Glossary

ABC	Activity-based Costing is a costing model that identifies activities in an organization and assigns the cost of each activity resource to all products and services according to the actual consumption by each: it assigns more indirect costs (overhead) into direct costs.

Accounts Payable to Inventory Ratio	For this ratio, a number of more than 1.0 indicates that suppliers are essentially financing a company’s inventory, which frees up the company’s current assets for other uses. When this ratio increases it means that the industry is expanding its payment cycles to finance inventory costs. Decreases in the ratio indicate that the industry is reducing payment cycles and paying suppliers more promptly.

Accredited Standards Committee X12 (ASC X12)	A committee, chartered by ANSI , that develops and maintains uniform industry standards for the electronic interchange of business documents.

ACH	Automated Clearing House is a secure, private electronic payment transfer system that connects all U.S. financial institutions. Direct paycheck deposits and debit card purchases are two examples of electronic fund transfers that go through this network." Other typical ACH payments include salaries, recurring bill payments, and Social Security benefits.

Acquisition Cost	The purchase cost of a product adjusted for any rebates, discounts or allowances such as free goods.

Actual Cost	In foodservice, this is the cost of food sold, as calculated from purchase records and inventory results, after any necessary adjustments.

ADA	Americans With Disibilities Act NACS Daily ADA Amendments Act of 2008

AFV	Alternative Fueled Vehicle

All Commodity Volume (ACV)	Total retail sales dollars for all products in a store, over a given time period.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)	An organization comprised of members of the business and industrial communities responsible for establishing cross-industry standards in the United States.

Amortization	This is a non-cash charge, usually the allocation of the cost of intangible assets, such as goodwill, over a period of time to income. Intangible assets are those that lack a physical form. Amortizing goodwill means no cash is actually paid out over the amortization schedule but does mean a charge against income.

Application Service Provider (ASP)	Application Service Provider a business that provides computer-based services to customers over a network.

Assortment	Various forms of the same general type of items, such as the depth and width of the merchandising offer. Depth is about the variety of styles, colors, sizes, flavors, brands, and prices; width is about the different product categories.

ATM	Automated Teller Machine

Attendent Booth	A small structure for an employee, used for shelter and storage of maintenance supplies. The booth is generally only large enough for one person and does not provide retail space for inside sales. In general, sites with attendant booths only offer pay-at-the-pump. May have a limited merchandise selection of cigarettes and candy.

Automatic Reordering	Selected U.P.C.-marked items through the use of scanning-generated data. Typically, such a system compares item sales to a predetermined order point to trigger a new order.

Average Inventory on Hand	The average dollar amount tied up in inventory for a specific period of time. It is calculated by dividing the annual cost of goods at retail by the number of annual retail turns. It can be calculated for the entire store, a department, a category or item level.

Backorder	An order to be filled when stock is renewed.

Backstock	Items in inventory that are not yet placed on the shelves.

Bar Code	A code or symbol used for identification purposes, which is composed of a pattern of varying width parallel bars and spaces that can be read by an electronic scanner. Bar codes are used on products, pallets, coupons, cases, etc. The symbol of the Universal Product Code (U.P.C.).

Baseline	A prior set period of time used to set the benchmark for measuring change in sales, volume and/or profit.

Biodiesel	Biodiesel is a fuel made from natural, renewable sources, such as new and used vegetable oils and animal fats, for use in a diesel engine. B20 is a blend of 20 percent biodiesel with 80 percent petroleum diesel that can be used in most unmodified diesel engines. B99 is almost pure biodiesel, its use requiring engine modifications. It is unsuitable in cold temperatures unless precautions are taken.

Branded Fuel	Retail fuel sold under a major brand name, usually refers to fuel sold by a vertically integrated company or a dealer.

Breakeven Pool Margin	Ratio expressed as cents per gallon and consists of gross profit dollars from total motor fuel minus pretax profit divided by total motor fuel gallons. It illustrates the level of mark-up(pool margin) that is required to cover overhead expenses

Bridge Buying	The practice of buying more product while it is offered “on deal” during a promotion than is needed to satisfy the sales demand for the promotion with the intent to “stock up” on enough inventory to “bridge” the gap until the next promotional period when the product will be offered at a discount again.

Bubba	The traditional customer of the convenience store industry, has been the "Bubba", the term broadly used to describe the 18- to 40-year-old male demographic shopper of the convenience store.

Bundling	In foodservice, this is the combination of non-competitive menu or daypart concepts in a single retail environment. An example would be the combination of an ice cream concept and a sandwich concept. The concepts do not directly compete, and one is primarily an evening or snack oriented concept, while the other is a lunch concept.

Buydown	Price reductions applied to specified brands and quantities of those brands over a specified period of time. The price reduction is not physically labeled on the products; instead, it is advertised on the display.

CAA	Clean Air Act

CAL EPA	California Environmental Protection Agency

Cannibalization	The diminishing of a product’s sales or potential sales due to the introduction of another competing product; i.e., rather than bringing in additional sales dollars, some of those sales are split between the old and the new item.

Capital	The net worth of a business, or the amount by which the assets exceed the liabilities.

Capital Spending	This is the amount of spending a company incurs on fixed assets such as plant and equipment but not on acquisitions. Capital spending is usually depreciated over the useful life of the asset.

Capital Structure	This is determined by the ratio of the amount of debt to the amount of equity on the company balance sheet. Optimal balance sheets may vary but generally low debt to equity ratios are a sign of strength while high debt to equity values may signal potential weakness in a downturn.

CARB	California Air Resources Board

Cash Flow	Cash flow is determined by the company’s cash earnings or net income plus the non-cash charges such as depreciation and amortization.

Cash-flow Generator	A category strategy to enhance a retailer’s working capital position.

Category definitions	A mainline category & sub-category definitions guide including descriptions of merchandise within the convenience store industry. NACS Category Definitions & Numbering Guide 6.1

Category Killer	A store with a narrow focus of specialization able to deliver product at a lower price than more broad-line retailers and that undercuts competition in a market area; e.g., Toys “R” Us, pet food stores.

Category Management	A systematic, disciplined approach to managing a product category as a strategic business unit. Category Definitions and Numbering Guide A mainline category & sub-category definitions guide including descriptions of merchandise within the convenience store industry.

Category Penetration	The percentage of consumers that buy products from the category.

CDC	Central Distribution Center

Check Digit	A numeric character encoded in the U.P.C. symbol following the item ID. The check character is computed from the other characters of the U.P.C. and serves to check the accuracy of the code during the scanning process.

Cherry Picker	A consumer who shops a retailer expressly for “specials,” often traveling from store to store for the best-priced items.

Cigarette & Tobacco Outlet Stores (CTS)	Retail outlets that predominantly sell cigarettes and related accessories.

Co-branding	The combination of multiple complementary brands within one facility. The core premise of co-branding is that this combination will enhance revenues for both partners and will reduce development costs.

Co-development	A form of co-branding when both partners invest in the development of a new location. This allows the partners to secure sites that would be prohibitive for either partner alone.

Commissary	A central kitchen and\|or bakery where supplies for food services are warehoused and used in the preparation and\|or assembly of food service products for sale in convenience retail locations.

Commodity	Anything bought and sold; any article of commerce that is non-differentiated.

Communication Protocol	The method by which two computers coordinate their communications.

