Acronyms & Abbreviations
We all know how terminology can be confusing, especially when we get into the weedy bits in tech. Here are a few common ones that we deal with on a regular basis.
ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning - We often say business system when referring to this, but ERP is a very specific thing. This is a relational database that can cover all areas associated with your business. Many businesses use these systems, but few actually use it to the full capability or even in all areas of their business. The purpose of this is to give a single point of truth for all of your business departments. This reduces double entry, the opportunity for errors, and adds the ability for one department to easily reference data used with other departments.
CRM - Customer Resource Management - This is a database that is tailored to meet the needs of Marketing and Sales. Typically your customers and contacts live here. It may be as simple as a directory or there may be more rich information in it such as distance from your headquarters, proximity to another customer, or even what a customer’s dogs name is. The purpose of this is to make each engagement to the customer a personal one or to plan customer visits. Marketing will also use this data for targeted email campaigns or other advertising specific opportunities.
DWX - DriveWorks - A more obscure acronym that people within the community will use. This is one of our primary technologies that we use to automate, eliminate the mundane, and improve communication.
CAD - Computer Aided Design / Drafting - A piece of software that has replaced drafting tables. This could be something as simple as a 2D building layout or a complex 3D machine design that has multiple assemblies and parts. This is the primary tool of engineers and designers.
SWX - SolidWorks - This is a specific CAD software that is also a primary technology that Base 10 utilizes. This is a very common CAD software used throughout the design and engineering community.
BOM - Bill of Materials - A list of parts, quantities, and sizes of sub-assemblies and components in a design. This is an output from engineering that procurement uses to determine what parts to buy and/or make for a given design.
These are just a few that are out there that you’ll run into.
Familiarization of the terminology is the first step in understanding the language that we speak once we get into the details on any implementation.
