8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

1/12

Procurement Glossary

Page 1 of 12

TERM DEFINITION

Account Assignment Specification of the objects (i.e.: inventory or Order) thatare charged, in the case of a purchase order, for amaterial that is intended for direct usage or consumption.

Account Code (Assignment) Where the accounting string is entered. This information isrequired to correctly charge the Order, Operation, etc.These are all elements of the Code Block.

Account Group A classifying feature within vendor master record thatdetermines the following:

The number interval for the account number of thevendor.

Distinguishes what features the vendor can perform,such as invoicing or ordering, etc.

Active Queries Search tool where queries are made in the active SRMenvironment.

AP Accounts Payable The amount owed for the purchase of goods or services ata specific date.

Assign Source of Supply Refers to who will provide the goods and services for thePurchase Requisition.If the Source of Supply is a contract, then SAP will send aPurchase Order to a Supplier.If there is no Source of Supply assigned, the PurchaseRequisition will route to the Sourcing Cockpit where aBuyer will manually assign a supplier and the PurchaseRequisition will be converted into an ECC Purchase Orderand sent to the Vendor.

Block, Unblock PurchaseRequisition Lines

Prevents further processing of a requisition line if Blocked,or allows further processing of a line if unblocked (typicallyin ECC).

BI (Business Intelligence)Reporting

Provides in depth robust reports based on predefinedsearch criteria.

Business Intelligence (BI) BI solutions simplify data manipulation, allowing users toaccess, navigate, analyze, format, and share informationacross a corporate environment. BI Reports are generallya combination of information pulled from multiple systems

that is refreshed nightly.Buyer The person in the Procurement department who initiatesthe process to procure the material or service identified ona purchase request, from a supplier.

Card Profile (credit card) Basic credit card information.

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

2/12

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

3/12

Procurement Glossary

Page 3 of 12

TERM DEFINITION

Dashboard Overview screen that displays the status of the processesa user owns or oversees.

Delegate (credit card) A person authorized to approve or reject transactions in

place of the cardholder. A delegate is used duringvacations, medical leave or long-term absences. Thedelegate cannot be the cardholders approver.

Delegation of Authority(DoA)

Authority to make business decisions that is granted at thehighest level from the National Grid Board of Directors andcascaded throughout the organization.DoA is an expenditure control, governance mechanism tohelp control costs and support appropriate spendingprinciples, as fostered by the tone at the top of thecompany.

Delete / Undelete PurchaseRequisition Lines

Prevents further processing of requisition line if deleted, orallows for further processing of line if undeleted

Dispute Flag Indicator that displays on a transaction whenever thetransaction has been disputed by a cardholder.

DoA - Delegation of Authority

Authority to make business decisions that is granted at thehighest level from the National Grid Board of Directors andcascaded throughout the organization.DoA is an expenditure control, governance mechanism tohelp control costs and support appropriate spendingprinciples, as fostered by the tone at the top of thecompany.

Document Type Identifier that distinguishes what kind of purchasingdocument (i.e.: Requisition (NB), Stock Transport Request(ZSTR)) and the underlying functionality associated withsaid document type.

Draft Purchase Order Purchased Order that has been created but not completedand is unable to be released to the vendor

ECC Enterprise CentralComponent

SAPs Enterprise Resource Planning System thatintegrates internal and external management informationacross the entire National Grid organization, embracingfinance, procurement, Inventory management, Non-UtilityBilling, etc. ECC and SRM share master data and manyof the National Grids processes are linked togetherbetween the two systems. ECC is the backbone of SAP,containing MM (Materials Management), FI (Finance), PM(Plant Maintenance)* and HR (Human Resources). TheProcure to Pay process is included in MM.* Note that the PM module is used by Fleet Services.

Email An output method that sends the Purchase Order to anelectronic address.

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

4/12

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

5/12

Procurement Glossary

Page 5 of 12

TERM DEFINITION

Internal Order Predefined list of numbers that reflect the work typicallyperformed by the employees in the department (costcenter) being charged. They contain the confirmations of

companies and activities that employees in a particulardepartment typically perform. Internal orders do notrequire an operation number and are used to charge costsfor :

Service company activities Non-field operating company activities Various other clearings and cost allocations

Inventory ManagementGroup (IMG)

The group of people responsible for creating purchaserequisitions and maintaining inventory requests across alllines of business. This group includes Fleet andGeneration.

Item Category Defines the type of procurement (i.e.:inventory,subcontract, consignment) and associated follow onprocesses of procurement

Item Type Indicates if the Item being purchased is either a Materialor a Service.

KPI Key Performance Indicator A type of performancemeasurement used to evaluate success of an activity. Forexample, the number of Shopping Carts approved within 2days.

Location / Plant Location within the Company where goods are delivered.

Master Data Information in SAP that is key to the operation of thebusiness and includes items such as vendors, materialsand contracts.

Master Data Management(MDM)

Vendor catalog hosted entirely within SAP which ismaintained and updated in-house. This is considered aninternal catalog.

Material Group A grouping of materials and services according to theircharacteristics. Same as Product Category in SRM, bothare based on UVDB codes.