Compensation	Compensation is a systematic approach to providing monetary value to employees in exchange for work performed. Compensation may achieve several purposes assisting in recruitment, job performance, and job satisfaction. NACS SOI Compensation Report of 2008 Data This survey provides a snapshot of compensation, turnover and health-care costs for eight executive positions, four operations positions, and three store leel positions.

Complementary Items	Items that consumers typically consume together and, therefore, often purchased together giving the opportunity for cross-merchandising and suggestive selling. Some examples are: soda and salty snacks, milk and bread, cigarettes and lighters, charcoal and lighter fluid.

Congreenience Store	The Congreenience Store is a showcase at the NACS Show for what's new in energy-efficient, sustainable and cost-saving solutions for the convenience store. The Congreenience Store Green Resources

Consolidator	An agent that merges different shipments of goods from many vendors into a single delivery going to one destination to reduce shipping rates.

Continuous Replenishment Programs (CRP)	The practice of partnering between distribution channel members that changes the traditional replenishment process from distributor-generated purchase orders, based on economic order quantities, to the replenishment of products based on the actual sale of the product and/or forecasted product demand.

Contract RDA	Dollars Display and/or contract payments (total industry RDA).

Contribution Margin	In foodservice, this is the amount left after the variable cost of an item is subtracted from the menu price. This is regarded as the items contribution to the restaurants fixed costs and profit.

Cost Accounting	Cost accounting is used by a variety of industries including food service. It values inventory based on its cost ather than assigning it at retail.

Coupons	Detachable, printed price reductions entitling the holder to an identified price reduction at the time of purchase.

CPG	Consumer Packaged Goods

CPP	NACS Credit Card Program is designed to reduce card processing fees for convenience store and petroleum marketers.

CPW	See “Cartons Per Week.”

CRIND	Card Reader in Dispenser

Cross-Merchandising	A retail practice in which complementary items are offered on the same display, often with signage encouraging purchase with suggested usage ideas; e.g., chips and dip.

CRP	Continuous Replenishment Program

CSNews	Convenience Store News. This term is for informal references only.

CSX	CSX LLC (CStoreXchange) - Online database of financial and operating data for the convenience store industry. CSX NACS Acquires CSX LLC

CTP	Convenience Store Tracking Program Convenience Tracking Program (CTP) Store-level shopper entry and exit research and insight program. CTP on NACS TV

Current Ratio	In mathematical terms, current ratio is the total current assets divided by total current liabilities. The current assets are comprised of cash, accounts receivable and inventory that can be turned into cash within a year. In financial terms, current ratio measures the liquidity of a company — its ability to cover its costs on a regular basis.

Customer Loyalty	The degree to which a consumer regularly patronizes a store for most purchases.

Data Dictionary	The publication which defines all of the elements approved for use within a given electronic transmission standard. Each element is fully described.

Data Element	The smallest item of information in an electronic data interchange standard. A single piece of business information such as an invoice number. There are many elements in a segment.

Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA)	The Data Interchange Standards Association (DISA) advances the foundation of electronic trade and commerce by supporting and promoting standards used for business-to-business data exchange. Providing administrative and technical support to the Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12, DISA helps individuals and organizations improve business processes, reduce costs, increase productivity and take advantage of new opportunities.

Data Mining	A technique of sifting through vast amounts of data to discover trends in customer needs, buying patterns, profitability, and other critical business measurements. Usually requires the construction of a data warehouse.

Data Warehouse	Data mining and data warehousing go hand in hand. Data warehousing involves integrating information from different systems, functions, and locations across an enterprise into a central database to allow more accurate analysis of customer needs, buying patterns, profitability and improved decision making and marketing.

Day-of-Supply (DOS)	A calculation for the amount of time that a supply of product will remain on the shelf, based on the expected movement of the product and the number of facings it is given. Also represents how many days, based on historic average sales per day, you can sell the product before running out of stock, given no additional inventory replenishment.

Daypart	Dayparts are the way retail or foodservice outlets look at daily business flows. The primary dayparts are morning, lunch, afternoon and evening. One trend in co-branding is the combination of QSR brands in one facility that are focused on different dayparts. An example of this might be a coffee or bagel concept (a.m. daypart) combined with a taco concept (lunch and evening dayparts.)

Debit Holds for Fuels	Holds are standard practice for any business that accepts plastic as a form of payment in a situation where the final dollar amount to be accessed is unknown in advance. The bank issuing the debit or credit card determines the lengh and the amount of the hold.

Debt Ratio	The debt ratio is defined as total debt divided by total assets. A debt ratio greater than 1.0 indicates that a company has more debt than assets, while a debt ratio less than 1.0 indicates a company has more assets than debt.

Debt To Equity Ratio	Total debt to equity measures the amount of debt versus the amount of equity on a balance sheet. This number is useful to investment bankers when building a capital structure for a business and to bankers when determining the ability of a business to shoulder additional debt without jeopardizing its ability to cover other business expenses. If the debt to equity is too high, interest payments may become onerous, particularly in an economic downturn.

Decision Support	Describes a class of systems or solutions that reveal meaningful trends and patterns within an enterprise’s raw data, providing for ad hoc inquiries for information needed to make more accurate decisions. Data mining and data warehousing are examples of decision support.

Decision-Support Software (DSS)	Software packages that speed access and simplify data analysis, queries, etc. within a database management system.

Delisting	Dropping or discontinuing the stocking of a product, or SKU.

Demographic	The characteristics of a population within a certain geographic area, as classified by age, sex, income, etc. for market research, sociological analysis, etc.

Demographic Clusters	The grouping of people by demographic characteristics such as age, income, sex, education, race, family status, etc.

Depreciation	Depreciation is a non-cash charge that allocates the cost of a fixed asset over its useful life. These fixed assets are usually items such as plant and equipment that have a useful life longer than the current fiscal year.

Direct Exchange (DEX)	The use of handheld computers to exchange DSD data between a driver (supplier) and receiver (store).

Direct Store Delivery (DSD)	A process where the manufacturer delivers products directly to a retailer, bypassing the wholesale distributor to eliminate warehouse handling. Most DSD suppliers also order for the retailer and stock the shelves when on the premises.

Discount Store	A store that sells merchandise below the suggested retail price.

Display	A vehicle that is used to gain product exposure, trial, and brand awareness of specific brands. Can be used on the counter, floor, or attached to a package merchandiser.

Document Type Definition (DTD)	A DTD is a formal definition of data elements allowed and expected in a specific XML document.

DOE	Department of Energy

DOL	Department of Labor

Download	The electronic transfer of data from an EDI translation software to a business application or customized interface.

Downstream Operations	Operations concerned with oil refining, transportation and gasoline marketing.

DTW	Dealer Tank Wagon (DTW) sales: Wholesale sales of gasoline priced on a delivered basis to a retail outlet.

E85	E85 is an alcohol fuel mixture that typically contains a mixture of up to 85% denatured fuel ethanol and gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume.

EB2B	Electronic Business-to-Business.

EBITDA	Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization

EBITDAR	Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent

EBITDARL	Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization with rents and leases added back in.

EBT	Electronic benefits transfer

ECR	Efficient Consumer Response

ECRM	Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM) provides Business Solutions with efficient program planning sessions to help retailers and suppliers improve sales, reduce expense and go to market faster and more efficiently.

EDLP	Every day low price

EDVP	Every day value price.

Efficient Consumer Response (ECR)	A process that encourages suppliers, wholesale distributors and convenience store operators to work together more closely to streamline operations, reduce costs, and optimize store assortments so consumer value is maximized.

