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Logistics & Supply Chain vocabulary · Procurement and Purchasing

Supplier

Meaning in logistics & supply chain, with examples

/səˈplaɪər/nounCore term

In logistics & supply chain, supplier means: A company or person that provides goods, materials or services to another business, usually at an agreed price and on agreed delivery terms.

In Turkish: tedarikçi, satıcı firma

How it is used

One of the most common words in purchasing. You find, evaluate, approve and audit suppliers; you switch suppliers or depend on a single supplier. 'Vendor' is a close synonym, more common in US English and in systems such as SAP.

Example sentences

  1. We need at least two approved suppliers for every critical component.

  2. The supplier confirmed the order but asked for an extra week.

Common collocations

  • approved supplier
  • key supplier
  • supplier audit
  • switch suppliers
  • supplier performance
  • procurementThe process of finding, choosing and buying the goods and services a company needs, including negotiating with suppliers and managing contracts.
  • purchase orderAn official document a buyer sends to a supplier to order goods or services, listing the items, quantities, prices and delivery terms.
  • sourcingThe work of finding, evaluating and selecting suppliers for the goods or services a company needs, including deciding where in the world to buy from.
  • quotationA written statement from a supplier or carrier giving the price it will charge for specific goods or services, usually valid for a limited time.
  • lead timeThe time between placing an order or starting a process and receiving the finished result, for example from sending a purchase order to the goods arriving.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Procurement and Purchasing

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