Each entry opens with a single self-contained definition, then explains what it means on a working order desk. Where a term is a common source of expensive mistakes, that is said plainly rather than left implied.
Per M and per C pricing
/M · /C · price per thousand · price per hundredIn fastener and industrial distribution, M means per thousand pieces and C means per hundred pieces, following the Roman numerals — so a price of $42.50/C is $42.50 per hundred, or $425 per thousand.
Sales order automation
Sales order automation is the conversion of an inbound customer order — usually an emailed PDF, spreadsheet or email body — into a sales order in the seller's ERP, without a person re-keying it.
Order entry automation
Order entry automation is software that removes the manual keying step between a received customer order and the order record in an ERP, typically by extracting the document, matching its lines to catalog items, and producing a reviewed order.
Touchless processing
Touchless processing is the share of orders that pass from receipt to ERP without any human intervention, and it is the headline metric most order-automation vendors report.
Auto-pass rate
Auto-pass rate is the proportion of order lines that clear every validation check without needing a reviewer, measured per line rather than per order.
Exception queue
An exception queue is the working list of orders that could not be processed automatically, ordered so that the work needing a human decision is visible first.
Item master
An item master is the authoritative catalog record in an ERP defining every product a distributor sells, including its SKU, description, units of measure, pack sizes and pricing basis.
Customer part number cross-reference
customer part cross-reference · CPNA customer part number cross-reference maps the identifier a specific customer uses for an item to the seller's own SKU, so that customer's orders resolve without a person translating them each time.
Unit of measure
UOMA unit of measure is the quantity basis a line is expressed in — each, box, carton, per hundred, per thousand, feet, pounds — and it determines how many physical pieces an order line represents.
Pack quantity
inner pack · pack size · standard packPack quantity is the number of pieces in a saleable container for a specific SKU, and it varies by item rather than following any general rule.
Purchase order
POA purchase order is the document a buyer issues to commit to a purchase — so the same document is a purchase order to the customer who sends it and becomes a sales order to the distributor who receives it.
EDI 850
An EDI 850 is the ANSI X12 transaction set for a purchase order, the standard structured format used between trading partners who have set up an electronic data interchange relationship.
SISM
Scheduled Import Service ManagerSISM, the Scheduled Import Service Manager, is Epicor Prophet 21's native bulk order intake: it collects order files from an agreed location on a schedule, moves each from Submitted to Processing, and assigns a P21 order number.
ERP import file
An ERP import file is a structured file, in a layout the target ERP accepts, containing one or more complete orders ready to be loaded without manual entry.
Blanket order and release
A blanket order is an agreement to buy a stated quantity over time at agreed terms, and a release is an individual call-off against that agreement rather than a new order.
Mill certificate
mill cert · MTR · certificate of conformance · CoCA mill certificate is documentation from the manufacturer certifying a material's chemical and mechanical properties for a specific production lot, and it is frequently required on fastener and PVF orders.