Glossary

access control. Set of software mechanisms that limit and control access to host systems and applications.

access control list. A list of users and their permitted access rights.

accounting code. A multi-segment number that identifies the business unit (division, department, project, and so on) to be billed for an order or specific line items on an order.

actor. An object (user or process) or group of objects that wants to perform an action; used for access control. See also member.

additional information field (AIF). An additional field on an order line item.

Admin interface. See graphical Admin interface

administrator. A user who is authorized to administer the system. See also orgadmin, selfadmin, superadmin.

advance shipping notice (ASN). Electronic notification sent to a buyer organization that confirms shipment of an order.

API. See Application Program Interface (API).

Application Program Interface (API). A set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications.

application server. See iPlanet Application Server).

approval process. The BuyerXpert process of passing a requisition through a series of approval steps until it is approved and becomes a purchase order or is cancelled. See also requisition process.

approver. BuyerXpert user who authorizes an existing requisition to become a purchase order. An approver can be one of a group of approvers, can be a mandatory or optional approver, and can delegate approval authority to another. See also approver pool.

approver pool. A group of approvers. See also approver, user group.

approver matrix. A feature that allows the BuyerXpert administrator to set up approvers based on accounting codes and commodity codes.

attributes. Characteristics that define classes and subclasses for items in a catalog. For example, attributes for an envelope could include size, paper weight, and color. See also catalog schema.

authentication. The process of verifying the identify of a particular actor (user or process). That is, determining who that particular actor is.

authorization. The process of verifying the actions allowed for a particular actor (user or process). That is, determining what that particular actor is allowed to do.

B2B. Business-to-Business (B2B) shopper. An organization that is permitting authorized members of the organization to shop in its name

B2C. Business-to-Consumer (B2C) shopper. An individual customer who has registered in the selling environment.

business rule. A configurable, generalized statement that allows administrators to control the flow and behavior of BuyerXpert or SellerXpert.

buyer. A user who is a procurement professional.

buyer catalog. A view of a master catalog that selectively shows categories and items in the master catalog.

capture. The process of collecting transactions that are ready for settlement. These captured transactions are submitted to a credit card processor for payment.

catalog. A collection of products that can be ordered electronically from a database repository. The administrator sets up catalogs on an organization level, after which users are assigned access. See also product, SKU.

catalog manager import utility. A utility for importing bulk catalog data offline using batch processing.

catalog ontology. A catalog structure made up of product categories that contain product attributes associated with the categories.

catalog roles. A set of privileges that allow a user to perform certain actions, such as superadmin, orgadmin, user, seller.

catalog schema. A hierarchical data structure that defines classes and subclasses for products in a catalog. In the graphical interface, these classes appear as product categories. Parameters and attributes further define catalog items.

category. A node in the catalog master ontology. A category contains attributes that are associated with the category. See also attributes.

charge. A modification to the default pricing on a price list; usually accompanied by a cost-reducing condition such as prompt payment. See also DCAP.

commodity code. A multi-segment BuyerXpert number that identifies a particular set of products or services.

contract tracking. A BuyerXpert feature that provides the ability to associate a line item on a requisition with any contracts indicated by the contract identifier code(s) for that item.

conversion table. A table that is used to convert measurable units within a class. See also unit of currency, unit of measure.

currency conversion value. See unit of currency.

customer ID. A unique identification number for a customer organization.

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS). A unique nine-character organization identification number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet.

DCAP.

See discounts, charges, allowances, promotions..

Directory Server. See iPlanet Directory Server, LDAP.

discounts, charges, allowances, promotions (DCAP). The various modifications that the administrator can make to the pricing contained in a price list.

discount. A modification to the default pricing of an item that reduces the default selling price of an item by a specified sum or percentage, usually accompanied by a cost-reducing condition such as prompt payment. See also discounts, charges, allowances, promotions (DCAP).

DUNS. See Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS).

ECXpert. An iPlanet software product that transmits business documents and messages between buyer organization and seller organization servers.

EDI. See Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) . A paperless trade exchange system that replaces common business forms such as purchase orders, shipping forms, invoices, and so on, with a computer-based communications and record keeping system.

email shopping cart. A SellerXpert feature that allows a buyer to send the details about an item she is considering ordering to a specified email address.

extensible markup language (XML). An extensible markup language, consisting of text interspersed with a few formatting tags, used to create documents on the World Wide Web. See alsoHyperText Markup Language (HTML).

freight charges. The actual charges for a shipment.