Efficient Replenishment	The improvement of time and cost factors in the replenishment system through automated retail and warehouse ordering, improved logistics and reductions in damage and inventories for suppliers and warehouses.

EFT	Electronic Funds Transfer

Electronic Commerce (EC)	The sharing of information via various electronic means such as EDI, e-mail, facsimile, File Transfer.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)	The computer-to-computer exchange of business information between companies using a public standard format.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)	The electronic transfer of funds between two financial institutions.

Electronic Mailbox	An electronic data storage area on a computer used to store electronic mail sent from other computers. It is very much like a P.O. Box at the post office. Instead of hardcopy letters being placed in the P.O. Box, electronic data is transmitted to the electronic mailbox. Only the company with the correct electronic key can take data out of the electronic mailbox.

E-mail	Electronic Mailbox.

Employee Tunover	Employee turnover is the ratio of the number of workers that had to be replaced in a given time period to the average number of workers. Formula: Divide the total terminations for the position at the end of the year by the number of employees in the position as of December 31 and multiply by 100 to get the percent turnover. The NACS SOI & Compensation Survey have the percentages for the convenience store industry. NACS State of the Industry Report The State of the Industry Report provides the convenience and petroleum retailing industry with the most comprehensive analysis of annual performance and serves as a premier benchmarking resource. NACS Compensation Report

Enabling	The process of matching and then converting business application data to EDI standard formats.

Energy Drinks	Noncarbonated beverages advertised as providing more energy than a typical drink. Noncarbonated Beverages in Convenience Stores

Energy Shots	Energy shots or supplements (4 oz. or less) are categorized in Health and Beauty Care (HBC) in the NACS Category Definitions.

EPA	Environmental Protection Agency

EPCRA	Emergency Preparedness and Community Right-to-Know Act

European Article Numbering (EAN)	The global counterpart of the UCC but is now the GS1 Global Office website

EV	Electronic Vehicle

Every Day Low Price (EDLP)	A retail pricing tactic that entails keeping product prices low on a daily basis, with infrequent specials.

Every Day Value Price (EDVP)	Differs from every day low price (EDLP) by focusing on what the consumer perceives as a value price.

Exchange	An exchange is a Web site which allows qualified and registered users to look for buyers or sellers of goods and services. Depending on the approach, buyers or sellers may specify prices or invite bids. Transactions can be initiated and completed.

Execution	Carrying out, putting into effect or fulfilling a plan.

Export	Download

eXtensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML)	A reformulation of HTML 4.0 is an application of the Extensible Markup Language.

eXtensible Markup Language (XML)	A flexible way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere.

EZ PCI	NACS EZ PCI simplifies the PCI compliance process so you can complete your self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) with speed, ease and confidence. EZ PCI EZ PCI

Facility Expense	Net facility expense consists of depreciation, amortization, interest expense, gross occupancy cost, and sub-rent income. Sub-rent income is rent that a convenience store receives from renting part of their store out to another party.

Facings	The number of packages of an item on the front line of a store shelf.

FDA	Food and Drug Administration: Oversees most domestic and imported food sold in interstate commerce and also has regulatory authority over the manufacture and retailing of tobacco. U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services Regulations for Tobacco FDA Compliance Updates

FIFO	First In, First Out: An asset-managment and valuation method in which the assets produced or qcquired first are sold, used or disposed of first. FIFO may be used by an individual or a corporation. For additional information, contact Investopedia.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP)	A standard Internet protocol which is a simple way to exchange files between computers on the Internet.

Firewall	A firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network gateway server, that protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks.

First-in-Rotation	The practice of moving older items to the front of the shelf or display and placing newer items toward the back to ensure that products are sold before its expiration date.

Floor Stocks Tax	Included with the new law signed by President Obama on February 4, 2009, is a floor stocks tax for tobacco inventory held. Forms and instructions can be found at the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Federal Excise Tax Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Instructions for SCHIP (PD Floors Stocks Tax Return Forms 2009 (PDF) TTB.gov Floor Stocks Tax FAQs

FMI	Food Marketing Institute Food Marketing Institute Represents food retailers and wholesalers by developing and promoting policies, programs and forums supporting its members.

Food Cost	In foodservice, this is the cost of food purchases divided by total food revenues. Typically this is calculated by the following formula: Food cost is generally utilized as a percentage figure. Food cost may run between 25% to 35% of sales in a typical QSR operation, and varies depending on cuisine type or program.

Foodservice	The practice of making, serving and dispensing prepared foods. In the convenience stores this category includes non-packaged consumables: food prepared on-site, commissary/packaged sandwiches, hot dispensed beverages, cold dispensed beverages and frozen dispensed beverages. NACS CAFÉ NACS Center for Achieving Foodservice Excellence is the source for convenience retailers to receive education, ideas, information and solutions designed to help build dynamic, effective, and profitable foodservice. Foodservice Facts Foodservice Workshops at NACS Show 2009

Forward Buying	The purchase of merchandise, usually on deal, with the intention of holding it until a later date when the regular price is reinstated or the product is in short supply. Also know as a “Buyout.”

Frequent Shopper Program	A systematized program, usually implemented electronically, in which brand and/or store-loyal customers receive points toward future product/store discounts.

FSUS	Food Safety and Inspection Service is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Full Time Equivalent (FTE)	Calculation of FTEs is a common labor control tool in the restaurant industry. A full time equivalent is any unit of 40 hours. For example, a restaurant that utilizes 400 labor hours on a typical week would have 10 FTEs on its schedule. However, that does not mean it has 10 people on the schedule. It may have 20 people working 20 hours or eight working 50 hours. Not limited to the restaurant industry.

Functional Acknowledgment (FA)	An electronic verification sent from the receiving computer to the sending computer indicating that the EDI standard transaction was received. The FA does not act as an acceptance of terms or conditions.

Functional Group Header (GS)	The beginning control segment for Functional Group.

Functional Group Trailer (GE)	The ending control segment for Functional Group.

Functional Profile	A subset of the EDI guidelines designed for a specific industry.

Gasoline Price Inversion	An economic condition wherein a supplier of branded and unbranded gasoline prices branded gasoline lower than unbranded gasoline.

Gasoline taxes	Combined state and federal gasoline taxes range from a low of 18.4 cents per gallon in Alaska to 59.7 cents per gallon in New York. http://www.api.org/statistics/fueltaxes/index.cfm API

Gateway/Network Interconnect	A connection between two networks which allows electronic data on one network to be routed through to the other network.

GE	Functional Group Trailer

Global Standards Maintenance Process (GSMP)	The process the EAN/UCC developed to maintain international standards.

GM	Gross Margin percentage

GMA	Grocery Manufacturers of America GMA

GMROI	Gross Margin Return on Investment

Goodwill	Goodwill, in an accounting sense, is an intangible asset and is often used to describe the value of a company’s reputation or strategic advantage above the value of tangible assets such as plant and equipment. Also referred to as the value of a business above the book value of assets or the amount that a buyer would pay that exceeds the value of assets of a company.

Gross Margin	Gross profit expressed as a percent of sales.

Gross Margin Dollars	(Gross Profit) Sales minus cost of goods sold. Profit expressed in dollars.

Gross Margin Percent	The weighted overall average price minus the weighted overall average cost) divided by the weighted cost.

Gross Margin Return on Investment (GMROI)	This is calculated either as a percentage or as a dollar multiple to represent the return of the annual inventory investment.

