Resources

Glossary

Plain-language definitions of ERP, CRM, automation and integration terms — so that vendor conversations, proposals and this website make sense without an engineering background.

API (Application Programming Interface): An API (Application Programming Interface) is the defined way one software system lets another read or write its data — the connector behind integrations.
AI agent: An AI agent is software that uses a language model to read a request, decide which steps and tools are needed, and carry out a task in your systems.
Approval workflow: An approval workflow is a defined, system-managed sequence for requesting and granting sign-off — a purchase, a leave, a discount — with rules and a record.
Audit trail: An audit trail is a permanent, tamper-resistant record of who created, changed or approved each entry in a system, when, and what the value was before.

BOM (Bill of Materials): A BOM (Bill of Materials) is the structured list of materials, parts and quantities needed to make one unit of a product — the recipe for planning and costing.
Business process automation (BPA): Business process automation (BPA) is the practice of redesigning an end-to-end business process and using software to run its routine steps across departments.
BI (Business Intelligence): Business intelligence (BI) is the practice of collecting a company's operational data in one place and turning it into reports, dashboards and analyses.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management): CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is software that keeps every lead, customer, conversation and deal in one shared record for sales and service.
Cloud database: A cloud database stores a company's business data on managed servers in a data centre, reachable securely from any office or phone, backed up automatically.

Dashboard: A dashboard is a single screen that shows a business's most important figures — sales, stock, cash, orders — updated automatically from the source systems.
Digital transformation: Digital transformation is the deliberate move from paper, spreadsheets and phone calls to connected systems that change how a business actually runs day to day.

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning): ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is software that runs a company's core operations — stock, purchasing, sales, production, finance — on one shared database.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator): A KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a measurable figure — like on-time delivery rate — that a business tracks over time to see how well a goal is being met.

Lead pipeline: A lead pipeline is the ordered set of stages a potential customer moves through — from first contact to closed deal — with every open deal tracked at its stage.

MRP (Material Requirements Planning): MRP (Material Requirements Planning) calculates what to buy or make, in what quantity and by when, from orders, bills of materials, stock and lead times.

n8n: n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform that connects apps, APIs and databases through visual workflows and can be self-hosted under your control.

RPA (Robotic Process Automation): RPA (Robotic Process Automation) is software that repeats a person's clicks and keystrokes in existing applications to automate routine tasks without an API.

SaaS (Software as a Service): SaaS (Software as a Service) is software you rent by subscription and use through a browser; the vendor hosts, updates and maintains it for all customers.
SKU (Stock Keeping Unit): An SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is the unique code a business gives each distinct item it stocks — every size, colour or pack variant — so stock is tracked exactly.
System integration: System integration connects a company's separate software tools — ERP, accounting, e-commerce, messaging — so data flows between them automatically.
Single source of truth: A single source of truth is one agreed place where each business fact — a stock level, a price, a customer balance — lives, so every team reads the same number.

Workflow automation: Workflow automation is software that moves a task through its steps — trigger, checks, approvals, notifications, records — without a person pushing it along.
WMS (Warehouse Management System): A WMS (Warehouse Management System) is software that directs the physical work in a warehouse — receiving, put-away, picking, counting — down to the bin.
Webhook: A webhook is an automatic message one system sends to another the moment something happens — a payment, an order, a form — so the receiver can act at once.