PO

The purchaser's authorization is used to formalize a purchase transaction with a supplier. It is the physical form or electronic transaction that a buyer uses when placing an order for merchandise.

POD

Signed by the recipient, this document verifies that the products were delivered in acceptable condition.

Point-of-Purchase (POP)

A retail sales term referring to the area where a sale occurs, such as the checkout counter, POP is also used to refer to the displays and other sales promotion tools located at a checkout counter.

Point of Sale Information

Price and quantity data are collected from retail locations as sales transactions occur.

Point of Sale (POS)

1) The time and place at which a sale occurs, such as a cash register in a retail operation or the order confirmation screen in an online session. Supply chain partners are interested in capturing data at the POS because it is a true record of the sale, rather than being derived from other information such as inventory movement. 2) Also, a national network of merchant terminals at which customers can use client cards and personal security codes to make purchases. Transactions are directed against client deposit accounts. POS terminals are sophisticated cryptographic devices with complex key management processes. POS standards draw on activity-based management (ABM) network experiences and possess extremely stringent security requirements.

Point-of-Use delivery

This is when components are delivered directly to where they will be used, instead of being stored in inventory in a warehouse or distribution center.

Point-of-use inventory

Material used in production processes that is physically stored where it is consumed.

Poka Yoke (Mistake-Proof )

The application of simple techniques prevents process quality failure, a mechanism that either prevents a mistake from being made or makes the mistake obvious at a glance.

Police Powers

The United States constitutionally granted right of the states to establish regulations to protect the health and welfare of its citizens includes truck weight, speed, length, and height laws as examples.

Poly Mailer

This is an alternative method of packaging shipments that involves using a polyester bag as opposed to a box. This is usually leveraged for small, lightweight e-commerce orders.

Pooling

A shipping term for the practice of combining shipments from multiple shippers into a truckload in order to reduce shipping charges.

Port

A harbor, airport, or other facility where ships will anchor, planes will land, or trucks and trains will enter.

Portal

Websites that serve as starting points for other destinations or activities on the Internet. Initially thought of as a 'home base' type of web page, portals attempt to provide all Internet needs in one location. Portals commonly provide services such as email, online chat forums, shopping, searching, content, and news feeds.

Port Authority

A state or local government that owns, operates, or otherwise provides wharf, dock, and other terminal investments at ports.

Port of Discharge

Port where the vessel is offloaded.

Port of Entry

A port at which foreign goods are admitted into the receiving country.

Port of Loading

Port where cargo is loaded aboard the vessel.

POS

Point of Sale

Possession Utility

The value created by marketing's effort to increase the desire to possess a good or benefit from a service.

Post-Deduct Inventory Transaction Processing

A method of inventory bookkeeping where the book (computer) inventory of components is reduced after issuance. When compared to a real-time process, this approach has the disadvantage of a built-in differential between the book record and what is physically in stock. Consumption can be based on recorded actual use or calculated using the finished quantity received times the standard BOM quantity (backflush).

Postponement

The delay of final activities (i.e., assembly, production, packaging, etc.) until the latest possible time is a strategy used to eliminate excess inventory in the form of finished goods. This strategy also allows for the goods to be packaged in a variety of configurations and maximizes the opportunity to provide a customized end product to the customer.

POU

Point-of-Use

Power-By-the-Hour (PBH)

Under PBH, an hourly rate is negotiated, and the contractor is paid in advance based on the forecasted operational hours for the system. Actual hours are reconciled with projected hours, and overages and shortfalls are either added to or credited from the next period's forecasted amounts. Since the contractor receives funding independent of failures, he is then incentivized to overhaul the asset the first time it fails so it stays in operation as long as possible. Bottom line, under the PBH concept, the fewer times the contractor touches a unit, the more money he makes.

P&P

Pick and Pass.

PPAIS

Past Performance Automated Information System.

PPB

Part Period Balancing

PPP

Public-Private Partnering

Pre-Bid SupplierQualification Evaluation

Preliminary audit of new suppliers helps to identify the capacity of suppliers, their responsibility to fulfill contract requirements, and their ability to meet the specifications defined in the system of quality control and the principles of the supplier's policy.

Pre-Deduct Inventory Transaction Processing

A technique used in inventory management is where the book inventory is reduced prior to the actual physical action. This can apply to receipts and issues, where the transaction is completed as soon as the order is released to production or received onto the dock.

Predictive Maintenance (PM)

Regularly scheduled maintenance activities and practices seek to prevent unscheduled machinery downtime by collecting and analyzing data on equipment conditions. The analysis is then used to predict time-to-failure, plan maintenance, and restore machinery to good operating condition.

Pre-Expediting

The act of making an inquiry about an open order is a way of ensuring that delivery is going to be made per agreement.

Prepaid

A freight term that indicates that charges are to be paid by the shipper.

Pre-Receiving

A process that allows companies to prepare for the reception of incoming materials, products, and goods. Pre-receiving allows companies to pay for the materials before receipt to determine how the incoming supplies will be stored or used.

Present Value

The value, on a given date, of a future payment or series of future payments is discounted to reflect the time value of money and other factors, such as investment risk.

Price Erosion

The decrease in price point and profit margin for a product or service occurs over time due to the effect of increased competition or commoditization.

Price Look-Up (PLU)

Used for retail products sold loose, bunched, or in bulk (to identify the different types of fruit, for example). As opposed to UPC (Universal Product Codes) for packaged, fixed-weight retail items, a PLU code contains 4-5 digits in total. The PLU is entered before an item is weighed to determine its price.

Primary-B usiness Test

A test used by the ICC to determine if a trucking operation is bona fide private transportation: the private trucking operation must be incidental to and in the furtherance of the primary business of the firm.

Primary carrier

In freight transportation, a primary carrier is a carrier with which the shipper has a guaranteed price for a specific lane or lanes. Normally, a carrier becomes a primary after winning an RFP.

PrimaryDefect Analysis

A combination of flaw detection—so they may be removed from the product or process—and analysis of defects and errors received—to prevent future defects in the product or process.

Primary Highways

Highways that connect less populated cities with major cities.

Primary Manufacturing Strategy

Your company's dominant manufacturing strategy is the Primary Manufacturing Strategy, which generally accounts for 80% or more of a company's product volume. According to a study by Pittiglio Rabin Todd and McGrath (PRTM), approximately 73% of all companies use a make-to-stock strategy.

PRIME Q R

Product Replenishment and Inventory Management: The Edge for Quick Response.

Private Carrier

A carrier that provides transportation services to the firm and owns or leases the vehicles, without charging a fee. Private motor carriers may also haul for wholly-owned subsidiaries at a fee.

Private Label

Products that are designed, produced, and controlled by, and which carry the name of the store or a name owned by the store, are also known as a store brand or dealer brand. An example would be Wal-Mart's 'Sam's Choice' products.

Private Warehouse

A warehouse that is owned by the company using it.

Proactive

The strategy of understanding issues before they become apparent and presenting the solution as a benefit to the customer, etc.

Process

A series of time-based activities that are linked to complete a specific output.

Process Benchmarking

The activity associated with comparing a process in use to one used by another organization (internal or external) benchmarks may include quantitative metrics as well as functional steps (qualitative).