Gross Profit	A profit figure calculated by subtracting the cost of an item from its selling price, expressed as dollars and cents or as a percentage. (Also called markup, margin, net profit, spread.) Gross Profit = Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold Online Calculators for Gross Profit Margin

Gross Profit Dollars	The selling price of an item minus its acquisition cost with industry allowances or retail display allowances (RDAs) added back in.

Gross Sales	The total dollar volume of goods sold during a specific time frame.

GS	Functional Group Header

GS1	GS1 is a leading global organisation dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains globally and across sectors. The GS1 system of standards is the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world. GS1 document

GSMP	Global Standard Maintenance Process

H1N1	A new strain of influenza virus that began in April 2009, and was formerly called Swine Flu. Disaster Relief Resources for Pandemic Flu, including the recent Swine Flu Pandemic Plans NACS Magazine, May 2007

HACCP	Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points: Plan that uses a seven-step process to identify likely causes of failure in safe food handling

Header	The segment of elements in an EDI standard transaction which indicates the start of a data file.

HEV	Hybrid Electric Vehicle

High-Low Pricing	A pricing strategy in which a high product price level is maintained on a daily basis, with frequent specials and deep discounts on featured items.

HMR	Home Meal Replacement

HO	Home Office System

Home Meal Replacement (HMR)	Ready to eat foods consumed at home requiring little if any preparation.

Home Office System (HO)	The software used by a company to centrally process company sales and financial data.

Host Computer	The computer that is used to update the store-level computers on prices and to collect and process store-generated information. This computer is normally located at the chain headquarters.

Hot Gas	The Hot Fuel (hot gas) myth is based on the incorrect assumption that retail prices are not adjusted for the effect of temperature on the volume of fuel sold to consumers. Hot Gas Temperature Compensation Fuel Delivery Temperature Study and the "Hot Fuel

House Brand or House Label	The private label of a wholesale distributor or retailer.

HTML	Hyper Text Markup Language

Hub	Usually a large company active in EDI encouraging its customers and suppliers to become active in EDI.

Hunter Club	Hunter Club membership is a distinct category of membership in NACS that provides numerous exclusive benefits

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML)	xe "segmen"The set of markup symbols or codes inserted in a file intended for display on a World Wide Web browser page.

Hypermarket	A large retail site that sells a wide variety of goods generally spanning at least the grocery and soft goods market

ICE	Internal Combustion Engine

ICEV	Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle

Ideal Food Cost	A restaurant management analysis tool. Ideal food cost is calculated by figuring the projected recipe cost of each menu item times the percentage of the total that item represents.

Ideas 2 Go	NACS Show general session,“Ideas 2 Go” DVD. Learn from what other leading convenience retailers are doing. Find new business models and innovative strategies that redefine the industry. Ideas 2 Go DVD NACS TV Watch coverage of NACS events, our activities on the Hill, and other highlights from the convenience & petroleum retailing industry.

Image Enhancer	A category strategy to convey positive store/company image to consumers and/or create in-store excitement.

Import	Upload

Independent Marketer	A petroleum retailer not affiliated with the major brand of a large major integrated refining/marketing company.

Independent Refiner	A petroleum refining company that is not affiliated with a vertically integrated oil company. Independent refiners can have varying degrees of contract affiliation with major brands in that they have contracted to supply the gasoline retail sites of a major branded refining–marketing company.

Industry Guideline	In electronic commerce using EDI, this is a subset of a national standard. An industry may reduce a national standard down to the elements and segmenxe "segmen"ts that are of interest to that industry.

Information Management	The treatment of information as an asset to enhance an organization’s competitiveness and responsiveness. It results from effectively identifying, collecting and analyzing information – then directing it to the points of decision making and customer service.

In-Stock	Merchandise is on the shelf or display, and available to be purchased by the consumer.

Integrated Oil Company	NACS Membership: A company that refines and markets fuel but does not own or operate stores. Or a company that refines and markets fuel and has company owned and operated stores. Or a company that refines and markets fuel and has company owned and operated stores internationally. Membership will include the parent company as well as international operations or children if international dues are paid by the parent IOC. NACS Membership

Interchange Fees	The interchange fee is a percentage of each transaction that Visa and MasterCard collect from retailers every time a credit or debit card is used to pay for a purchase. Credit Card Interchange Fees; Government Relations Get the latest updates on this issue from our Government Relations Staff NACS FAQ: Interchange Fees Question and answers regarding the 2010 Finance Bill Unfair Credit Card Fees

Interest Coverage Ratio	The interest coverage ratio is a company’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) divided by the total interest payable. It indicates how many times a company can cover its interest payments on a pretax basis. Failure to meet these obligations could force a company into bankruptcy.

Inventory	The salable stock of merchandise located at a wholesale distributor or retail location at a particular point-in-time, or an itemized record of that merchandise.

Inventory Base	The amount of product needed to meet sales demand and to ensure that there is an adequate supply on hand until the next restocking order is delivered.

Inventory Carrying Cost	The total dollar value of all products in inventory.

Inventory Management	Having the right product, in the right place, at the right time in order to maximize customer satisfaction, maintain product quality and maximize inventory turnover.

Inventory Process	The process of adjusting stock levels for anticipated volume.

Inventory Turn Rate	The ratio of product sales over the average amount of product in inventory for a specified time. The calculation is usually based on units, and can be calculated on retail dollars.

Inventory Turnover	The ratio of product sales over the average amount of product in inventory for a specified time. It can be calculated using retail dollars for sales and inventory, dividing cost of goods sold by the average cost of inventory, or by using units for all components. For example, if calculating turnover for a one month period, the formula would be: Sales / ((Beginning Inventory on hand) + (Ending Inventory on hand) / 2) Category Management Seminars

Island Display	A display where items are accessible from all sides, usually freestanding.

ISO	International Standards Organization

Jobber-Distributor/Wholesaler	A local company that owns or supplies retail facilities with petroleum products obtained from local wholesale supply points. Jobber-Dealer Membership

Just-in-Time (JIT) Purchasing	An approach to inventory management in which products are bought in small quantities to reduce store inventory carrying costs and obtain delivery just in time for use.

Kiosk	A freestanding display used to provide merchandise, services or information. They are located on streets and shopping malls.

Labor Cost	Total labor expenditures, including benefits, worker’s compensation insurance, taxes and on-premise management divided by total sales, expressed as a percentage.

Lag Time	The length of time (in days) between the order day and the delivery day.

Layout	The interior arrangement of departments and merchandise within departments, as well as space allocation for aisles, counters, fixtures, etc.

LIFO	Last in, First Out: An asset-management and valuation method that assumes that assets produced or acquired last are the ones that are used, sold or disposed of first. See Investopedia for additional details.

List Price	A product’s published price, before any discounts or allowances are taken into account.

Listing	Adding, or initiating, the stocking of a product, or SKU.

Logistics	The movement and storage of goods, together with associated information, from the beginning to the end of the supply chain.

Looping	Repetition of a group of segmenxe "segmen"ts in an EDI standards transaction setxe "transaction set"; for example, multiple line items on a purchase order.

Loss Leader	An item promoted at a substantially lower price than the competition’s to attract customers with the expectation they will purchase other items at full margins.

