Dictionary of Procurement Terms

Welcome to the NIGP Online Dictionary of Procurement Terms, the comprehensive reference for public purchasing terms and concepts.

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  • Credible

    Plausible or believable.

  • Credit

    In monetary theory, the use of someone else’s assets in exchange for a promise to pay (usually with interest) at a later date. (Schiller, 2002)

  • Credit Memo

    A method of correcting an overcharge, paying a trade rebate, or crediting the value of goods returned.

  • Creditor

    A lender, whether by making a loan, buying a bond, or allowing money owed now to be paid. (Schiller, 2000)

  • Critical Path Method (CPM)

    The sequence of production activities that takes the longest time from start to finish. This technique is useful for planning, scheduling, and monitoring complex projects composed of a large number of interrelated and interdependent activities. It is often used in construction procurement to sequence critical timeline events.

  • Crosby, Philip

    An American quality guru who rose to international fame as a management consultant. Crosby is best known for his zero defects standard and popularizing many slogans, such as “Do it right the first time.” (Martin & Miller, 2006)

  • Cross-Docking

    A distribution system in which freight moves in and out of a distribution center or point without ever being stored there. (ISM, 2000)

  • Cross-Functional Team

    A group of employees from different departments who work together to accomplish a specific task. The team may be permanent or ad hoc, and may include suppliers and customers, as appropriate. Examples of procurement specific teams may include Commodity Procurement Strategy Team, Sourcing Team, Supplier Performance Evaluation Team, Supplier Certification Team.

  • Cross-Organizational Synergies

    Proactive activities by supply management to identify opportunities to share best practices or coordinate sourcing programs to reduce costs, usually accomplished through cross-functional teams.

  • Crowdsourcing (otherwise known as Cyberspace Outsourcing)

    A form of institutional outsourcing that solicits a large group of people who are not directly employed by, or who lack a contract with the originating institution. Solicitations are typically put out in the form of a wide call on the Internet, and the chosen work-product may or may not yield compensation. Crowdsourcing is an innovative way to leverage distributed knowledge on the Internet so that highly intractable problems can be solved in a low-cost manner, typically by shifting time costs to the experts who are interested in helping to the solve the quandary. This frees up institutional employees to focus on core competencies.

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