A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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A and B articles	Goods of high strategic importance: high-quality and crucial to company operations .
A2A - Server (Application to Application)	The A2A - Server is described in detail under Services/Sourcing/Products/Integration Read more there.
Activity Based Costing (ABC)	Process cost calculation. This procedure lets a company know how and where profit can be achieved. ABC identifies all significant activities within a cost item and calculates the associated costs - including costs that beyond functional borders..
ASP (Application Service Providing)	Another form of outsourcing information technology. B2B-Marketplace/Platform operators are often ASP-providers or users. Internet commerce platforms are often best suited to use this software model.
Auction	We are referring here to online negotiation. Learn more here.
B   top
B2B (Business to Business)	B2B: Electronic interaction between companies, oriented to the procurement market in this case.
Backup-System & Recovery	Security system & recovery: Daily security using full backups allows for fast recovery in the event of total failure. Permanent database backup makes sure data is current after a recovery.
Benchmarking	Creation of a numeric system based on an efficiency comparison between (mainly) prominent enterprises. Goal: Orientation help during the optimization of company performance.
Business Logistics	Term defining how companies are supplied with materials, goods and services in the structure of the economy.
Business presentation	This is a marketing tool suppliers can use to introduce themselves to sourcing companies. The buyer search is performed using newtron Nomenclature to make sure the best potential customers are identified. Extensive search and filter options make looking for customers fast and uncomplicated. The entire customer/supplier communication is supported by an integrated messaging system.
Business process	A thorough analysis of the processes and work methods used throughout the company and even beyond. Example: Order execution, from initial contact to delivery to payment for the finished product.
Business index - newtron	Learn more here.
Business Reengineering	Restructuring of internal operational processes and structures to increase efficiency and competitiveness.
Buying	By way of comparison to the terms sales and marketing, sourcing represents a subfunction of procurement, concerned mainly with operational and execution-oriented activities in furnishing a company with material supplies. Tasks within sourcing include searching for, selecting and cultivating suppliers, negotiating purchases, executing and repeating orders as well as routine activities such as inspecting incoming goods and expediting delivery.
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C articles	Products with low strategic importance: Not valuable, not crucial to company operations.
Callback-Button	This system tool can be used at any time to report problems to newtron or to send ideas and suggestions to Customer Service. A newtron representative will call back as early as possible.
Collaborative Engineering	Collaborative engineering allows for the exchange of product drawings and specifications using the newtron CAD viewer without any additional integration expenditures. This leads to a better selection of suppliers and the ability to communicate needs more effectively. In addition, this tool allows the supplier to make suggestions for improvement and contribute to the product development process.
Content	The term "Content" has two meanings in the context of Internet platforms: First, content means the description of the objects bought and sold on these platforms. But content also refers to general information about the platform and its environment (i.e. currency exchange and prognoses).
Customer Service	Customer service
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Document management/Archive	All negotiations are archived in the system by newtron, and can be listed using our extensive filter options. These negotiations can be used company-wide, and can serve as the basis for new negotiations.
Delta training	Functionality training after introducing new application developments; held at newtron.
Demand Pooling	Pooling of demand within a company: Individual requests for identical products are collected internally and pooled into a single request for bids to realize pooling benefits.
Design-to-Cost	Definition of target costs for all individual components in a production run. Start: As soon as possible in the course of product development and manufacturing. Goal: permanent cost reduction.
Desktop Sourcing	A software solution that makes it possible for a company employee to view a catalogue listing many suppliers from his/her desk, and to procure the right products.
Direct Materials	Direct materials that become primary components in a product during production.
Document management/Archive	All negotiations are archived in the system by newtron, and can be listed using our extensive filter options. These negotiations can be used company-wide, and can serve as the basis for new negotiations.
Domestic Sourcing	In domestic sourcing, procurement activities are restricted to a national level, in contrast to global sourcing.
Dual Sourcing	By way of comparison to single sourcing, dual sourcing refers to procuring an object from two different sources. Within certain bounds, this makes it possible to reduce the disadvantages of single sourcing while still enjoying the benefits of a limited number of suppliers.
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Execution	As the word indicates, this phase of the procurement process encompasses the execution of the project at hand. It includes like ordering, delivery, etc.
e-Business (electronic Business)	Electronic business: The planning, support, execution and maintenance of performance exchange processes using electronic networks.
e-Commerce (electronic Commerce)	Electronic commerce: Support for everything from business activities and processes to relationships with all internal and external partners, using information and communication technology.