Lottery	The NACS State of the Industry Report includes lottery statistics for the convenience store industry. Lottery Sales in Convenience Stores NACS State of the Industry Report The State of the Industry Report provides the convenience and petroleum retailing industry with the most comprehensive analysis of annual performance and serves as a premier benchmarking resource. NACS Technology Report 2008 NACS State of the Industry Technology Report of 2008 Industry Data, the industry's most in-depth examination of technology and related issues.

Low Involvement Merchandise	Items bought routinely by the consumer without much thought, search or purchase time.

Low Stock	An inventory condition whereby a product may run out before the next order arrives.

Loyalty Program	A program which encourages a customer or user to continue to use a service or purchase products from a company, often achieved through the use of incentives.

LPG	Liquified Petroleum Gas

LUST	Leaking Underground Storage Tank

Majors	Large multinational oil companies that are involved in all aspects of oil production, transportation, refining, and retail. Generally, the majors have well-known and highly identifiable brands and are a vertically integrated company.

Manufacturer Brand	A brand owned and promoted by a manufacturer, and distributed by more than one wholesale distributor or retailer in competition.

Mapping	The translation of data to or from EDI translation softwarexe "translation software". The data from a business application is being translated to an EDI standard format.

Margin	The difference between the cost of an item and its selling price, usually expressed as a dollar value or as a percentage.

Markdown	A reduction of an originally established selling price for a special period or to move older merchandise.

Market Area	The geographic area around a store from which that store can reasonably be expected to draw customers.

Market Basket	The combined purchases by a consumer during a single shopping trip.

Market Leader	The store/company that controls the market share of merchandise or services.

Market Price	The price that a commodity brings when sold in a given market; prevailing price.

Market Share	A company’s percentage of sales in a category, or the percentage of sales for a channel in a category.

Market Value	The price that a commodity can be expected to bring when sold in a given market.

Market-Basket Pricing	Setting prices applicable to a situation where the sale of one item encourages a buyer to purchase other items in the store. Specials and tie-ins are often used.

Marketing	All business activities involved in the moving of goods from the producer to the consumer, including buying, selling, advertising and packaging.

Marketing Plan	The documented process for achieving stated objectives through the use of advertising, branding, category management and execution of merchandising practice.

Markup	The difference between the cost price of goods and its retail price.

Mass Marketing	The approach used to sell large volumes of merchandise to everyone.

Mass Merchandise Store	A high volume retail store that sells goods and commodities. (Open is general public and Closed is exclusively to members),

Master Settlement Agreement (MSA)	An agreement between the major U.S. tobacco companies and the state’s Attorney General which limits the ability to market cigarettes in 46 states and a number of U.S. territories.

Menu Labeling	Health considerations regarding prepared foods are gaining momentum throughout the nation. Consumer advocates are pushing for labeling requirements to provide more information about the nutritional content of prepared foods. Menu Labeling

Menu Mix	The percentage of item sales by menu item.

Merchandiser	Equipment (cabinets, shelving) in retail stores that houses and displays products for maximum visibility and accessibility by the consumer.

Merchandising	To advertise, promote and organize the sale of a particular product. Generally involves both in-store and outside store activities that promote a product, including pricing, assortment, product placement, signage and displays.

Merchants Payment Coalition	MPC is a group of about 20 trade associations representing retailers, restaurants, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, gas stations, on-line merchants and other businesses that accept debit and credit cards. Unfair Credit Card Fees NACS FAQ: Interchange Fees Question and answers regarding the 2010 Finance Bill

Message	The business information piece of an EDI transmissions; for example, purchase orders, invoices, or price information.

Meta Language	In electronic commerce, this is a language used to communicate information about language itself.

Micro-marketing	Identifying the needs of the local marketplace and customizing the strategies at the store level to exploit the differences in consumers.

Micro-merchandising	Customizing each store’s assortment, SKU quantities, promotions, and/or introductions to fit its level of demand.

Modem	An electronic device which converts the signals of a computer into a series of tones for transmission over telephone lines.

Motor Fuels	Convenience store sell the majority of motor fuels in the industry.

Movement	Refers to the number of units sold of a specific item.

MPD	See “Multiple Product Dispensers.”

MSA	See "Management Science & Associates, Inc."

MTBE	Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether. Additive in gasoline as a replacement for tetra-ethyl lead.

Multi Pack Items	Multiple single items bound together in a single package, which has a separate U.P.C. code from the U.P.C. on individual items in the package.

Multi-pack Transactions	A transaction that involves the sale of multiple pack items, and requires an adjustment to retail inventory.

Multiple Product Dispensers (MPD)	Most people associate these with gasoline pumps. Most MPDs have six hoses and dispense three grades of fuel.

NACDS	National Association of Chain Drug Stores

NACS	NACS, the Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing, was founded August 14, 1961, as the National Association of Convenience Stores. NACS is an international trade association representing more than 2,200 retail and 1,800 supplier company members. NACS has been an advocate for the convenience retailing industry providing industry information, knowledge and connections. About NACS Learn more about the Association for Convenience & Petroleum Retailing.

NACS Daily	NACS Daily is an e-newsletter that compiles content from NACS Online into an indispensable "quick read" of daily industry headlines, legislative and regulatory news from Washington, and knowledge and resources from NACS, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Subscribe to NACS Daily > NACS Daily NACS Daily is an e-newsletter that compiles content from NACS Online into an indispensable "quick read" of daily industry headlines, legislative news from Washington, and knowledge and resources from NACS.

NACS Leadership Forum	The NACS Leadership Forum is a world-class event that brings together established leaders from within the convenience and petroleum retailing industry to explore high-impact, meaningful, relevant approaches to business in a dynamic setting. Leadership Forum

NACS TV	News, event highlights, & educational videos for the convenience and petroleum retailing industry. Watch NACS TV NACS TV Watch coverage of NACS events, our activities on the Hill, and other highlights from the convenience & petroleum retailing industry.

NACSPAC	NACSPAC is a voluntary, non-partisan political action committee representing the interests of the conveniene store and petroleum marketing industry.

NAXML	The NACS initiative identifying XML schemas for the convenience store industry. Trademark pending.

Net Profit	The difference between gross profit and the cost of doing business. Commonly expressed as a percentage of sales.

Net Sales	Gross sales minus returns and allowances over a specified period.

Not-on-File	Condition of an item scanned at the POS terminal, looked up on the item file and not found.

NPRA	National Petrochemical and Refiners Association

NRC	National Recycling Coalition, a small group with a huge mission that greatly depends on partnerships, to promote and support community recycling

OECA	Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (division of EPA)

OHI	See “On Hand Inventory."

On-Hand Inventory (OHI)	Total inventory in the store, including what is on display for sale and back stock.

On-Hand Quantity	The units of a product in the store and available for sale, whether on the shelf, in a display or stored as back stock.

OOS	Out of Stock

OPEC	Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. An international organization of 11 developing countries – from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America – that are heavily reliant on oil revenues as their main source of income.

Opening Inventory	The physical inventory at the start of a period. The opening inventory is always the closing inventory for the previous period.

Operating Expenses	Those expenses that are deducted from gross margin and which are incurred in carrying out only the normal, regular commercial activities of a business enterprise usually those expenses at the store.

Operating Income	Net sales less direct and indirect operating costs, and before deducting cost of capital, extraordinary items, overhead and taxes.

OPIS	Oil Price Information Service is a comprehensive source for petroleum pricing and news information. OPIS began covering petroleum news in 1977 with the launch of the award-winning Oil Express Newsletter. In 1980, OPIS pioneered "rack" price discovery for thousands of wholesalers, and now maintains the world's most comprehensive database of U.S. wholesale petroleum prices, receiving more than 70,000 rack prices each day.

