Cumulative Source/Make Cycle Time

The cumulative internal and external lead time to manufacture a shippable product, assuming that there is no inventory on hand, no materials or parts on order, and no prior forecasts existing with suppliers, is an element of Total Supply Chain Response Time. The calculation involves the critical path along the following elements: Total Sourcing Lead Time, Manufacturing Order Release to Start Manufacturing, Total Manufacture Cycle Time (Make-to-Order, Engineer-to-Order, Configure/Package-to-Order), or Manufacture Cycle Time (Make-to-Stock), and Complete Manufacture to Ship Time. It is important to note that this determination is made separately for Make-to-Order, Configure/Package-to-Order, Engineer-to-Order, and Make-to-Stock products.

Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF)

An additional charge assessed by water carriers for changes in currency value.

Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP)

Regulations enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration apply to food and chemical manufacturers and packagers.

Customer

1) In distribution, the trading partner or reseller (i.e., Wal-Mart, Safeway, or CVS), and 2) In direct-to-consumer, the end customer or user.

Customer Acquisition or Retention

The rate at which new customers are acquired or existing customers are retained is a key selling point to potential marquee partners. Also, see Marquee Partner.

Customer Driven

The end user, or customer, motivates what is produced and how it is delivered.

Customer Facing

Those personnel or activities whose jobs entail actual contact with the customer.

Customer Interaction Center

A call center is a centralized office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call center is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing, clientele, product services, and debt collection are also made. In addition to a call center, collective handling of letters, faxes, live chat, and emails at one location is known as a contact center. Synonym: Customer Interaction Center.

Customer Operations Performance Center (COPC)

Call center consulting, certification, training, and benchmarking company.

Customer Order

An actual order, not a forecast or planned order, is received from a customer for specific products or services.

Customer/Order Fulfillment Process

The typical business process includes the receipt and processing of a customer order through delivery.

Customer Profitability

The practice of placing a value on the profit generated by business done with a particular customer.

Customer Receipt of Order to Installation Complete

Average lead time from receipt of goods at the customer to the time when installation (if applicable) is complete, including the following sub-elements: time to get product up and running, and product acceptance by the customer (an element of Order Fulfillment Lead Time). Note: Determined separately for Make-to-Order, Configure/Package-to-Order, Engineer-to-Order, and Make-to-Stock products.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

This refers to information systems that help sales and marketing functions, as opposed to the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which is for back-end integration.

Customer Segmentation

Dividing customers into groups based on specific criteria, such as products purchased and customer geographic location, etc.

Customer Service

Activities between the buyer and seller that enhance or facilitate the sale or use of the seller's products or services.

Customer Service Ratio: See Percent of Fill

Customer Service Representative (CSR)

An individual who provides customer support via telephone in a call center environment.

Customer Signature/Authorization to Order Receipt

Average lead time from customer authorization of an order to the time that the order is received and order entry commences. This is an element of order fulfillment lead time. Note: Determined separately for Make-to-Order, Configure/Package-to-Order, Engineer-to-Order, and Make-to-Stock products.

Customer-Supplier Partnership

An extended relationship between buyers and sellers is based on confidence, credibility, and mutual benefit. The buyer, on its part, provides long-term contracts and assurance of only a small number of competing suppliers. In reciprocation, the seller implements the customer's suggestions and commits to continuous improvement in the quality of the product and delivery.

CUSTOMER WAIT TIME (CWT)

The total elapsed time between the issuance of a customer order and the satisfaction of that order.

Customization

Creating a product from existing components into an individual order. Synonym: Build to Order.

Customs and Border Protection U.S. (CBP)

Formed during the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, CBP consists primarily of the customs inspection function formerly performed by the U.S. Customs Service as part of the Department of the Treasury, the immigration inspection function formerly performed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and the Border Patrol, formerly part of the Department of Justice.

Customs House Broker

A business firm oversees the movement of international shipments through customs and ensures that the documentation accompanying a shipment is complete and accurate.

Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism (C-TPAT)

A joint government-business initiative is being undertaken to build cooperative relationships that strengthen overall supply chain and border security. The voluntary program is designed to share information that will protect against terrorists compromising the supply chain.

CWT

The total elapsed time between the issuance of a customer order and the satisfaction of that order.

Cycle Counting

An inventory control and management practice that refers to a process of regularly scheduled inventory counts (usually daily) that 'cycles' through your inventory. Users determine how often certain items or locations are counted using frequency or dollar values segregated into 'ABC' categories. Cycle counting can eliminate the need for wall-to-wall physical counts and can maintain a higher level of ongoing accuracy.

