Business glossary

10 New business words terms

In this glossary, I chose ten words and acronyms that are use in the business world and that everybody should know and be able to use.

Back burner
When you put something on a back burner, you make it a low priority. In other words, you've decided that the task or activity on a back burner isn't immediately important.
Example: This project is on the back burner for the two next weeks.
en: En veilleuse
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Bill of lading
A bill of lading is a legal document that's issued by a carrier to a shipper detailing the type, quantity, and destination of the goods being carried. A bill of lading is a document of title, a receipt for shipped goods, and a contract between a carrier and a shipper.
Example: You need to have the bill of lading to pay the transport.
en: Connaissement
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Business-to-Business (B2B)
Business-to-business, or B2B, refers to commerce between two businesses rather than between a business and an individual consumer.
Example: Walmart is doing B2B with Canadian Tire.
en: Commerce d'entreprise à entreprise
It's two businesses doing commerce together.
Buyer persona
A buyer persona refers to the ideal target customer. It is a detailed, fictitious portrait of marketing targets: who they are, their tastes, habits, needs, problems etc. This helps you better target your communication and offering.
Example: The buyer persona for this product is a 40 years old father that plays multiple sports.
en: persona
It's a complete example of a buyer persona.
First In, First Out (FIFO)
It is a method for organizing and managing data that is based on the principle that the item that is stored first is the item that is retrieved first. In other words, the oldest item in the system is the first one to be processed.
Example: This business use de FIFO method to manage their stock.
en: Premier entré, premier sorti (PEPS)
This is how stocks are manage in a FIFO method.
Initial Public Offering (IPO)
An IPO (initial public offering) is the first time a business raises finance publicly. Before that, it can only use private investment. Going public allows your business to raise large sums of money from new investors.
Example: Facebook went public via IPO in 2012.
en: Introduction en bourse
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Insolvency
Insolvency is when an individual or company cannot commit to their financial obligations for paying debt to lenders on time. This usually occurs when a person's debt exceeds the value of their assets. Insolvency is not the same as bankruptcy, but it is criteria for bankruptcy.
Example: The company has asked a court to begin insolvency proceedings.
en: Insolvable
We see that the profits are declining.
Lean management
Lean management is a business methodology that's designed to increase quality and efficiency by eliminating wasted resources like time, money, and effort. It also is sometimes referred to as lean production or lean manufacturing.
Example: This business use the lean management principles to reduce the waste.
en: Gestion allégée
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SWOT Analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
A SWOT analysis is a planning tool which seeks to identify the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats involved in a project or organisation. It's a framework for matching an organisation's goals, programmes and capacities to the environment in which it operates.
Example: In the new marketing plan, this business will need to do their SWOT Analysis.
en: Analyse FFOM (forces, faiblesses, opportunités et menaces)
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Wholesale
The selling of goods in large amounts at low prices to shops and businesses, rather than the selling of goods in shops to customers.
Example: Warehouse clubs allow members to buy goods at wholesale prices.
en: Vente en gros
It's a big big quantity of products.