IFS Glossary

Learn more about IFS Cloud and Industrial AI with IFS guides and glossaries.

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Running a modern enterprise means navigating a world of acronyms and evolving technologies — from ERP and EAM to Field Service Management and beyond. This glossary brings clarity to the concepts that shape how organizations operate, grow, and deliver value.

Explore essential business and technology terms

At IFS, we help businesses connect their operations through a single cloud platform that unifies enterprise resource planning, asset management, service management, and more. These explanations give you the foundational understanding you need to see how these terms — and the solutions behind them — support real-world performance and transformation.

  • What is an  ERP system?

  • What is Field Service Management (FSM)?

  • What is Service Lifecycle Management (SLM)?

  • What is IT Asset Management?

  • ERP vs MRP the difference between systems

  • What is IT Service Management ?

  • What is IT Operations Management?

  • What is CSRD?

  • What is Enterprise Service Management (ESM)?

  • What is EAM - Enterprise Asset Management?

  • What is the Manufacturing Industry?

  • What Are AI Agents?

  • What is Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO)?

  • What is a Manufacturing Execution System (MES)?

  • What is Dispatch Scheduling Software?

  • What Is Agentic AI?

  • What is Energy Transition?

  • What is Smart Manufacturing?

  • What is Energy Asset Management?

  • What is Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM)?

  • What is Supply Chain Planning?

  • What is Supply Chain Management (SCM)?

  • What is ERP for Manufacturing?

  • What is ESG Reporting?

  • What is Construction ERP Software?

  • EAM Enterprise Asset Management

  • What is Service Management software?

  • What is Industrial AITM

  • What is Supplier Risk Management?

  • What is Grid Modernization?

  • What is Predictive Maintenance?

  • What is Construction Asset Management?

  • What is Oil and Gas Asset Management? 

  • What is Utility Asset Management?

  • What is Preventive Maintenance?

  • What is Asset Performance Management (APM)?

  • What Is Supply Chain Resilience?

  • What is the Telecom Industry?

  • What is the Utilities Industry? 

  • What is Supply Chain Traceability?

  • What is the Energy Industry? 

  • What is Food ERP Software?

  • What is ERP for the Pharmaceutical Industry?

  • What is ERP Software Automotive?

  • What is Field Service Management software for Energy & Utilities?

  • What is ERP for Chemical Industry?

  • What Is Supply Chain Sustainability?

  • What is Supply Chain Disruption?

  • What is Enterprise Procurement?

  • What Is Nearshoring, Reshoring & Offshoring?

  • What is Remanufacturing?

  • What Is Supplier Performance Management?

  • What Is Connected Manufacturing?

  • What Are Global Supply Chains?

  • What is Contractor Management?

  • What Is Connected Factory?

  • What is Connected Supply Chain?

  • What is Connected Worker?

  • What Is ERP Software for the Packaging Industry?

  • What is sustainability?

  • What is Manufacturing Supply Chain Management?

  • What is ERP for the Industrial Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing Industry?

  • What Is Sustainable Manufacturing?

  • What is Circular Economy?

  • What is Manufacturing Scheduling & Planning Software?

  • What Is PLM in Defense Manufacturing?

  • What Is Defense Asset Management?

  • What is Defense Manufacturing Compliance?

  • What Is Defense Manufacturing?

  • What Is Digital Transformation in the Defense Industry?

  • What is Defense Manufacturing Workforce Development

  • What is Sustainable Defense Manufacturing?

  • What Is the Defense Supply Chain?

  • What is Cybersecurity in Defense Manufacturing? 

  • What is the  Construction Industry?