Education Service	Training service
e-Procurement (electronic Procurement)	"Electronic procurement management": The use of information and communication technology with the goal of restructuring a company's procurement division to be more time- and cost-efficient.
e-Sourcing	E-Sourcing: An Internet-based process to assist in the efficient selection of the right suppliers for all goods and services to be procured, substantially improving the effectiveness of sourcing. The e-Sourcing process also covers company-wide requirement specifications, the preselection of suitable suppliers, requirement advertising, automated offer evaluation and qualitative supplier management.
e-Supply-Chain-Management	Electronic management of value-added chains (sourcing, logistics, sales, etc.) (For a detailed description see Supply Chain Management).
Excel Upload / Download	Upload and download of data. When conducting negotiations using newtron, a number of bids/reviews can be made offline in Excel and uploaded into the system.
F   top
Firewall	To protect customer data against hackers.
FMEA (Error possibility and effect analysis)	The FMEA is a product/process-oriented method for analyzing the possibility and consequences of errors.
Force Majeure	Force majeure: Default on a contract due to circumstances beyond the control of the contracting party (e.g. flood, fire, war), and for which it cannot be held liable.
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Global Sourcing	Global supplier research: Building relationships with several suppliers on a rational and international basis in the procurement process, thus reinforcing supplier competition.
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Indirect Materials	Indirect materials that do not become direct product components in a product, but which are still important to the manufacturing process (e.g. auxiliary materials and supplies).
Integrated help system	For points requiring more information, newtron users can jump directly to the relevant section in the online help guide and get detailed information by category.
IPOs (International Procurement Offices)	In the context of global sourcing, International Procurement Offices make up an important part of a worldwide procurement strategy. These international procurement offices serve as "locals" in negotiations with suppliers on behalf of internal and/or external customers. The costs of running such offices benefit from smaller and/or nonexistent cultural differences, leading to better information and communication as a result. IPOs are tools that can be used to realize the unique advantages of both global and local sourcing simultaneously. Large companies often have IPOs in countries of interest to them, while smaller companies frequently avail themselves of the services of external IPOs.
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Just-in-Time	A principle in optimal time-planning for avoiding idle time on the one hand, and unnecessarily high stocks on the other. Order placement and delivery take place in such a way that the components needed for production are available as close to the time of actual need as possible, thus keeping inventory costs to a minimum.
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Local Sourcing	Using the Local Sourcing concept, the user can choose to include only the suppliers in the geographic vicinity of the procuring company in its procurement activities (see also Global and Domestic Sourcing).
Login Management	In order to ensure a constant overview of who has which Login and who has what authorization level, newtron has a login management feature structured as follows: Role parameter, authorization parameter and deputy parameter.
Logistics	All the transportation, packaging and warehousing procedures that apply to material goods. When these procedures take place internally, the term internal logistics is used. Accordingly, external logistics is the term used if these procedures apply among two or several companies.
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Manufacturing FMEA ( (Error possibility and effect analysis)	Useful in locating potential errors during component manufacture with regard to the submission of technical data or material selection (see FMEA).
M2M (Multiposition-to-Multisupplier)	Many positions vis-a-vis many bidders: During negotiations, suppliers can make bids on the positions that appeal to them according to the cherry-picking principle. These positions can be bundled into a bid and then submitted. M2M is used predominantly in negotiations with many roles (positions) to fill, covering several areas of the procurement portfolios.
M2M Auction	In this type of auction, various positions can be combined into packages. Suppliers must always make complete bids on all the components in a package (m2s mode), but they can still decide which packages they would like to bid on. Each package must contain at least one position.
M2S (Multiposition-to-Singlesupplier)	Many positions - one bidder: Using this parameter, the buyer can decide whether he wants to send his request to several suppliers or to rely on a single supplier. M2S is often used in negotiations with systems suppliers, or to realize bundling effects.
Make or Buy	The decision regarding which parts to manufacture and which ones to buy, in order to optimize costs and efficiency.
mASP (Management Application Service Providing)	newtron's centrally hosted applications, based on the principle of "Managed Application Service Providing," with additional service provided by Professional, IT and Customer Services.