Material Master Data Contains inventory, profiled and non-stock iteminformation.

Material Master Record A data record containing all the basic information requiredto manage and procure material.

Material RequirementPlanner (MRP) Controller

SAP term that refers to the person responsible for materialplanning.

Material RequirementPlanning (MRP)

Procedures in material planning that take into account andplan every requirement during the creation of procurementproposals.

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

6/12

Procurement Glossary

Page 6 of 12

TERM DEFINITION

Material Type Materials with the same basic attributes are groupedtogether and assigned to a material type.

Material Type ZCAP Inventory held in a warehouse with zero costs. Materialsare asset managed through the PowerPlant accountingprocess.

Material Type ZNBW Inventory held in a warehouse with zero cost. The value ofthe material is expensed at the initial time of receipt.

Maverick Spend Non-contract spend.Moving Average Price(MAP)

The price of goods using a moving average in accountingdocuments. National Grid only uses MAP.

MRP MaterialRequirement Planning

Procedures in material planning that take into account andplan every requirement during the creation of procurement

proposals.Non-PO Transaction Goods and services that are procured from a vendor, butthere is no associated Purchase Order. In Xponential, thetransaction type Traditional is used in place of Non-POTransaction.

Non-PO Vendor A vendor that National Grid procured goods or servicesfrom, but does not have an associated purchase order, orfor an expenditure for which National Grid is liable (i.e.:police detail).

Normal Line Items Contract lines with either a Product ID (Material or ServiceMaster) or a Free Text Description. Other details include

Unit Price and Unit of Measure.One-Time Vendor A vendor record within SAP that has no associated payeeinformation. This type of vendor is utilized, through aninterface, for payments such as customer refunds.

Operation Identifies additional detail for Work Orders that arespecifically for Field Work, Fleet, or a Capitalized Order.Represented by a 4 digit code, an operation is onlyneeded with the above types of Work Orders. It identifiesmore specific detail about the work being procured.

Order An 11 digit number that represents the work beingcompleted and is used to collect costs for labor and

materials related to field work, internal projects andservice company functions. There are two types of Orders;Work Orders and Internal Orders.

Order and SendImmediately

Process the Purchase Order right away

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

7/12

Procurement Glossary

Page 7 of 12

TERM DEFINITION

Order as Direct Material(flag)

Direct Materials include raw materials, purchased parts,and subcontracted items that are required to manufactureand assemble completed product.

The order as Direct Material Flag is used exclusively byMaterial Planners and Storekeepers.Order Quantity The amount (Material or Services) that is required to fulfill

the needs of the requestor.Ordered Purchase Order A Purchase Order that has been completed and was sent

to the Vendor, or is awaiting DoA approval (on certain POchanges)

Output The way a Purchase Order is transmitted, such as Print,Fax, Email, XML.

Plant An organizational unit used in Logistics for dividing anenterprise according to production, procurement,maintenance, and materials planning.

PO Vendor A vendor that National Grid procures goods or servicesfrom, that has an associated purchase order.

Print An output method that sends the Purchase Order to theprinter listed.

Procurement Card (P-Card) A company issued credit card used for immediatepurchase of low dollar value items on behalf of thecompany.

Product Category The specific category to which a material or servicebelongs; for example, a copper washer is a description of

an item that belongs to category Pipes and Fittings Copper. The product category codes drive assignment tothe correct buyer, which reduces processing time andaccurate spend analysis, saving National Grid and ourcustomers money. Also referred to as UVDB, it maps thepurchase to the correct GL Account. All Product Categorycoding for procurement and inventory use the UVDBcoding schemes.

Product Category Line Items Contract lines with a Product Category (UVDB Code) witha Free Text Description. There is only a target value forthe line, with no Unit Price or Unit of Measure

Product ID Numerical representation of a material good and / orservice.PTP or P2P Procure to Pay The overall process from requesting a

material or service to reimbursing the supplier.

Purchase InformationRecord (Info Record)

Contains information on a specific material and a vendorsupplying the material, along with the price, plant andother relevant information.

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

8/12

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

9/12

Procurement Glossary

Page 9 of 12

TERM DEFINITION

Requestor The person who identifies the need for a material orservice. The Requestor and Requisitioner may be thesame person.

Requirement A document generated by a National Grid department tonotify the National Grid purchasing department of items orservices it needs to order, their quantity, and the timeframe that will be given in the future. (Requisitions andShopping Carts)

Requisitioner The person who enters the requirements for a purchaserequest (Shopping Cart or Purchase Requisition) toprocure a material or service. The Requestor andRequisitioner may be the same person.

Return To send a received item back to the Supplier and enterthe information in SAP, which re-opens the order quantity

in the Purchase Order, or creates a Credit to the Invoice.Revision Change Changes to a Purchase Order, such as pricing, ship to

location etc., and would require a re-transmittal of thePurchase Order to the supplier.

RFQ Request for Quote is a standard business process whosepurpose is to invite Suppliers to bid on specific products orservices.

ROBO - Receive On BehalfOf

The ability to enter Confirmations (goods receipt) as aproxy for someone else. This is mostly used with fieldpersonnel who do not have access to a computer.