OPM	Overhead Package Merchandiser

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)	An organization comprised of oil producing and exporting countries that have organized for the purpose of negotiating with oil companies on matters of oil production, prices, and future concession rights. Current members include Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

ORVR	Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery

OSHA	Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHAct	Occupational Safety and Health Act

OUST	Office of Underground Storage Tanks (a division of EPA)

Out-of-Stock (OOS)	An inventory condition in which product carried by a retailer is currently not available for resale to the consumer.

Overhead	The basic direct and indirect costs associated with business operations, such as rent and labor. Usually those corporate expenses do not include store operating expenses.

Overhead Package Merchandiser (OPM)	A unit that is used to store product.

Overstock	An inventory condition in which product carried by a retailer has not sold over a period of time.

PACT Act	Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act includes provisions to strengthen the Jenkins Act, requires effective age verification, prohibit mail-order tobacco, and creates inspection authority. Remote Sales of Tobacco Press Release

Pandemic Flu	A virulent human flu that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of serious illness. Because there is little natural immunity, the disease can spread easily from person to person. Disaster Relief Resources for Pandemic Flu, including the recent Swine Flu Pandemic Plans NACS Magazine, May 2007

Parser	In electronic commerce, this is a program that receives input in the form of markup tags and breaks them up into parts. A parser may also check to see that all necessary input has been provided.

PCATS	Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards continues the development and maintenance of standards work initiated under the NACS Technology Standards Project. PCATS seeks implementation of these standards by the industry's retailers and suppliers.

PCI	Payment Card Industry PCI Compliance Turbo PCI

PCI Compliance	Actions necessary to protect consumers from identity theft. PCI Compliance Turbo PCI NACS Technology Report 2008 NACS State of the Industry Technology Report of 2008 Industry Data, the industry's most in-depth examination of technology and related issues.

PCI Security Standards Council	Open global forum for the ongoing development, enhancement, storage, dissemination and implementation of security standards for account data protection.

PEI	Petroleum Equipment Institute is a trade association and a partner with the NACS Show

Percent Profit from RDA $	Percent or total category profits which are derived from manufacturers’ Retail Display Allowance payments.

Performance Evaluation	An annual assessment designed to measure an employee’s level of performance in his/her current position.

Petroleum Marketer	Any company or person who retails (sells) or wholesales motor fuels.

Pilferage	Inventory loss tied to consumer shoplifting. Sometimes a perceived pilferage rate is overstated due to product being placed in a location making it available for sale to consumers. See Shrinkage.

Plan	A disciplined, systematic approach formulated beforehand, that results in detailed strategies, tactics and implementation steps.

Planogram	A computerized diagram used in merchandising to design the ideal display of merchandise on retail store shelves.

PLU	Price Look-up

PMAA	Petroleum Marketers Association of America: Federation of 45 state and regional trade association representing independent petroleum marketers nationwide. PMAA

Point of Purchase (POP)	The place where the product is purchased by the consumer. May be as broad as the store, or as specific as the check out counter or a floor display; used mostly in connection with promotion materials and signage.

Point of Sale (POS)	The place where the sale takes place or the transaction information is completed.

Point of Sale Scanning (POS Scanning)	Hand-held or fixed scanners that are used to capture detailed information about product movement and to make the checkout process more accurate and efficient.

Point of Sale Systems (POS System)	Computer systems which typically include bar code scanners, automated price look-up, and inventory tracking components.

Point of Sale Terminal (POS Terminal)	This is a point-of-sale terminal that takes the place of the cash register in a scanning system.

POS System	Point of Sale Systems

POS Terminal	Point of Sale Terminal

ppm	Parts Per Million

Pretax Return on Assests	Pretax return on assets measures how profitable the company is versus the total assets of the firm. The ratio measures the ability of the assets to generate profits. For 2007, the convenience store industry had a pretax return on assets of 5.7% versus 4.6% in 2006.

Pretax Return on Net Worth	This metric indicates shareholders’ return using earnings before taxes for each dollar invested.

Price Look-up (PLU)	A designated number, key or function that store personnel use to key in a sale of a product on the register.

Pricebook	A price list that is the authoritative reference for the correct prices for all items. Also known as the item file or master item file, this is the file where all of the product descriptions, U.P.C. numbers, prices and product costs are maintained. This file is usually maintained at the headquarters level.

Pricing Integrity	Ensuring that the in-store computer price file contains the same price for an item that is marked on the product or store shelf.

Prime Cost	Labor cost plus product cost.

Private Label	A product label or brand owned by a wholesale distributor or retailer for a line or variety of items for exclusive distribution, usually priced lower than manufactured brands to appeal to cost conscious consumers.

Process Costs (or Activity-based Costs)	All the costs associated with handling an item, from ordering, to receiving, to pricing, to stocking and selling the item.

Product Adjacencies	Products that are merchandised in proximity of one another in order to promote or change purchasing behavior to include a combination purchase of both products.

Product Assortment	The collection of items included in a group of items such as a cooler door, a planogram, a display or the entire store.

Product Availability	Having the right product available in the right quantities for consumers to purchase.

Product Categories	A defined hierarchy to segment product sales. NACS publishes the Category & Numbering Guide annually. Suppliers also define product categories based on their product line.

Product Codes	These codes define petroleum and merchandise products and services by assigning them a specific three-digit number. The use of payment system product codes eliminates confusion between systems by having a common set of values for reporting accurate and consistent data. To get the codes, contact PCATS at www.pcats.org. PCATS Payment Systems Product Codes

Profit Generator	A category strategy to produce significant profit dollars.

Profit Margin	A ratio of profitability calculated as net income divided by revenues, or net profits divided by sales. It measures how much out of every dollar of sales a company actually keeps in earnings.

Promoted Volume (PV)	The amount of a brand’s total volume that is sold via some type of promotion.

Promotion	An organized sales effort for a product to stimulate sales. Advertising, publicity and events are often employed to attract attention and create interest among customers.

Promotional Calendar	A calendar that shows the timing of buy-downs and promotions.

Promotional Period	The days, weeks or months during which a promotion is run; usually compared to a baseline period.

Pushpull	A marketing concept where product is “pushed” through the channel through deals, allowances, etc. “Pull” refers to direct appeals to consumers, persuading them to demand the product.

QSR	Quick Service Restaurant

Quick Response (QR)	A partnership between a supplier and a retailer through which orders are replenished automatically via computer link up to reduce out of stocks, forced markdowns and operating costs. The partnership enables better response to consumer needs through the sharing of POS scan data, EDI and bar coding.

Quick Service Restaurants (QSR)	Limited service restaurants that specialize in quick service. Sometimes known as fast food.

Rack Price	Price at which the majors and independent refineries sell gasoline to jobber/wholesalers, related to the commodity spot price, but adjusted to include costs of transportation, overhead, and profit. Rack price can be for either branded or unbranded fuel.

RAM	Random Access Memory.

RAs	Return Authorizations

RCRA	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

RDA	Retail Display Allowance

Refiner–Marketer	A company that refines oil into petroleum products and markets these products through gasoline retail sites.

