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ASCM CSCP · 8 Essential Terms
CSCP sourcing desk: strategic sourcing, RFQ versus RFP, total cost of ownership, supplier scorecards, dual sourcing, Incoterms, lead time, and maverick spend.
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The full cost of an item across its life: price, freight, quality losses, inventory, duties, maintenance, and end-of-life cost, not the invoice price alone.
Flip cards, the timed match, and the quiz open in this panel. The full glossary below is ready either way.
Every term, pronunciation, definition, memory hook, and exam trap is written out here so you can review the whole set or print it.
TOH-tul kost uv OH-ner-ship
The full cost of an item across its life: price, freight, quality losses, inventory, duties, maintenance, and end-of-life cost, not the invoice price alone.
Mnemonic. TCO is the price plus every bill the price forgot.
Exam trap. The low bid fails TCO when scrap, expediting, or warranty cost sits outside the unit price. Choose the stem that mentions lifecycle cost.
ar ef kyoo
Request for quotation: a buyer's request for price and commercial terms against a specification the buyer has already defined.
Mnemonic. RFQ says: here is the spec, what is your price. RFP says: here is the problem, propose a solution.
Exam trap. If the specification is still open and the buyer wants approaches, the document is an RFP or RFI, not an RFQ. Quotation follows definition.
struh-TEE-jik SOR-sing
A structured, cross-functional process for selecting and managing supply so the choice supports cost, risk, and the longer business plan, not a single rush order.
Mnemonic. Strategic sourcing picks a supply base for the plan. Buying is the transaction after that choice.
Exam trap. A one-time spot buy is not strategic sourcing. Look for spend analysis, category strategy, and a supplier relationship, not only a purchase order.
suh-PLY-er SKOR-kard
A recurring, weighted view of supplier performance on agreed measures such as quality, delivery, cost, and responsiveness.
Mnemonic. A scorecard is the relationship's instrument panel, published on a cadence.
Exam trap. Do not build the scorecard only from unit price. If delivery and quality have no weight, the exam will treat the tool as incomplete.
DOO-ul SOR-sing
Using two suppliers for the same need so a disruption at one does not stop the flow, often at a higher unit cost than single sourcing.
Mnemonic. Two sources buy resilience. One source often buys a lower price and a bigger outage.
Exam trap. Dual sourcing is not automatically two equal splits, and it is not a backup that has never been qualified. An unqualified second source is a name, not a source.
IN-koh-terms
ICC rules, such as FOB, CIF, and DDP, that state which party pays for which leg and where risk transfers. They do not, by themselves, transfer title.
Mnemonic. Incoterms split cost and risk. They do not replace the sales contract.
Exam trap. The trap is assuming the Incoterm names the moment ownership changes. Title follows the contract and the applicable law, not the three-letter rule alone.
leed tyme
The elapsed time from the recognition of a need, or from order release, until the item is available for use. Definitions must stay consistent inside one formula.
Mnemonic. Lead time is waiting plus doing, from the signal to the available unit.
Exam trap. Do not mix supplier lead time with internal cycle time in the same reorder-point formula. Name the clock you started, or the safety stock will be wrong.
MAV-rik spend
Buying outside the contracted channel or approved catalog, so the negotiated price, terms, and visibility are bypassed.
Mnemonic. Maverick spend is the purchase that walked around the contract.
Exam trap. It is not a heroic save by definition. The exam treats it as leakage: a higher price, a compliance gap, and a supplier relationship you can no longer see.