Dictionary of Procurement Terms

A structured set of data stored in a computer, especially one that is accessible in multiple ways. (Oxford Dictionaries 2015)

CANADIAN 1. The date of the last amendment entered into a system. 2. The date input was entered into a system.

A federal law enacted in 1931 that requires contractors who perform public works construction projects that are federally funded to pay their workers the prevailing wage rate paid in the area in which similar work is done, as set by the Secretary of Labor.

1. To prohibit a supplier/contractor from submitting offers on future requirements for cause for a certain period of time. 2. A sanction brought against a seller whereby they may not engage in future procurement actions. 3. To exclude or shut out of future solicitations and contracting opportunities. See also: Suspension.

A practice primarily used during the Request for Proposals process, whereby the contracting authority will meet individually, generally upon request, with each proposer whose proposal was not deemed appropriate for an award, to discuss the strong and weak points of that supplier's proposal.

The amount of money required to repay the principal and interest on a debt for each defined payment interval (e.g., month or year) during the term of the loan.

Received resources from other funds, taxes, grants, or proceeds from long-term debt that are used to pay the principal and interest on the debt.

Ratio calculated by dividing a business' total liabilities by its equity to measure the degree to which a business is financing its operations through debt.

An organizational structure in which decision-making and daily operations are delegated by the upper level of an organization and distributed among lowerlevel organization units.

An organizational structure in which designated personnel/operating departments from within the organization have the delegated authority to select the sources of supply and contract directly with suppliers without consulting or receiving approval from the chief procurement officer (CPO). It should be noted that the scope and degree, if any, of decentralized procurement varies from agency to agency. See also: Centralized Purchasing.