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  • P&L Sheet

    Profit and Loss Statement.

  • pack

    A standard number of items in a case.

  • pack box/repack

    A large case of merchandise broken down and combined with other products into smaller case packs for distribution to retail stores.

  • pack date

    The date on which a product was made or packaged for sale.

  • pack out

    Placing merchandise on shelves from cases or containers to maximize shelf capacity. Total capacity of a shelf in units when fully stocked.

  • packer

    A company that processes foods for consumption by customers, e.g., meat, poultry, fruits, vegetables.

  • packer's label

    A label that lists a product's content, quality and the processor.

  • packing slip

    A handling slip that tracks shipping and loading of merchandise.

  • packing supplies

    Various paper and plastic bags for bagging customer purchases at a check stand.

  • paid outs

    Money paid out for goods or services, usually in cash at a store.

  • palatability

    The sensation of taste on the palate of the mouth from pleasant-tasting or acceptable food.

  • pallet

    A standard-sized base for assembling, sorting, stacking, handling and transporting goods as a unit. The industry standard is GPC-spec-4-way entry, 48 x 40 hardwood pallets.

  • pallet display

    A manufacturer's display unit that is shipped to a retailer on a pallet, which when placed on a sales floor serves as a free-standing, advertising display that saves time and labor.

  • pallet factor

    The number of cases on a pallet.

  • pallet jack

    A hand- or battery-powered device used to move pallets or products.

  • pallet shipper

    A combination of different products stacked together and shrink-wrapped on a pallet for shipment to a retailer.

  • palletized shipment

    See unitized shipment.

  • palletizing

    Storing and/or shipping of products on standard sized pallets.

  • panning (panning out)

    A bakery term for putting raw dough on a cooking sheet.

  • pantry audit

    A survey of consumers about grocery brands, products, and quantities in their homes.

  • pantryload

    A stock-piling of sale products by customers to take advantage of low prices, e.g., carbonated beverages.

  • parcel pickup

    A driving lane in front of a store where customers pick up their purchases.

  • parity pricing

    Pricing products at the same margin as competitors in an area.

  • party platters

    Large, circular flats of selected deli items.

  • patronage dividend or rebate

    A wholesaler's refund to a member retailer to distribute profits. Determined by totaling purchases for a given time period or of specified items.

  • pay directs

    Coupons refunded directly to a retailer.

  • pay for performance

    A manufacturer's requirement that a retailer must prove performance for a promotion before reimbursement.

  • payable

    See accounts payable.

  • payback, payoff

    A profit made by a retailer on a special program.

  • payload

    A trucking practice; after delivery of a shipment, a trucker picks up another shipment before returning to a warehouse. Also known as backhaul.

  • pegboard

    A display used for small products or individual items.

  • pennant

    A display poster with three visible sides.

  • percent of profit

    The selling price of an item minus its cost, expressed as a percentage of its selling price. Also referred to as margin or percent of margin.

  • performance allowance

    A manufacturer's allowance to a retailer on completion of a promotion.

  • performance requirements

    Specific promotional activities that a manufacturer requires before a retailer can receive a performance allowance.

  • perimeter department

    An outer wall of a retail store where the meat, dairy, produce, deli and bakery departments are typically located in a store.

  • perishables

    Foods requiring refrigeration or special handling because they spoil easily, such as meat, seafood, produce, deli, bakery and dairy.

  • perpetual inventory system

    A system that maintains an expected inventory level within a store that reflects all physical product movement sales, deliveries, credits, etc.

  • pet foods and supplies

    An area of the grocery department designated for food and supplies for domestic pets. Often considered a profit center.

  • PFI

    Pet Food Institute.

  • pharmacy

    A place where prescription medicines are compounded and dispensed.

  • pharmacy only

    A store that generates at least 95 percent of sales from prescription drugs.

  • physical distribution

    The process of planning, storing, order picking, and shipping of products through the supply chain.

  • physical inventory

    A written accounting of salable stock on hand as of a specified date, valued at actual or replacement cost.

  • pick ticket

    A small label that warehouse selectors use to select items to be shipped.

  • pick to belt

    Warehouse selectors select items or cases, apply price labels, place them on an automated conveyor to the dock to ship to a retailer.

  • pick to light

    A lighting system that guides warehouse selectors to the correct products.

  • pick to pack

    A selector at a warehouse finds, prices and packs small items in totes and transports them to the dock for shipping.

  • pickup (cash)

    The removal of surplus cash from registers to prevent losses.

  • pickup allowance, CPU allowance

    A manufacturer's discount offered to wholesalers who pick up orders at the manufacturing site or distribution center rather than having them delivered. See customer pickup.

