Supply Chain Language; What are we really saying?
Posted by Dave Jordan on Mon, Jan 30, 2012
If you are honest you have probably sat bored in an airport lounge waiting for your inevitably delayed flight and listened in on a conversation. If the discussion topic is not one you are familiar with it can be as if you are listening to speech in a foreign language. Different businesses and functions within business use a variety of words and phrases to describe what they actually do and not all are obvious to outsiders.
I take a look at supply-chain speak here. Within the supply chain community we all know what is meant by the myriad of KPIs, disciplines, skills, terms etc but what do non-supply chain people hear?
Supply Chain – This is what DIY and hardware stores do.
Buying Contracts – The amount of shopping reduces.
Call-off - Cancel or postpone a sports fixture or other event.
Line Efficiency - How quickly the queue moves.
Changeover Time – How long it takes to select another TV channel.
Forecast – What weather presenters try and do.
Forecast Accuracy – How good the presenters are.
Forecast Bias – Regularly preferring one forecaster over another.
Case-fill – Done before leaving on a vacation.
Case Packer – The person who fills the above cases.
Shrink-wrap – A physiatrists’ coat.
Customer Service Levels – How many floors there are in the shopping mall.
Out of stock – No bouillon cubes in the kitchen.
Out of stocks – Released from mediaeval public humiliation.
Order Fulfillment – Telephone request for home delivered food.
Pallet – A flat wooden holder for artists paint.
Pallet Space – How much free space is left for more paint.
Pallet Utilisation – How often you use this for painting.
Spreadsheet – Used to protect carpets when painting.
Ok, that is enough. Thanks for reading this far but you probably should go and do some work now.