Freight on Board (FOB). Specifies the location where title to the goods passes from the seller to the buyer. For example, upon leaving the warehouse, or upon arrival at the destination. For FOB terms, the seller pays the freight charges to the specified location and the buyer pays any charges beyond the FOB location.

freight terms. An agreement between buyer and seller companies on how an order should be taxed and how the carrier is to be paid. Freight terms can be applied to an entire order or to a group of lines that have the same freight terms. See also shipping terms.

FOB. See Freight on Board (FOB).

gatecheck. The final approval process for BuyerXpert. Verifies that the specified approval requirements have been met.

graphical interface. A point-and-click method for using a software product.

graphical Admin interface. A graphical interface that allows the administrator to perform administrative tasks. Also called the Admin interface.

graphical User interface. A graphical interface that allows the user to perform authorized user tasks. Also called the User interface.

group. See user group.

guest login. A SellerXpert feature that allows guest users to enter the webstore and perform many operations, such as browsing the catalog, adding items to the shopping cart, and checking for prices.

HyperText Markup Language (HTML). A markup language, consisting of text interspersed with a few basic formatting tags, used to create documents on the World Wide Web. See also extensible markup language (XML).

Import utility. Utility used for importing data to the product database using a batch process. The Import utility provides both a graphical interface and a command-line interface.

import data file. The format used by the Import utility to load data changes into the product database. Each import data file consists of comment lines, command lines, attribute lines, and body lines that specify the data to be changed.

inventory. Quantity on hand for an item in a catalog. See also product, SKU.

invoice matching. A BuyerXpert payment strategy whereby the recipient pays for received goods under certain conditions. Payment is authorized only if the prices and goods of the purchase order, the invoice, and the products received match.

iPlanet Application Server. iPlanet server product that processes transactions and is the primary engine of BuyerXpert/SellerXpert.

iPlanet Directory Server. The iPlanet implementation of LDAP. See LDAP.

iPlanet Portal Server. An iPlanet product that allows a single sign-on for BuyerXpert, as well as a customized portal interface.

iPlanet Process Manager.

An iPlanet product that automates the flow of control for business processes..

LDAP. See Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). A network protocol that extracts information from a hierarchical directory, such as a user name, email address, security certificate, and other contact information. An LDAP repository has its own authentication and access control functions.

locale. A particular country or region that uses different settings for language, number and date formats, graphics, and page layout (such as left to right or right to left).

localization. The process of modifying a product for a specific international market, which includes translating the graphical interface, resizing dialog boxes, customizing features (if necessary), and testing results to ensure that the product works properly in the new locale. See locale.

master catalog. The total of all seller catalogs.

master ontology. See catalog ontology.

measurement conversion value. See unit of measure.

member. A user or process that has permission to access particular functions, resources, and data.

migration. Method for migrating data from a previous implementation of the product. See Upgrade utility.

multi-currency. A feature that allows for multiple currencies within one system or within one order.

multi-divisional organization. An organization that uses admin and end-user privileges and business rules based on organizational units and groups.

multi-locale. A feature that allows for multiple locales to be in use within one implementation of the product. Multi-locale can apply to date value (for example, product description) as well as to text messages. See also locale.

multi-org. A feature that allows for multiple organizations within one instance of the product.

net price. Price of a purchase order after discounts and charges have been applied. See also DCAP.

off-catalog item. An item on a requisition that is manually described because the particular item is not available from an existing BuyerXpert catalog (the specific SKU code or seller may not be listed). Off-catalog items are processed by a procurement professional before the requisition they are associated with can be approved.

ontology. See catalog ontology.