Research	The NACS State of the Industry Report contains industry data for the U.S. convenience store industry since 1971. NACS State of the Industry Report The State of the Industry Report provides the convenience and petroleum retailing industry with the most comprehensive analysis of annual performance and serves as a premier benchmarking resource. NACS Compensation Survey Report Compensation, turnover and health-care costs for 14 different job positions. Convenience Tracking Program (CTP) Store-level shopper entry and exit research and insight program. CSX, LLC - CStoreXchange Business Intelligence for Convenience Retailing Operations & Petroleum Marketers NACS Research

Retail Display Allowance (RDA)	Payments made by manufacturers to a retail store for allowing the merchandising and display of their products.

Retail Inventory Value	The dollar value placed on inventory based on each item’s selling price rather than its purchase cost.

Return Authorizations (RAs)	A form that allows a retailer to return outdated and damaged product back to a wholesale account for credit.

Return on Assets (ROA)	Net income divided by total assets.

Return on Captital Employed (ROCE)	This is calculated by taking pretax profit plus interest expense and dividing by other current liabilities plus long-term debt plus other long-term liabilities plus net worth. Financial analysts insist that ROCE for any expansion should always be higher than the rate that the company incurs when borrowing money, otherwise these borrowings will reduce the owner’s earnings. For 2007, the convenience store industry same firm comparisons had a ROCE of 7.50% versus 5.95% in 2006.

Return on Equity (ROE)	Ratio that measures the return earned on owner’s dollar investment in the company. A high ROE implies attractive investment opportunities and enables retention of earnings and payment of dividends.

Return on Inventory Investment (ROII)	Operating income divided by average inventory investment.

Return on Inventory Investment Dollars (ROII$)	Gross margin dollars divided by the average weighted inventory cost. This is a financial measure used as a benchmark by some retailers to compare different categories’ performance.

Return on Investment (ROI)	The ratio of a company’s net profit in relation to its net worth, derived by dividing the company’s net profit after taxes by its net worth.

RFG	Reformulated Gasoline

RFID	Radio Frequency Identification

ROA	Return on Assets

Robinson-Patman Act	This is a federal law that prohibits discriminatory pricing and promotional allocation.

ROI	Return on Investment

ROII	Return on Inventory Investment

ROII$	Return on Inventory Investment Dollars

Rotation	The practice of moving older items to the front of the shelf or display, and placing newer items toward the back to ensure products are sold before their expiration date.

Round -up	Round-up is a group of NACS supplier company volunteers who provide assistance and guidance to NACS Show attendees

RPA	Retail Profitability Analysis

Safety Stock (Margin of Safety)	The amount of additional inventory required to prevent out of stocks in the event of changes in sales or delivery delays.

Scanner	An electronic instrument that reads bar codes and other graphic information found on product packages, coupons and mailing envelopes.

Schema	In electronic commerce, it is the organization or structure for a document.

SCHIP	State Children's Health Insurance Program also know as Title XXI Federal Excise Tax CMS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services HHS.gov give an overview of the Children's Health Insurance Program. (CHIP)

SE	Transaction Set Trailer

Seasonal Item	Items closely tied with a specific season or holiday that limits it sales life.

Seasonal Promotion	A sales effort created to coincide with a holiday or season of the year.

Segment	A group of elements in an electronic data interchange standard. For example, it can include pieces of business information such as a detail line on an invoice. There are many segmenxe "segmen"ts in an EDI standard transaction.

Sell-thru	The amount of goods, expressed as a percentage of the total amount on hand, sold over a given period of time.

ServSafe	A comprehensive foodservice sanitation and safety program offered by the National Restaurant Association.

SGML	Standard Generalized Markup Language

Shelf Life	The manufacturer’s recommendation as to the duration of time a product should be available for consumer purchase to ensure freshness. Product which has reached the end of its shelf life, needs to be pulled from retail shelves.

Shelf Talkers	Large labels, tags or devices used to attract consumers attention while shopping.

Shrink	Inventory merchandise loss resulting from theft, spoilage, misplacement, erroneous register rings, short deliveries, etc.

SIGMA	Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America

Signage	Printed materials that are used to for product identification and advertising, often appended or affixed to merchandisers and displays.

Skimming	Skimming is any attempt to acquire the data from a credit or debit card transaction. At its simplest, it is stealing credit card receipts. NACS Daily - Skimming concerns PCI Security Standards Council Best Practices

SKU	Stock Keeping Unit

SLC	Products containing pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and PPA are classified as "Scheduled Listed Chemicals" (SLCs)

SOI	SOI stands for "State of the Industry" which relates to 1) the SOI Report - provides the convenience and petroleum retailing industry with the most comprehensive analysis of annual performance and 2) the NACS SOI Summit delivers a thorough review of annual comprehensive industry data. NACS State of the Industry Report The State of the Industry Report provides the convenience and petroleum retailing industry with the most comprehensive analysis of annual performance and serves as a premier benchmarking resource. SOI Summit The NACS State of the Industry Summit delivers a thorough review of annual comprehensive industry data. CSX, LLC - CStoreXchange Business Intelligence for Convenience Retailing Operations & Petroleum Marketers

Space Management	The planned regulation of space occupied by an item on the shelves. (See Planogram)

Spot Price	Petroleum price on the large volume, bulk petroleum product commodity market.

SSDA	Service Station Dealers of America

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)	A standard for how to specify a document markup language or tag set.

Standards	A set of guidelinexe "guideline"s to follow to interchange data with other companies. The guidelines are a set of instructions on how electronic business transactions should be structured and what pieces of information should be included in the transactions.

Starting Gate	A modern design of positioning pump islands so that cars are facing the convenience store while refueling.

State Tax Stamp	See “Tax Stamp”

Stock	The total amount of goods; inventory.

Stock Keeping Unit (SKU)	An individual color, size, flavor or pack of product that requires a separate code number to distinguish it from other items.

Store Brand	A brand owned by a retailer that is not a nationally advertised brand. (See Private Label.)

Store Layout Designs	The physical characteristics of a convenience store; the exterior and interior design that assists the merchandising strategy.

Store Margin	Profit margin in convenience stores, or store operating profit.

Store Operating Profit	The amount of money a store has left after paying for the goods it sold and after providing an environment in which to conduct business. It is the profit that is left after all direct expense expenses have been paid.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis (SWOT Analysis)	A strategic level review of a company’s capabilities and resources (internal), and the opportunities presented by the market and/or competitors, and threats from competitors or changes in the market.

Sub-category	A sub-set of products that share similar characteristics in the consumer’s mind (e.g., laundry care products) that are included as part of a larger category grouping (e.g., non-edible grocery).

Suggestive Selling	The activity of creating additional sales during the checkout transaction. It is part of the personal contact between customers and store personnel, and can, when done right, increase customer satisfaction.

Supermarket	A large self-service retail store selling food and household goods.

Superstore	A combination of a general merchandise operations and a supermarket; usually ranges in size from 50,000 square feet to 200,000 square feet.

Supplier or Category Partner	The supplier chosen to work with the category manager on defining the retailer’s category, selecting a role, developing strategy and tactics and performing category reviews. The supplier partner will typically supply resources such as market data, consumer behavior data, and planogramming capabilities. A higher-level relationship than buyer-seller.

Supplies Cost	Total supplies divided into foodservice sales. It is important to note that the Uniform System of Accounts for restaurants classifies foodservice packaging, such as cups, containers, etc, as being part of cost of goods sold, not supplies.

Supply Chain	All the activities and parties involved in the process of getting a product from the manufacturer to the consumer.

Supply Contract	The agreement a dealer makes with a supplier to secure fuel.

