Sourcing and Procurement
Glossary
Your trusted guide to exploring sourcing and procurement terms & definitions,
from the world’s leading procurement experts and companies
NAPM
National Association of Purchasing Management. A nonprofit educational and technical organization of purchasing and materials management personnel and buying agencies from the public and private sectors.
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NIGP
National Institute of Governmental Purchasing. A nonprofit, educational and technical assistance corporation of public purchasing agencies and activities at the federal, state and local levels of government.
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Nash Equilibrium
A concept of game theory where the optimal outcome of a game is one where no player has an incentive to deviate from his or her chosen strategy after considering an opponent's choice. Overall, an individual can receive no incremental benefit from changing actions, assuming other players remain constant in their strategies. A game may have multiple Nash equilibrium or none at all.
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Nearshoring
The process of outsourcing to countries that are in close geographical proximity to the company.
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Negotiation Team
A team constituted for the purpose of conducting a specific negotiation. Team members typically represent the functional areas to be addressed in the negotiation process; the purchasing member usually chairs the team.
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Net Lease
A commercial lease that requires the lessee to pay some of the property expenses in addition to the rent, such as, for electricity or heating costs.
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NASPO
National Association of State Purchasing Officials. An organization of state procurement representatives for the purpose of promoting efficient and effective public purchasing policies and procedures at the state level. NASPO is an affiliate of the Control of State Governments (CSG).
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NO BID
A response to a solicitation for bids stating that respondent does not wish to submit an offer. It usually operates as a procedure consideration to prevent suspension from the vendors list for failure to submit a response.
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Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Part of artificial intelligence, NLP allows computers to understand, interpret, and mimic human languages.
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Negotiation
An exploratory and communication process meant to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement. In the purchasing context, negotiation is an exploratory and a bargaining process (planning, reviewing, analyzing, compromising) involving a buyer and seller, each with their own viewpoints and objectives seeking to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement on all phases of a procurement transaction - including price, service, specification, technical and quality requirements, payment terms, etc.
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Net Landed Cost
The basic price inclusive of taxes, levies, transportation, all material & labor charges plus government or vendor service taxes as applicable.
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Net Present Value
The sum of present values (PVs) of incoming and outgoing cash flows over a period of time.
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