Plant A building or complex of buildings for industrial production
Procurement It is the purchase of goods, materials, pieces, etc. to be resold, transformed or
stored
Production line The whole manufacturing processes required to create a finished product, from
raw materials to market release
Raw material All primary resources used in the creation or processing of a final or
manufactured product
Stock Quantity of goods in storage to sustain business activity
Stockout When a company‘s stocks are insufficient to meet demand
Supplier A person who is in charge of the ordering of the necessary raw materials for the
manufacturing of the product, and making sure that they are delivered in time and
quantity
Value added The gains generated in the production process
Waste Any good at any stage of the supply chain is lost, dumped, damaged, etc.
Work force The number of workers hired by the firm under an employment contract
Assembly line An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are mechanically
assembled one after the other until the final product is achieved. This process
requires less labour and saves valuable time
Availability Evaluation of the time necessary to manufacture a product by a machine. It‘s thus
possible to deduce its profitability
Bill of materials It‘s a comprehensive list of raw materials, components and tools needed to
manufacture an item
Cell A workshop where all the processes required to manufacture a component or a
sub-assembly are carried-out in close proximity, often in a U-shaped layout,
enabling rapid turnaround between processes when problems arise
Coordinate measuring
