ERP Glossary

A calculation of how much of an item can be committed to a new order, based on on-hand stock minus what's already reserved or allocated to other orders.

The structured list of every component, sub-assembly, and quantity required to manufacture one unit of a finished item.

A formal, tracked process for investigating a quality failure, fixing its immediate cause (corrective) and its root cause (preventive) so it doesn't recur.

Software that tracks leads, contacts, accounts, and the sales pipeline — the system a sales team uses to manage relationships and opportunities before a deal is won.

A periodic, partial physical inventory count of a subset of items, used to verify system-recorded quantities against reality without a full warehouse shutdown.

The systematic allocation of a fixed asset's cost over its useful life, reducing its recorded book value over time as it's used.

Business software that runs an organisation's core operational processes — finance, sales, procurement, inventory, manufacturing, HR — on one shared data model instead of separate, disconnected tools.

The end-to-end process from capturing a sales lead through qualification, quotation, order confirmation, and invoicing.

Tracking inventory at the level of individual batches (lot tracking) or individual units (serial tracking), typically for traceability, recall, or warranty purposes.

A control where the person who creates or prepares a transaction cannot also be the one who approves it — also called segregation of duties.

The process of calculating what materials a manufacturer needs to buy or produce, and when, based on demand, existing inventory, and lead times.

ERP software that supports running more than one legal entity, plant, or branch on one platform, with each entity's data structurally separated while still allowing consolidated reporting when needed.

A software architecture where multiple customer organisations (tenants) share the same application infrastructure while their data stays structurally isolated from each other.

A recorded instance where a product, material, or process fails to meet a defined quality specification — the triggering event for an inspection hold or a CAPA.

A manufacturing metric combining availability, performance, and quality into a single score representing how effectively a piece of equipment or line is being used.

The process from a confirmed sales order through warehouse fulfilment to invoicing — the fulfilment and billing half of the broader lead-to-cash cycle.

The end-to-end process from a purchase requisition through sourcing, purchase order, receipt, invoice matching, and payment.

An internal request to buy goods or services, the first step in a governed procure-to-pay process before sourcing or a purchase order exists.

An access-control model where permissions are granted to roles rather than individual users, and users gain permissions by being assigned to a role.

Reorder point is the inventory level that triggers a replenishment order; safety stock is the buffer quantity held to protect against demand or supply variability.

A formal invitation sent to suppliers to submit pricing and terms for a defined scope of goods or services, typically used for competitively sourced spend.

The sequence of operations (and the work centers/time each requires) needed to convert raw materials into a finished item — the process complement to a BOM's materials list.

A defined commitment for how quickly a support request will be responded to or resolved, typically measured and tracked against a due date.

The system of record for every inventory movement — receipts, issues, transfers, adjustments — that determines an item's real-time on-hand quantity and valuation.

A procurement control that compares the purchase order, the goods receipt, and the vendor invoice before a bill is approved for payment — catching discrepancies before money moves.

Inventory that has entered the production process but isn't yet a finished good — materials that have been issued to a work order but not yet completed.

A released, trackable instruction to produce a specific quantity of an item, snapshotting its materials and operations from an active bill of materials and routing.