Glossary

I work in a corner of the industry that runs on acronyms. If a word in one of the case studies stopped you, it is probably explained here.

ERP

The system where a company records what it buys, makes, stocks, sells and pays. It is the system of record: if a number lives in the ERP, that is the number the tax authority and the accountants go by.

Consistem ERP

A Brazilian ERP built for manufacturing, strongest in apparel, textiles and metalworking. It is the product I develop on.

InterSystems IRIS (formerly Caché)

The database and application server that Consistem ERP runs on. It stores data as a tree rather than as tables, and ships with its own programming language built in.

ObjectScript

The programming language of IRIS. Small niche, steep learning curve and few people on the market, which is what makes this work hard to outsource.

Routine

The unit of code in the ERP, roughly equivalent to a program file. When I say "18 routines", that is the size of the delivery in programs written.

Global

The tree-shaped structure IRIS uses to store data on disk. Where another database would have tables and columns, this has nodes and keys.

Trigger (extension point)

An official hook inside a standard ERP routine: the vendor leaves an entry point, and the client customisation plugs in there without touching product code. It is what lets you customise and still be able to upgrade.

RPA

A robot that drives a screen the way a person would, clicking and typing. Useful when the system on the other side has no API and never will.

REST API

A programmable door into a system. Instead of someone opening a screen and typing, another system knocks on that door and gets an answer in seconds.

Webhook

The reverse of an API call: rather than me asking "did anything change?", the other system tells me the moment it does.

Asynchronous job

A process that runs on its own schedule, with nobody waiting in front of a screen. Used for heavy or clock-driven work, such as sweeping overdue deadlines overnight.

SLA

The agreed deadline for a step to happen. Tracking it is the difference between the system telling you about a delay and the client telling you.

NF-e and CT-e

Brazilian electronic invoices for goods and for freight. They are XML tax documents, validated by the tax authority before the load leaves the yard.

IBS and CBS

The taxes replacing ICMS, PIS and Cofins under the Brazilian tax reform. They change how tax is calculated on every invoice, with a legal deadline to be working.

EDI

Exchanging documents in a standard format directly between companies, with nobody retyping orders. Common between manufacturers and large retail chains.

B2B marketplace

A platform where businesses buy from businesses, usually with quotes and contract rules. Not a consumer-facing shop.

POS

Point of sale: the till in a physical store. It has its own constraints because it has to keep selling when the internet drops.

WMS

The system that runs the warehouse: where each item is stored, who picked it and which route the goods took on the way out.

Batch traceability

Being able to say which production batch an item delivered to a client came from, and everywhere else that batch went. A common requirement in regulated industries and in recalls.