Material needs	Quantity, quality and type of materials required at a given time.
Material group management	Design feature for pooling requirements among diversified and decentralized entities. Here, material group management gives way to function-independent teams (temporarily or permanently) that assume responsibility for procuring a material group (for example a complete building group), thereby constituting both the group in need and the designated decision-maker . This concept combines the advantages of decentralized procurement with those of centralized sourcing,
Material management	see Material management
Material management	Material management refers to all activities involved in planning, controlling and evaluating procurement within a company. The goal of material management is to optimize the planning for, as well as the supply and disposal and/or recycling of the necessary materials, in order to attain the "optimum."
Material management optimum	The material management optimum refers to the ideal state in which the correct product is in the right place, in the correct quantity and the desired quality, as well as at the right time and at as low a cost as possible.
Minimum quantity	Inventory quantity that must always be on hand to cope with potential fluctuations in supply.
Module Sourcing	Procurement of complete modules instead of individual components. In contrast to Unit Sourcing, this concept transfers a portion of assembly to the supplier. A module produced in this way is usually a manufacturing management unit that can be used and/or integrated directly in production. Module Sourcing is an example of an object-oriented procurement strategy.
Mouse-Over help	Serves to show brief explanations of a topic. Often behind a question mark.
Multiple Sourcing	As opposed to Single and Dual Sourcing, the Multiple Sourcing concept involves many suppliers in a procurement process.
N   top
Negotiation	In this phase of the procurement process, bids are compared and evaluated, and in conjunction with the supplier, agreements are reached on price, terms of delivery, terms of payment etc. This includes the electronic request for quote and auction forms.
newtronAutomotive	This procurement and communication platform makes it possible for suppliers to the automotive industry to review and submit all specifications, terms of delivery and contracts on-line. For all product groups. For large or small production runs. An extensive listing of international suppliers with information on quality and capacity is included.
newtronCompoNET	newtronCompoNET is not only one of the largest procurement indexes available, but also the most successful platform. Companies in industries such as machine and facilities construction, electronics and electrical engineering, or measurement and calibration technology, can use newtronCompoNET to map their daily procurement processes electronically to increase their speed and efficiency.
newtronMRO (Maintenance, Repairs, Operational Goods)	The abbreviation MRO stands for Maintenance, Repair, Operations. newtronMRO can be used to procure so-called C-articles and services more economically, in the context of framework agreements. Additionally, newtronMRO enables individual employees to perform budget-oriented sourcing (Desktop Procurement).
Nomenclature	Learn more here.
O   top
Operational Analysis	Operational analysis: Ongoing analysis of internal functions and procedures in order to optimize the running of the company.
Organizational structure general	Structured mapping of the sourcing organization. External organizational entities (locations) for inclusion into the presentation of your firm in the Business Index, as well as internal organizational entities to depict the sourcing structures used/mapped. The "user group concept" aids in the summary and coordination of personnel with the same job parameters (e.g. the same procurement portfolio).
Organizational structure statistics	Extensive statistics can be viewed by user group and organizational unit. The login activity as well as negotiation statistics of individual employees can be viewed for a given timeframe.
Outsourcing	This term is a combination of "outside," "resource(s)" and "using." The word gives a graphic description of what is meant by outsourcing: Resources from the outside are brought in to provide the services a company needs. The use of external resources almost always precedes the transfer of internal functions to independent specialists.
Over-engineering	In the product development and production phase, materials and components that are too expensive are often planned into the later stages of the production process without considering qualitatively sufficient yet cheaper alternatives. In the long run, overengineering often leads to products that are too expensive.
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Planning	In procurement marketing, this phase of the procurement process includes the steps from sourcing (supplier search) to the request for information to the exchange of product specifications, in order to focus the supplier search into more specific product areas.
Procurement	Generally, companies do not manufacture all the objects they need for their business activities by themselves. All the activities that contribute to supplying the necessary materials that not manufactured by a company itself, fit into the procurement category. There are different opinions in theory and in practice about the range of objects to include. In a narrow definition, procurement refers only to the supply of raw materials, auxiliary materials and fuels included in the term "sourcing." A more liberal definition of the term procurement also includes supplying the company with machines and plants, services, information & know-how, energy, rights, personnel and capital.
