Small Business Encyclopedia
Operations
Capital Equipment
Equipment that you use to manufacture a product, provide a service or use to sell, store and deliver merchandise. This equipment has an extended life so that it is properly regarded as a fixed asset.
Fulfillment
The process of receiving, packaging and shipping orders for goods
Importing
The process of bringing goods from one country for the purpose of reselling them in another country
Depreciation
An expense item set up to express the diminishing life expectancy and value of any equipment (including vehicles). Depreciation is set up over a fixed period of time based on current tax regulation. Items fully depreciated are no longer carried as assets on the company books.
Distribution Models
The manner in which goods move from the manufacturer to the outlet where the consumer purchases them; in some marketplaces, it's a very complex channel, including distributors, wholesaler, jobbers and brokers.
Business Cycle
Periods during which a business, an industry or the entire economy expands and contracts
Economic Development Agency
An agency whose goal is to help develop and support economic growth within a specified city, region or state by providing necessary resources and assistance
Inventory
An itemized list or catalog of the stock of a business
Packaging
The wrapping material around a consumer item that serves to contain, identify, describe, protect, display, promote and otherwise make the product marketable and keep it clean
Permits
A legal document giving official permission to do something
Private Label Sales
Licensing your product to another company to sell under its own name, rather than under yours
Exporting
The selling of goods and services produced in one country in another country
Product Development
The overall process of strategy, organization, concept generation, product and marketing plan creation and evaluation, and commercialization of a new product
Relocation
The movement of a business from one region or location to another
Return on Investment (ROI)
A profitability measure that evaluates the performance of a business by dividing net profit by net worth
Outsourcing
The practice of having certain job functions done outside a company instead of having an in-house department or employee handle them; functions can be outsourced to either a company or an individual
Overhead
The indirect costs or fixed expenses of operating a business (that is, the costs not directly related to the manufacture of a product or delivery of a service) that range from rent to administrative costs to marketing costs
Shipping
The business of sending or transporting goods
Vehicle Fleet
Vehicles owned by a company and used for business purposes
Signage and Sign Permits
Any publicly displayed information that's presented in the form of words, symbols and/or pictures and is designed to advertise your business. Sign permits provide legal permission to post such information.
Supplier Relationships
Affiliations with the companies that supply your business with goods and services