Saved Purchase Order Purchased Order that has been created but not completedand is unable to be released to the vendor

Shop on Behalf of (SOBO) When a Requestor in Operations or Network Strategiesrequests a Proxy to create a Shopping Cart on theirbehalf.

Shopping Cart The single entry point for all manual requests for materialor service. It is also a vehicle to obtain DoA approval.

Single Source When it would not be feasible, practical, or cost effectiveeither to utilize an existing National Grid agreement or toundertake competitive bidding for a material or service.

SLA Service Level Agreement is a part of a service contract

where a service is formally defined. It is also used tomeasure the performance of a Supplier or a process. Forexample, a Supplier that must deliver within 2 businessdays, per the contract.

SOBO Shop On Behalf Of When a Requestor requests a Proxy to create a ShoppingCart on their behalf.

Sole Source When products and/or services can only be obtained fromone supplier.

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

10/12

Procurement Glossary

Page 10 of 12

TERM DEFINITION

Source List Specifies the allowed or disallowed sources for a materialor services for an individual plant.

Source of Supply Refers to who is going to provide the goods or service fora Shopping Cart. If the Source is a Plant, then the goodsare inventoried and sourced from that Plant. If the Sourceis a contract, then SAP sends a Purchase Order to aSupplier. If there is no source assigned, the ShoppingCart is routed to the Sourcing Cockpit where a Buyerdetermines a supplier (Source of Supply) to use.

Sourcing A collection of components that enables an organizationto perform business processes to find sources of supplyfor required products.

Sourcing Cockpit The main entry point for the purchaser (Buyer) to identify

source of supply and allows the user to execute thesourcing process. All non-sourced Shopping Carts andRequisitions are directed to the Sourcing Cockpit.

SRM SupplierRelationship Management

A module of SAP used by National Grid that facilitates acomprehensive approach to procure goods and servicesfrom suppliers. SRM is closely integrated with the mainsystem (ECC) and provides a portal interface.

SRM Reports Provides real-time reporting derived per user definedsearch criteria.

STO Stock Transfer Order A specific type of purchase order used to instruct a plantor warehouse to transport material to another plant orwarehouse.

Stock Transfer Order (STO) A specific type of purchase order used to instruct a plantor warehouse to transport material to another plant orwarehouse.

Stock Transfer Requisition(STR)

A specific type of purchase requisition used to request atransfer of material from one plant or warehouse toanother within the same corporate enterprise.

Storage Location A place within the plant where goods are stored.Storm Card A company issue credit card used during storm

emergencies. The term P-Card is used to define both a

Procurement Card and a Storm Card.STR Stock TransferRequisition

A specific type of purchase requisition used to request atransfer of material from one plant or warehouse toanother within the same corporate enterprise.

Subcontract The process of engaging an outside contractor or otherNational Grid entity to provide work on an existingproduct(s) or service(s) to create a finished product.

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

11/12

Procurement Glossary

Page 11 of 12

TERM DEFINITION

Supplier Master Data Master Data that contains detailed Supplier information. Main Vendors begin with a 1 Ordering Vendors begin with a 6

Invoicing Vendors begin with a 4Supplier PerformanceMetrics (SPM)

Used to measure the performance of National Gridsuppliers in areas agreed to by the business.

Supplier RelationshipManagement SRM

A module of SAP used by National Grid that facilitates acomprehensive approach to procure goods and servicesfrom suppliers. SRM is closely integrated with the mainsystem (ECC) and provides or portal interface.

Supplier Self Service (SUS) A component of SRM which is a hosted solution forsuppliers that provides the infrastructure for real-timeelectronic exchange of purchasing documents (i.e. POsand Invoices) between National Grid and the suppliers.

SUS Supplier Self Service A component of SRM which is a hosted solution forsuppliers that provides the infrastructure for real-timeelectronic exchange of purchasing documents (i.e. POsand Invoices) between National Grid and the suppliers.

Tax Jurisdiction A 14 digit number that represents the state/zip code towhich sales tax has been paid.

Unit (Unit of Measure) Refers to the Units used to measure a quantity ofsomething such as; EA=Each, AU=Activity Unit,HR=Hours, DZ=Dozen, D-Days, etc.

Universal Work List (UWL) Enables SAP users to manage their workload by bringingtogether assignments from different workflow systems.The UWL enables you to assign another user as asubstitute to your work items. It also gives you a unifiedand centralized location to access your work and therelevant information. The UWL displays additionalinformation as required from document repositories,including attachments and other details. The UWL enablesyou to make direct decisions and actions.

User Profile (credit card) Basic cardholder and approver information for a creditcard..

Utility Vendor Database

(UVDB)

International utilities industry coding scheme for goods

and services. All Product Category coding for procurementand inventory use the UVDB coding schemes. UVDB ismanaged by Achilles, a global provider of supplierinformation.

UVDB Universal VendorDatabase

International utilities industry coding scheme for goodsand services. All Product Category coding for procurementand inventory use the UVDB coding schemes. UVDB ismanaged by Achilles, a global provider of supplierinformation.

8/12/2019 Procurement Glossary

12/12