Manufacturing sales glossary

The terms behind the 2026 U.S. manufacturing sales study, defined plainly, with the study’s numbers where they help.

RFQ (request for quote)
An RFQ (request for quote, or request for quotation) is a buyer’s request asking one or more suppliers to price a defined part, assembly or service: what it is, how many, to what specification and by when.
Quote-to-PO rate
The quote-to-PO rate is the share of quotes that become purchase orders: purchase orders divided by quotes issued, for the same group and the same period.
Purchase order (PO)
A purchase order (PO) is the buyer’s document that commits to buy: it lists part numbers, quantities, prices, delivery dates and terms, and once the supplier accepts it, it is a binding order.
NAICS vs SIC codes
NAICS and SIC are two systems of numeric industry codes. NAICS is the current six-digit standard used by U.S., Canadian and Mexican statistical agencies; SIC is the older four-digit system it replaced, still found in many lists and filings.
Sales development vs business development
Sales development finds and qualifies new prospects and hands them to sellers; business development usually means opening new markets, partners or strategic accounts. In many companies the two titles overlap.
Touches per quote
Touches per quote is the number of logged outreach actions (calls and emails, sometimes also voicemails, texts and social messages) divided by the quotes they produced in the same period.

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