Swipe Fees	The largest component of the fees paid by a retailer is called interchange. When a consumer makes a purchase from a retailer using a credit card, the payment is processed through the retailer's bank and the bank that issued the credit card. The issuing bank charges the retailer's bank an interchange fee to process the transaction. These interchange fees are passed on to the retailer and, ultimately, every consumer pays for them. NACS FAQ for Interchange Fees Questions & Answers Credit Card Fees NACS TV Swipe Fees Video

SWOT Analysis	Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis

Syntax	The grammar or rules which define structure of the EDI standards (i.e., the use of loopxe "loop"s and qualifiers). Syntaxxe "Syntax" rules are published in ANSI X12.6

TAM	TAM is the NACS Product, Techniques of Alcohol Management. NACS Techniques of Alcohol Management (TAM) Training program designed to teach store managers and employees how to legally sell alcohol.

Tax Stamp	A tax that is collected by each state for each pack of cigarettes sold to adult smokers. This tax is administered in the form of a tax stamp (except in Alaska and Hawaii), which is applied to each pack. The amount of the tax varies by state.

Technology	The convenience store industry has gone from being a technology laggard to a technology leader in using new technologies to deliver convenience. NACS Technology Report 2008 NACS State of the Industry Technology Report of 2008 Industry Data, the industry's most in-depth examination of technology and related issues. NACStech This annual IT show, is the place to make the right connections with vendors, learn more about technology trends and network with seasoned industry thought leaders. Technology Fact Sheet

Terminal	A physical storage facility for petroleum products, typically supplied through a pipeline from a refinery, where jobbers/wholesalers purchase and obtain gasoline.

The Green Toolkit	A guide to provide solutions that will help retailers implement a green and sustainable operation. The NACS Green Toolkit A guide designed to provide solutions that will help retailers implement a green and sustainable operation. Green Resources The Congreenience Store

The Nielsen Company	The Nielsen Company is the world's leading provider of marketing information, audience measurement, and business media products and services. Nielsen Syndicated Data Program Contact (800) 553-3727 for more information on this program.

Throughput	The volume of petroleum product sold through a retail site, usually measured in gallons.

Tobacco	Cigarettes are No. 1 on the list of top ten in-store product catogories (in terms of inside sales). Other tobacco products are No. 5. Government Relations Tobacco NACS State of the Industry Report The State of the Industry Report provides the convenience and petroleum retailing industry with the most comprehensive analysis of annual performance and serves as a premier benchmarking resource.

Trade Allowances	Incentives provided by the manufacturer to retailers and other channel intermediaries to stock, display or promote the manufacturer’s goods.

Trade Class	A type of retail outlet whose objectives differ as to customer expectation; e.g., convenience, drug, mass, smoke shop, etc.

Trading Partner	Any company conducting business with another company.

Trading Partner Agreement	A legal contract between trading partnerxe "trading partner"s outlining the terms and conditions for EDI transactions. These terms and conditions take the place of the terms and conditions that were present when the two companies were exchanging paper documents, such as a purchase order.

Traffic Builder	A category strategy that draws consumer traffic, encourages high consumption and increases volume.

Trailer	The segmen of elements in an EDI standard transaction setxe "transaction set" which indicates the end of a segmentxe "segment" or end of a data file.

Transaction Builder	A category strategy that increases transaction size, builds incremental sales and provides strong impulse potential.

Transaction Set	A collection of data segmenxe "segmen"ts which comprise a complete business document, such as an invoice or purchase order.

Transaction Set Header (ST)	The beginning control segmenxe "segmen"t designating start of Detail Data Segments.

Transaction Set Trailer (SE)	The ending control segmenxe "segmen"t designating end of Detail Data Segments.

TRI	Toxic Release Inventory

U.P.C	Universal Product Code

UCC	Uniform Code Council

UCS	Uniform Communication Standard

UCS (2)	Refers to the use of EDI for item maintenance, price information, and product promotions, and product authorization/de-authorization.

UN/ECE	See “United Nations/European Commission of Europe”

UN/EDI FACT	See “United Nations EDI for Administration, Commerce, and Transport”

Unbranded Fuel	Retail fuel not sold under a major brand name, typically sold by an independent marketer under the marketer’s private label or with no name attached.

Underground Storage Tanks (UST)	Underground storage tanks for petroleum products at retail sites.

Uniform Code Council (UCC)	A non-profit association which administers the Universal Product Code (U.P.Cxe "U.P.C".), the Uniform Industrial Code (UIC), Standard Interchange Language (SIL), and three EDI standards: UCSxe "UCS" (grocery), WINS (warehouse), and VICS (general merchandise).

Uniform Communication Standard (UCS)	The electronic data interchange standard used by the grocery industry and the other retail-oriented industry sectors, such as the convenience store channel.

Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)	This is typically a battery-powered system that will allow equipment to be operated for a pre-determined amount of time or for data to be saved if electrical power is lost.

United Nations EDI for Administration, Commerce, and Transport (UN/EDI FACT)	This EDI standard is used by all countries outside of North America.

United Nations/European Commission of Europe (UN/ECE)	An organization responsible for the EDI FACT standard.

Universal Product Code (U.P.C.)	A series of black bars of varying widths that represent a unique set of numbers used for product identification in scanning.

Upload	The electronic transfer of data to an EDI translation softwarexe "translation software" from a business application or customized interface.

UPS	Un-interruptable Power Supply

Upstream Operations	Operations concerned with oil exploration and production.

User ID	A unique identifier (code) assigned to identify the person operating computer software.

UST	Underground Storage Tanks

VAN	Value-Added Network: A company offering data storage services, data communications expertise, sometimes EDI standards expertise, and sometimes EDI translation softwarexe "translation software".

VAN Interconnect	The capability for VANs to send data to other VANs. This capability allows a company to choose a preferred VAN for their use in conducting business electronically, while still providing the company with the capability to communicate with trading partnerxe "trading partner"s using other VANs.

VAP Communicator	A permanent retail communication fixture that is used to hold our current VAP POS material.

VCT	Versitile Card Technology (VCT)

Vendor Managed Inventory	A practice, similar to continuous replenishment (CRP), where POS and inventory data is sent to suppliers who assume the responsibility form managing their inventories inside a wholesale distributor or retail organization.

VPCGA	a non-profit, statewide trade association representing the petroleum and food industries

W3C	World Wide Web Consortium

Weeks-of-Supply	The number of weeks that the warehouse stock of an item will be available based on its current sales movement.

WIC (Women, Infants & Children program)	WIC is a special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. WIC provides food assistance to income eligible pregnant and breast-feeding women, women who recently had a baby, infants, and children who are at health risk due to inadequate nutrition.

Working Capital	The amount of cash or capital needed to operate the business and is usually computed by the difference of current assets minus current liabilities.

WOTC	Work Opportunity Tax Credit Implementing the New WOTC Provisions WTOC provisions of the stimulus bill (Section 1221 of H.R. 1)

X12	ANSI" standard for inter-industry electronic exchange of business transactions for North America.

XHTML	eXtensible Hypertext Markup Language

XML	“eXtensible Markup Language

XMLifying	The process of converting EDI documents to equivalent XML schemas.

Xschema	An alternative to a DTD which was only accepted as a recommendation by the W3C a short time ago.

XSL Transformations (XSLT)	A standard way to describe how to transform (change) the structure of an XML document into an XML document with a different structure. XSLT is a recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium.

XSLT	XSL Transformations

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