Sourcing and Procurement
Glossary
Your trusted guide to exploring sourcing and procurement terms & definitions,
from the world’s leading procurement experts and companies
Volume Discounts
A price reduction associated with purchase of a larger quantity of goods or services. Volume discounts can be based on specific order volume, total dollar value of an order or total dollars spent over a specified period of time.
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Waiting time charge
Charge applied by a supplier if their specified waiting time to be offloaded is exceeded
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Warranty
The representation, either expressed or implied, that a certain fact regarding the subject matter of a contract is presently true or will be true. Not to be confused with "guarantee," which means a contract or promise by one person to answer for the performance of another person.
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Waterfall
A project approach based on a control mode with defined inputs. It assumes that most decisions such as requirements and milestones can be defined upfront, and that the team will simply follow and execute the plan.
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Volume Banding
A technique where a buyer and supplier agree on a fixed price at various volume thresholds. Prices remain constant within a pre-specified band of purchasing commitment. If volumes increase above the band, price per transaction typically goes down. If volumes decrease, the buyer agrees to pay a higher price for each unit/transaction. Volume banding is an especially important concept when there is a great deal of variability in volume and is used to maintain fair profits for suppliers in the event of volume changes.
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WMBE
Minority, Women, and Service Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises. A program to encourage purchasing opportunities for vendors classified as WMBE businesses.
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Warehouse slotting
The process of assigning identity codes to picking locations based on various criteria such as unit sales, size or weight
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Water purification
The process of removing chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids and gases from contaminated water
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Watermelon Scorecard
A term coined by University of Tennessee researchers to explain the concept that a supplier can be meeting a buyer's required specification, but are not proactively collaborating to drive innovative value over the long term for the buyer. In essence, the scorecard is green on the outside, but red on the inside.
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