Dictionary of Procurement Terms

Welcome to the NIGP Online Dictionary of Procurement Terms, the comprehensive reference for public purchasing terms and concepts.

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Search Results: 11-20 of 88 results for “L”

  • Law of Demand

    The quantity of a good demanded in a given time period increases as its price falls. (Schiller, 2000)

  • Law of Supply

    The quantity of a good supplied in a given time period increases as its price increases. (Schiller, 2000)

  • LBO


    See Also: Leveraged Buyout (LBO)

  • LCC


    See Also: Life Cycle Cost (LCC)

  • Lead Time

    The period of time from date of ordering to date of delivery, including the time required for the supplier to manufacture or prepare the goods for shipment; may include the time needed by the procurement function to process the purchase request, issue a solicitation, evaluate bids and award a contract.

    See Also: Supplier Lead Time

  • Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification

    A certification issued by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is a voluntary, consensus-based rating system that delivers a sound and certifiable basis for identifying buildings that represent leadership in the use of sustainable building practices and design. Referred to as LEED Certification. (USGBC)

  • Leading Indicators

    An economic term also referred to as cyclical indicators, these are groups of statistics that point to the future direction of the economy and the business cycle. May be helpful when performing price or supply forecasts. (ISM, 2000)

    See Also: Lagging Indicator

  • Lean Thinking

    An organizational culture that is characterized by a comprehensive effort to identify and remove waste and thus improve efficiency in all areas, including time, materials, people, money, facilities, quality, schedules, policies, customers, transportation, and logistics.

  • Learning Curve

    A concept that originated in the observation that individuals performing repetitive tasks tend to improve incrementally the more frequently the task is performed. A technique that is used for projecting or estimating the amount of direct labor and material that will be used to manufacture a product on a repetitive basis. (ISM, 2000)

  • Lease

    A contract by which one party (lessee) enters into a contract with a second party (lessor) for possession and use of property (equipment) for a specified period of time at a predetermined cost. There are two primary lease categories: Operating and Financial. Major benefits of a lease are that obsolescence can be minimized or eliminated; Avoidance of large capital outlays; Maintenance problems may be reduced; The lessee’s working capital is not consumed and may be utilized for other projects.