  • pickups

    An out-of-stock product purchased to complete scheduled orders or to fill a store shelf until a scheduled delivery arrives.

  • piece count

    A receiving method for checking a load against the invoice by counting cases instead of each item.

  • piggyback

    The transporting of a loaded truck trailer on a flat railcar. See trailer on flat car.

  • pilferage

    Shoplifting, theft of money, or product tampering by employees or customers.

  • pilot store

    A prototype store used to test management practices, systems and products.

  • pipeline

    The stock flow s from producers to consumers necessary in all inventory locations throughout the channel to keep product on the retail shelf available for customers to purchase.

  • pitch book

    A salesperson's loose-leaf notebook that lists prices, product specifications and other selling information.

  • placement

    The initial selling and subsequent establishment of a product brand or pack on a store shelf that previously did not stock or purchase it; a new sale.

  • placement allowance

    A manufacturer's allowance for ordering new or promotional products.

  • planogram

    A department, shelf, or display schematic for allocating products by the number of facings and/or the depth of the display.

  • plans committee

    A management group that approves product mix, formulates advertising and merchandising programs and projects sales volume. See advisory board; buying committee; merchandising committee.

  • platter cart

    A wheeled rack used to transport deli trays.

  • PLMA

    Private Label Manufacturers Association.

  • PLU

    Price look-up.

  • plus out

    A forced distribution of products from the warehouse to the retail stores of a chain operation.

  • PM

    Push money.

  • PM allowances

    Promotional money paid by vendors for advertising allowances.

  • PMA

    Produce Marketing Association.

  • PO

    Purchase order.

  • point of sale (POS)

    The place in a retail store where products are scanned through the register system, data is collected, and sales are tendered. POS also describes sales data generated by checkout scanners.

  • point-of-purchase

    The locations within a retail store where a customer purchases products.

  • point-of-sale advertising

    Signs, recorded messages or gimmicks in a store that direct attention to products on sale. They may be either supplied by a manufacturer and mention specific brand names, or they may have been made by the retailer himself to call attention to a special.

  • point-of-sale system

    An electronic register system that scans purchases and collects data.

  • pole display

    An advertising display that is mounted on a pole and placed above a product, e.g., produce displays, meat signs, coffin cases signs.

  • pool car

    A rail car shipment of the same brand of products, shipped to one geographic area, but delivered to different retailers.

  • POP (P-O-P)

    Point-of-purchase signage. See point-of-purchase.

  • POP radio

    Advertising a particular product on radio.

  • portion pack

    A product package of single-service portions.

  • POS

    Point of sale.

  • positive check authorization (velocity-based)

    A database management system that allows a company to track and manage check authorizations through or with an electronic POS system.

  • posting bills

    The entering of all transactions onto the proper receiving records at a store.

  • power wing

    Gondola extensions used to display promotional products.

  • PPO

    Preferred provider organization.

  • PPUM

    Price per unit measure.

  • pre-built display

    See prepack.

  • preferred provider organization (PPO)

    A healthcare provider group that offers reduced medical costs to members.

  • preorders

    Future advertised items that are ordered in advance from the warehouse.

  • prepack

    A shipping container designed to display products on a retail sales floor. Also called a shipper, pre-built display or display case.

  • prepackaging

    A manufacturer's packaging and pricing of products before delivery to the retail store. e.g., display-ready packs of produce and meat.

  • prepricing

    Items priced by a manufacturer before delivery to the retail store, e.g., produce and meat.

  • preprint order form

    A printed inventory guide for a warehouse that lists current inventory available to retailers for ordering.

  • prescription drugs

    Medicines that can be obtained only by means of a physician's written order.

  • price book

    A manufacturer's or a wholesaler's printed current list of products and correct prices.

  • price brand

    A featured brand of product on sale to attract customers.

  • price card

    Display signs indicating the cost of a featured product.

  • price changes

    The reduction or increase in the selling price of a product.

  • price discrimination

    Discounting a product's price for one customer and not for others within a trading area.

  • price fixing

    An illegal practice among competitors of setting the same price for a product. Also known as price gouging.

  • price leader

    A brand of product featured at a low price point to increase sales volume.

  • price list

    A manufacturer's listing of all products by UPC and price.

  • price look-up (PLU)

    Codes assigned to products that are normally not bar-coded, such as fast-moving items and weighed produce, to allow for fast and accurate pricing.

  • price maintenance

    The upkeep of a central pricing database to ensure accurate and consistent pricing.

  • price marking

    Placing the retail price on a package using labels, stamps or other means.

