that they appear as a unified application.
enterprise asset management (EAM): A term used by maintenance management software vendors to connote the wide-ranging functionality that their systems include, for example inventory management and financials. A company's total assets might include labor, tools, equipment, materials, and information. The goal of asset management is to optimize asset use and manage all maintenance efforts involved in making assets as reliable, accurate, and efficient as possible. A further crucial element in enterprise wide asset management is integration with financial, human resources, and purchasing functions, as well as production, material requirements planning, and enterprise resources planning systems.
enterprise resources planning (ERP) system:
1) An accounting-oriented information system for identifying and planning the enterprise-wide resources needed to take, make, ship, and account for customer orders. An ERP system differs from the typical MRP II system in technical requirements such as graphical user interface, relational database, use of fourth-generation language, and computer-assisted software engineering tools in development, client/server architecture, and open-system portability.
2) More generally, a method for the effective planning and control of all resources needed to take, make, ship, and account for customer orders in a manufacturing, distribution, or service company.
fourth-generation language (4GL): A general term for a series of high-level nonprocedural languages that enable users or programmers to prototype and to code new systems. Nonprocedural languages use menus, question-and-answer combinations, and a simpler, English-like wording to design and implement systems, update databases, generate reports, create graphs, and answer inquiries.
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