| B2B | Business To Business | Transactions between businesses—core to most procurement operations. |
| B2C | Business To Customer | Sales or transactions directly to individual consumers. |
| BOM | Bill Of Materials | A list of components required to manufacture a product. |
| CAPEX | Capital Expenditure | Long-term investment in assets like machinery or buildings. |
| COGS | Cost of Goods Sold | Direct production cost of goods sold—important in supplier pricing. |
| COO | Country Of Origin | Location where goods were produced—relevant for trade and compliance. |
| COQ | Cost of Quality | Total cost of maintaining product/service quality—prevention, inspection, and failure. |
| CPO | Chief Procurement Officer | Executive responsible for procurement strategy and operations. |
| CSR | Corporate Social Responsibility | Ethical and sustainability practices within a business and supply chain. |
| EDI | Electronic Data Interchange | Electronic transfer of procurement documents between systems. |
| ERP | Enterprise Resource Planning | Software managing business processes like procurement, finance, and inventory. |
| FOB | Free On Board | Shipping term defining when risk transfers from seller to buyer. |
| GL | General Ledger | Accounting system for tracking procurement spend and entries. |
| IACCM | International Association for Contract and Commercial Management | Formerly IACCM, now part of WorldCC—sets standards for commercial contracting. |
| IBA | Invitation To Bid | A formal request to suppliers to submit price and delivery offers. |
| INCOTERMS | International Commercial Terms | Standard rules defining buyer/seller obligations in international trade. |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator | Metric to evaluate procurement goals—e.g., cost savings, OTIF. |
| LCC | Life Cycle Costing | Total cost of a product over its entire life span. |
| LTA | Long Term Agreement | A contract for ongoing supply over a set time with agreed terms. |
| MOQ | Minimum Order Quantity | Smallest quantity a supplier will sell—affects pricing and stock. |
| MRO | Maintenance, Repair and Operations | Indirect goods used to maintain facilities and equipment. |
| MRP | Materials Requirements Planning | Tool for planning raw material needs based on demand forecasts. |
| NDA | Non-Disclosure Agreement | Legal contract to protect shared confidential information. |
| NPI | New Product Introduction | The process of launching a new product to market. |
| OPEX | Operational Expenditure | Day-to-day business costs like services and consumables. |
| OTIF | On Time In Full | Delivery performance metric measuring punctuality and completeness. |
| P2P | Procure To Pay | End-to-end workflow from purchase requisition to supplier payment. |
| PO | Purchase Order | Official order document confirming buyer intent and terms. |
| POC | Proof Of Concept | Trial to validate a solution before full implementation. |
| POI | Point Of Inspection | Stage where goods are checked for quality or compliance. |
| PPV | Purchase Price Variation | Difference between expected and actual prices paid. |
| QBR | Quarterly Business Review | Structured meetings to review supplier performance and align on goals. |
| RACI | Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed | A framework for clarifying roles in projects or contracts. |
| RFI | Request For Information | Used to explore supplier capabilities before formal proposals. |
| RFP | Request For Proposal | Document requesting detailed offers when needs are complex. |
| RFQ | Request For Quotation | Document requesting pricing for defined products/services. |
| RFX | Request For X | Generic term for RFI, RFP, or RFQ. |
| ROI | Return On Investment | Measures the profitability or value of an initiative. |
| S2P | Source to Pay | Full procurement process from sourcing to invoice payment. |
| SaaS | Software As A Service | Cloud-based subscription model for procurement platforms. |
| SKU | Stock Keeping Unit | Unique identifier for individual inventory items. |
| SLA | Service Level Agreement | Defines performance expectations in supplier contracts. |
| SOP | Standard Operating Procedure | Documented routine process for consistency and compliance. |
| SOW | Statement Of Work | Defines scope, deliverables, and timelines in service contracts. |
| SRM | Supplier Relationship Management | Process of managing and improving supplier performance. |
| T&C | Terms & Conditions | Legal terms governing a purchase or contract. |
| TCO | Total Cost Of Ownership | Full cost from purchase through operation to disposal. |
| TPI | Third-Party Inspection | Independent inspection service, used to verify quality or compliance. |
| TPM | Third-Party Management | Risk, compliance, and relationship oversight of external vendors. |
| VMI | Vendor Managed Inventory | Supplier manages inventory levels and restocks as needed. |