Cycle Inventory

An inventory system where counts are performed continuously, often eliminating the need for an annual overall inventory, is usually set up so that A items are counted regularly (i.e., every month). B items are counted semi-regularly (every quarter or six months), and C items are counted perhaps only once a year.

Cycle Time

The amount of time it takes to complete a business process depends on various factors.

Cycle Time to Process Excess Product Returns for Resale

The total time to process goods returned as excess by customers or distribution centers, in preparation for resale, includes the cycle time from when a Return Product Authorization (RPA) is created to when the RPA is approved, from when the product is available for pick-up to when the product is received, and from when the product is received to when it is available for use.

Cycle Time to Process Obsolete and End-of-Life Product Returns for Disposal

The total time to process goods returned as obsolete and end of life to actual disposal is as follows: This cycle time includes the time a Return Product Authorization (RPA) is created to the time the RPA is approved, from product available for pick-up to product received, and from product receipt to product disposal/recycle.

Cycle Time to Repair or Refurbish Returns for Use

The total time to process goods returned for repair or refurbishing is called the cycle time. This cycle time includes the time from when a Return Product Authorization (RPA) is created to when the RPA is approved, from Product Available for Pick-up to Product Received, from Product Receipt to Product Repair/Refurbish beginning, and from Product Repair/Refurbish beginning to Product Available for use.

Cyclical Demand

A situation where demand patterns for a product run in cycles, driven by seasonality or other predictable factors.

Dangerous Goods

Articles or substances capable of posing significant health, safety, or environmental risks, and that ordinarily require special attention, including packaging and labeling, when stored or transported, are referred to as hazardous goods or hazardous materials (HazMat).

Dashboard

A performance measurement tool used to capture a summary of the key performance indicators (KPIs)/metrics of a company. Metrics dashboards/scorecards should be easy to read and feature 'red, yellow, green' indicators to flag when metric targets are not being met. Ideally, a dashboard/scorecard should be cross-functional in nature and include both financial and non-financial measures. In addition, scorecards should be reviewed regularly—at least on a monthly basis—and weekly for key functions—such as manufacturing and distribution—where activities are critical to the success of a company. The dashboard/scorecards philosophy can also be applied to external supply chain partners (such as suppliers) to ensure that supplier's objectives and practices align. Synonym: Scorecard.

Database

Data is stored in a computer-readable form, typically indexed or sorted in a logical order, allowing users to easily find the specific data item they need.

Data Cleansing

The process of detecting and cleaning inaccurate, incomplete, incorrect, and irrelevant records in a dataset involves deleting, modifying, or replacing the records as needed.

Data Communications

The electronic transmission of data, usually in computer-readable form, using a variety of transmission vehicles and paths.

Data Field Formatting

The parameters are placed on a column within a database or data entry form on a website. An example of a parameter would be the 8-character limitation for any text entered into a particular data field.

Data Integration

The process of integrating data residing in different sources and creating a unified view of the data for users.

Data Integrity

Assurance that the data is 'whole' or complete, the data integrity perseveres during retrieval, storage, and transfer. In database management, it refers to the process of ensuring that the data accurately reflects the environment it is modeling or representing.

Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA)

The secretariat provides clerical and administrative support to the ASC X12 Committee.

Data Mining

The process of extracting and analyzing data, typically from a computer database, to gather knowledge about hidden patterns or unknown relationships in order to achieve specific business objectives.

Data Pool

A repository of data within the Global Data Synchronization Network where trading partners can obtain, maintain, and exchange information on items and parties in a standard format through electronic means.

Data Steward

The person responsible for maintaining consistency and precision of data during exchanges between computer systems.

Data Warehouse

A storage architecture is designed to hold data extracted from transaction systems, operational data stores, and external sources. It is a repository of an organization's electronically stored data designed to facilitate reporting and analysis. The warehouse combines data in an aggregate, summary form suitable for enterprise-wide data analysis and reporting for predefined business needs.

Date Code

An identification is applied to a product container or label, which provides the specific date of production of the contents. Sometimes it is an actual date, but frequently it is coded for internal purposes. Date codes are often used during product recalls.

Days' Inventory

A measure of the quantity of inventory on hand, in relation to the number of days for which usage will be covered. For example, if a component is consumed in sales or manufacturing at a rate of 100 per day, and there are 1,585 units available on hand, this represents 15.85 days' supply. The goal, in most cases, is to demonstrate efficiency by having a high turnover rate and therefore a low days' inventory. However, it should be realized that this ratio can be unfavorable if it is either too high or too low. A company must balance the cost of carrying inventory with its unit and acquisition costs, considering the potential for lost business and ultimately lost customers if shortages are pervasive.