Procurement conditions	This term refers in particular to the agreed upon terms of delivery and payment, as well as their price. Moreover, procurement conditions determine the point at which liability is transferred from the seller to the buyer, as well as the distribution of insurance and transportation costs.
Procurement logistics	The purpose of procurement logistics is to ensure that the company's material needs are met in an economical and accurate way. Once materials leave the product delivery warehouse, they are no longer the responsibility of procurement logistics.
Procurement marketing	Procurement marketing can be divided into strategic and operational procurement marketing. Strategic procurement marketing refers above all to ensuring the long-term availability of material supplies and cultivating business relations. Operational procurement marketing deals with segmenting the procurement market and determining the protocol for dealing with suppliers.
Procurement market	The market from which a company procures what it needs.
Purchasing	The purchase of materials, products and services at a certain price and point in time from one or more sources of procurement.
Point-of-order process	A warehouse management process: A product is ordered once a stocks have dipped to a certain level.
Parallel Auction	These are package auctions in which all procurement packages begin at the same time. Bidders are free to focus on a certain package. In this way, several packages can be negotiated rapidly.
PDM (Product Data Management)	A system (synonym of PLM) to aid in file storage, inquiries, administration and version management of technical drawings, structural drawings and parts lists.
PLM = Product Lifecycle Management	A system (synonym of PDM) to aid in file storage, inquiries, administration and version management of technical drawings, structural drawings and parts lists.
Portal, Platform	Virtual internet locations for e-Commerce.
PPS	A production planning and control system helps in drafting production plans, taking into consideration information about the current distribution, production and procurement situations.
Private Nomenclature	Internal mapping of a particular company's hierarchical product nomenclature. Frequently used product groups are found faster and existing master suppliers can be selected much faster (see Nomenclature).
Procurement	The term goes beyond the mere purchase of products and services, as it encompasses a much wider range of activities, e.g. material, quality and inventory control, as well as the receipt and inspection of deliveries.
Professional Service	Project management: Customer-side project team consultation during the project planning and control phases.
Product check	There is a distinction to be made between exterior and content-based product checks: The exterior product check refers to checking for accompanying documents (e.g. bill of lading, invoice), whereas a content-based product check focuses on the condition and quality of the product at hand.
Process costs	Sourcing and procurement is a classic company overhead category, since the costs of these activities cannot be directly associated with any product. In order to be able to add the sum of all the costs associated with procurement to the procurement objects themselves, overhead procurement costs are classified based on the time required to procure an object. This way the true cost of procurement can be arrived at. The earlier practice of determining overhead solely on the basis of the products being procured often led to the total cost of procuring non-valuable products being too low, as well as the total cost of procuring more expensive goods being too high. For this reason, the basis for making "make or buy" decisions was frequently distorted, and led to poor decisions with serious consequences. Since the procurement of non-valuable products incurs high procurement costs in relation to the actual value of the products, in modern practice these items are often brought in using eProcurement (see Purchasing Cards).
Purchasing Cards	Procuring low-priced products in particular is associated with very high processing costs relative to the value of the products being procured. In order to reduce these processing costs, employees can procure these goods using a company-owned credit card - a Purchasing Card. Information about the order, account, authorization, etc., can be processed automatically and then transferred to the internal EDP system, which can lead to substantial savings in the cost of administrative execution.
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Quality	Includes all the characteristics of an entity and its suitability for fulfilling the agreed upon requirements.
Quality audits	Quality audits serve to examine whether the steps taken to achieve the desired quality standard actually helped achieve it.
Quality guidance	Includes all future-oriented, evaluative and corrective steps to ensure that the required quality is achieved.
Quality management system	Includes all organizational areas and company procedures for the practical implementation of quality management.
Quality policy	Includes all the goals set by the quality assurance organization.
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Re-order quantity	An inventory management term: Inventory quantity at which product needs to be re-ordered.
Request for bids	This refers to submitting quotations. Learn more here.
RA (Reverse Auctions)	Reverse auction. Learn more here.
RFI (Request for Information)	Reverse auction. Learn more here.
RFQ ( Request for Quotation)	Reverse auction. Learn more here.
Rollout Planning	Learn more here.
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Sequential auction	In this mode the procurement packages are staggered within a certain time period. Bidders making bids on several packages can track them all at once. Sequential auctions can be used if bidders are able to make offers on several but not all packages.
