Glossary

FAST-MOVING CONSUMER GOODS (FMCG)

An organization that makes products that sell quickly and at a low cost.

FEEDBACK

Information about the customer’s views on a product or service.

FILL RATE

The percentage of orders fulfilled from available stock within a set time.

FINANCIAL REGULATIONS

Internal documents setting out how money is managed within the organization, including how budgets are set, who can authorize expenditure and, often, rules around what procurement processes must be used.

FINANCIAL RETURN

The amount of money that is either made or lost from an investment.

FINANCIAL YEAR

A twelve-month period of trading. Businesses’ financial years can start at any time as long as they run for a complete year.

FINISHED GOODS

Items that have been through the manufacturing process, are complete and are suitable for sale.

FIRST ARTICLE INSPECTION

The process of checking a product manufactured for the first time to determine that it meets design and specification requirements.

FIRST IN-FIRST OUT (FIFO)

Items purchased first are sold first, e.g., an electrical component sold out of inventory would be issued at the oldest or first price.

FIRST-PARTY AUDIT

An inspection of an organization by an auditor employed by the organization (also known as an internal audit).

FISCAL YEAR

The 12 months between one annual settlement of financial accounts and the next; a term used for budgeting, etc. The fiscal year for the U.S. Government is October 1 to September 30; the fiscal year for the State of Minnesota is July 1 to June 30.

FIT FOR PURPOSE

The product or service is capable of doing what it was designed to do.

FIXED ASSETS

State property that is in one of four categories: all non-expendable property having a normal life expectancy of more than two years and a value of $2,000 or more.

• all semi-expendable property established by the owning agency’s policy as fixed assets: any item having a normal life expectancy of more than two years and a value of less than $2,000.
• all firearms, regardless of their value.
• all sensitive items, as established by the agency policy.

FIXED COST

A cost that remains constant in the short term irrespective of production volumes.

FLAT STRUCTURE

A structure with few or no levels of management.

FORCE MAJEURE

Circumstances that cannot be foreseen which prevent a contract from being fulfilled.

FORECASTING

The process of using existing data to predict future demand for products or services.

FORMAL SOLICITATION

A solicitation which requires a sealed response.

FRANCHISE

A joint venture between a person who wants to start a business and a person who already had a business idea registered. The franchisee buys the right to use the business idea from the franchisor. McDonald’s is a well-known franchise.

FRAUD

Deception intended to result in personal gain.

FREE-TRADE AREA

A group of countries who have abolished tariffs, quotas and other barriers to trade within the group.

FRICTION

The resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another.

FUGITIVE DUST

Visible emissions released from sources other than stacks, e.g., dust blown from storage piles, road dust, emissions leaking from the sides of buildings or open areas in buildings.

FULL CONTAINER LOAD (FCL)

A single delivery of goods that completely fills a container.

FULL TRUCKLOAD (FTL)

The amount of freight required to fill a truck by cubic meters / feet or mass.

FULLY OPERATIONAL

Complete and working to full capacity, i.e., a factory would be built and producing goods.