Open Buying on the Internet (OBI). Open standards for business-to-business Internet procurement.

order process. The process of passing an order through a series of steps, ending in a payment.

order template. A special type of order that can be used to create another order. A order template can contain actual items that are repeatedly ordered, or other types of information such as default billing and shipping.

organization. A business entity that contains one or more organizational units. See also organizational unit.

orgadmin. An administrator who can update information for his/her organization. An orgadmin cannot update information in sub-organizations. See also role.

organizational unit. A partition of an organization that enables the SellerXpert administrator to set member privileges and approval parameters based on organization structure and rules. See also member.

parametric search. Electronic search for items matching specific search parameters.

payment method. The method that a customer uses to pay for an order. Payment methods can apply to an organization, an individual, or a group.

payment terms. An agreement between buyer and seller organizations on how the buyer will pay the seller for purchases.

permissions. An electronic mechanism for controlling access to resources by screening attempted access against preset parameters.

Portal Server. See iPlanet Portal Server.

pricing adjustment. A change to the price of a particular product after the customer selects the item. See also DCAP, net price.

primary account number (PAN). A unique number identifying a customer for a payment system. This number is encrypted for security and is only visible to the customer and the acquiring bank.

Process Manager. See iPlanet Process Manager.

product. A category for an item contained in a catalog. A product is part of the inventory, or stock, of a seller organization. See also SKU.

purchase order (P.O.). A BuyerXpert requisition that has been approved. Also known as an order.

purchase order template. See order template.

purchase requisition (P.R.). See requisition.

receiving. The BuyerXpert process of receiving items ordered from a seller. Allows for full or partial receiving amounts, as well as under-or over-receiving amounts.

reorder requisition. See order template.

repeat order. See order template.

requisition. An electronic list of items that the buyer has requested. A BuyerXpert requisition that has not yet been approved as a purchase order. Also known as a purchase requisition (PR).

requisition process. The BuyerXpert process of creating a requisition, either directly through the user interface, or indirectly through ECXpert. After a requisition is created, it passes to the approval process. See also approval process, order process.

requisition template. A special type of BuyerXpert requisition that can be used to create another requisition. A requisition template can contain actual items that are repeatedly ordered, or other types of information such as default billing, shipping, and approval information.

requisitioner. A BuyerXpert user who has privileges to create and submit requisitions.

role. A set of privileges that allow a user to perform certain actions.

rule. See business rule.

sales quote. A SellerXpert feature that allows a snapshot of a shopping cart to be saved for a specific number of days as determined by the business rules. This quote is a legally binding price quotation.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) . A protocol developed by Netscape that uses encryption to transmit secure documents on the internet. Web pages using an SSL connection start with https instead of http.

security policy. An organization-defined methodology for protecting data from access by unauthorized people or processes, which include logging and tracking system events.

selfadmin. A user who can update his/her own information. See role.

seller. An organization that owns and sells products through a catalog. Also known as merchant or seller organization.

shipping method. A specification on how merchandise is shipped from a seller organization to a buyer organization. For example, Federal Express Overnight or UPS Next Day.

shipping terms. An agreement between buyer and seller companies on how an order should in to be shipped. See also freight terms.

SKU. See stock keeping unit (SKU) code.

SSL. See Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

stock keeping unit (SKU) code. A unique alphanumeric code that subdivides a product into more specific categories. For example, a pen product can be subdivided by color, each color having its own SKU code. A catalog item cannot be sold without an SKU code. See also catalog, product.

superadmin. An administrator who can update information across all organizations. See also role.

supplier. See seller.

seller performance. A BuyerXpert feature that provides the ability to track and compare sellerss based on criteria such as quality of goods, quality of service, and timeliness of delivery.

TAXWARE. A third-party software product used for calculating taxes.

timecard process. A BuyerXpert process that provides a means for a timecard user (normally a contractor who works for the buyer organization) to electronically submit timecard information for payment approval.

unit of currency. Indicates the currency conversion (such as USD to Euro, franc to lira, and so forth) to use for calculating the price of a product. Only one currency conversion unit can be specified for an order.

unit of measure. Indicates the measurement conversion (such as centimeter to inch, liter to quart, kilogram to pound, and so on) to use for a items in an order.

Upgrade utility. A utility for migrating legacy data from a previous version of the product.

user interface. See graphical User interface.

user group. A collection of users within a given organizational unit. In some ways, user groups resemble organization units, but organizational units have stricter polices regarding user membership.

users. People who have access to the product. In general, BuyerXpert/SellerXpert users have privileges to create and submit orders; some users also have administrative privileges. Also known as people. See also members.

vendor. See seller.

XML. See extensible markup language (XML).