Serial Auction	In this mode the procurement packages begin successively. Serial auctions can be used in auctions where almost all the bidders make offers for every package, yet where bids are evaluated and accepted per package.
Single Sourcing	Single sourcing means sourcing a procurement object from a single supplier. The advantages inherent in need bundling and lower administrative costs are counteracted by the potential risk of mutual interdependence, which carries with it the danger that one or both parties will behave opportunistically. A possible solution to this conflict of interest is Dual Sourcing (see Dual Sourcing).
Sourcing	Supplier research divided into Single Sourcing, Dual Sourcing, Multiple Sourcing, Global Sourcing, Module Sourcing, Unit Sourcing and System Sourcing (see those terms).
Subcontracting	This refers to business operations being wholly or partially passed onto third parties contracted to provide the required finished and semifinished parts so that the company does not have to manufacture them on its own.
Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)	Supplier Relationship Management is the "total" management of supplier relationships and the procurement process using new technologies--from mutual product development to strategic sourcing to operational order execution. SRM allows businesses to optimize their supplier network and sourcing overhead.
Supplier reduction	Reduction of many suppliers to a smaller number of main suppliers.
Supplier management	For the internal structuring of master suppliers/potential suppliers, all companies can be arranged into the above categories using newtron Supplier Management. Fields for recording past experience with suppliers serve as future selection criteria. Integration into the Business Index as well as extensive search and filter options allow the user to create the company list he/she desires and then work them into the Supplier Management system.
Supplier pyramid	A supplier pyramid refers to the hierarchy of suppliers used by a manufacturer. The manufacturer stands at the top of the pyramid as the suppliers' end customer. 1st-tier suppliers deliver directly to the manufacturer. This supplier has suppliers in turn, who are called 2nd-tier suppliers. The 2nd-tier suppliers also have suppliers, and so on. This hierarchy of suppliers is called the supplier pyramid.
Supply Chain Management	Supply Chain Management (SCM) refers to planning, controlling and evaluating material and service flows, including the associated information and money flows in a given group of companies. In order to optimize effectiveness and efficiency, the companies work together in a succession of stages in the value-added chain, including development, production and utilization of material goods and/or services.
System Sourcing	Like unit and module sourcing, system sourcing is a member of the procurement object strategy group. Unlike module sourcing, in system sourcing the supplier contributes significantly to the development of the system being procured. Modules and systems do not necessarily have to be congruent. A system primarily represents a functional entity within development technology, whereas a module refers to a manufacturing entity. Several modules can be combined to form a system. In this sense, the front end of a car is a module, and its sound system is a system. From a procurement point of view, it is not necessary to explicitly differentiate between module and system sourcing.
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Target Costing	In developing a new product, the target costs of the individual product components to be procured are determined by means of a Target Costing based on the realistic market price for the products; desired profit is taken into consideration as well. In order to achieve the target costs, early integration of the suppliers into the product development process is necessary, as is a discussion of the target costs with the supplier(s). This form of supplier integration is especially successful in industries with assembly manufacturing.
Tier	See Supplier Pyramid.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)	Total cost of supplying a company with products and services, taking into consideration the procurement and stocking costs as well as other expenditures (e.g. for fixing problems in non-valuable goods, administrative work, recycling, disposal etc.).
Total Quality Management	A comprehensive quality management concept taking into consideration the individual components of quality assurance.
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Unit Sourcing	Unit Sourcing - also called Particular Sourcing - is an object-oriented procurement strategy that includes the procurement of simple objects from a variety of sources, which can then be assembled by the customer into a functional whole.
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Value Analysis	Value analysis: Examination of materials and components as to their functionality and efficiency in view of their procurement price, with the goal of achieving optimal quality at the lowest possible price. The result of this type of value analysis can be alternative materials, improved production methods and performance on the part of specialized suppliers.
Value Engineering	The use of value-analytic methods is an important means to drive down production costs from product development through manufacturing.
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WebEDI ( Electronic Data Interchange)	Electronic integration between buyers and sellers in terms of execution and logistics processes; hands-off exchange of structured business documents (current order, framework call, delivery notification, invoice, note of credit).
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XML = Extensible Markup Language	XML is seen as a promising data format for the structured exchange of documents over the Internet.
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Yellow Book	The 1985 CD-ROM standard with all technical parameters. This standard guarantees that CD-ROMs can be used on all drives.
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