  • price per unit measure (PPUM)

    A label used on items stocked on shelves. Used for ordering and to help customers compare prices.

  • price protection

    A manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer agreement to maintain a product's price for a set period of time.

  • price verification

    A cross check of a product's shelf price compared with the scanned price at the register.

  • price war

    A price war among retailers designed to retaliate against each other for price reductions.

  • price zones

    Price categories in an area that reflect a local market's competition and local warehouse costs.

  • pricing integrity

    A matching of the price of a product and the price charged on the electronic scanner at the checkout.

  • pricing office

    An area in-store where scanning coordinators change prices, enter new items, maintain the item file on the computer database and generate reports.

  • pricing zones

    See zone pricing.

  • private label

    A product line exclusively distributed by a wholesaler/ retailer, which may be manufactured under contract for the private label user. See controlled brand; franchised label; house brands.

  • processor

    A company that produces consumer products from raw goods or materials. Also known as a packer.

  • produce

    Fresh fruits and vegetables.

  • producer

    A grower or processor.

  • product liability

    A legal term in tort law that means consumers can sue manufacturers, distributors or retailers for defective or unsafe products

  • product line

    A group of products with similar uses and characteristics.

  • product lookup number

    A number assigned to a coupon or produce product that, when entered into the register, retrieves a product's name and price.

  • product mix

    A variety and size of products comprising the total assortment of products that a retailer offers for sale.

  • product movement

    An item's rate of sale.

  • product movement record

    Data showing the volume of each product's sales by day, week, period and/or quarter.

  • product recall

    The mandatory withdrawal for public safety reasons of a product that is for sale.

  • product sampling

    A consumer promotion in which small sizes of products, usually new, are sold at a low price to encourage consumers to try them. Free tastings or demonstrations to introduce consumers to a new item.

  • productive labor

    An accounting term used for the hours charged to the normal operation of the store.

  • productivity measures

    Standards or benchmarks used to improve productivity, business processes and organizational performance.

  • profit and loss statement (P&L)

    A financial statement of gains and losses for a specific time period.

  • profit items

    Products that have a high profit margin.

  • profit opportunity

    Products that enjoy a higher gross margin. Creative displays of such items will return a larger than average margin of profit.

  • profit sharing

    A company's incentive program whereby employees share a percentage of net profits.

  • profit, gross

    See gross profit.

  • profit, net

    See net profit.

  • profitability

    A calculation of the profit of a product by the number of product turns and gross profit.

  • Progressive Grocer

    A monthly magazine for the food industry, published by

  • projections

    The process of determining what and how much product will be sold at what price during a predetermined time period.

  • promotion

    A marketing campaign to increase sales through advertising, merchandising, signage, and special events.

  • promotion allowance

    A discount offered by manufacturers to wholesalers and retailers to advertise, reduce the price of, or provide a special display of a product during a sales promotion period. See advertising allowance.

  • promotion money

    See push money.

  • promotional business

    A product that is sold under promotional allowances or other price considerations as a buyer's incentive to support a specific merchandising program. See turn business.

  • promotional licensing

    A marketing agreement between a manufacturer and a celebrity to use his or her image in promoting a product.

  • proof box

    A piece of equipment, in which heat and humidity are controlled in order for dough to rise in preparation for baking.

  • proof of performance

    A retailer's certification to a manufacturer that promotional performance requirements were met and allowances should be paid.

  • proof of purchase

    Evidence used by a customer to verify the purchase of a product and mailed to a manufacturer to receive a premium, refund or rebate.

  • proofing/rise

    A fermentation stage in the baking process in which dough rests after kneading and before baking.

  • proportionate shelving

    A space management procedure that utilizes share of sales to determine the number of facings for a product on a shelf.

  • pull date

    The date by which a product must be either sold or pulled from a shelf.

  • pull down

    Organizing merchandise so lower product layers are full on the shelf.

  • purchase allowance

    A manufacturer's deal to retailers and wholesalers to lower the case price if an order is received during a promotional time period.

  • purchase order (PO)

    A form used to order products.

  • purchasing power

    A measure of a family's or individual's disposable income.

  • push items

    Products that receive maximum marketing and merchandising attention to increase their sales volume.

  • push money (PM)

    A manufacturer's incentive to wholesalers to actively market their products. Usually payments are based on the number of cases sold. Also called promotion money or a spiff.

  • push/pull

    A marketing concept in which product is pushed by a manufacturer with a special promotion (advertising, merchandising) and pulled out of the store through customers' demand created by the promotion.

  • put-away

    Reshelving items not purchased by customers in a store.

  • pyramid

    A hand-stacked, triangular display.