Acronyms in Multinationals: Departments Guide

🎯 Corporate Dictionary

Acronyms in Multinationals: Complete Guide by Departments

Master international corporate language with this complete guide to acronyms used in multinationals, organized by functional areas.

In today’s globalized business environment, knowing the most commonly used acronyms in multinationals is essential for effective communication. These terms, primarily in English but also in Spanish, enable smooth interaction between professionals from different disciplines and regions.

This guide compiles the most relevant acronyms organized by key departments: from general terms to specialized ones in finance, marketing, human resources, technology, purchasing, production, logistics, quality, and environmental matters.

Whether you’re starting your professional career or are an experienced executive, mastering this vocabulary will help you better integrate into international corporate environments and communicate with precision and professionalism.

Key Departments

Explore acronyms organized by functional business areas.

✅ 1. General Terms

Acronyms commonly used across all company areas

  • KPI → Key Performance Indicator
  • FYI → For Your Information
  • ASAP → As Soon As Possible
  • ETA → Estimated Time of Arrival
  • FAQ → Frequently Asked Questions
  • TBD → To Be Determined
  • TBA → To Be Announced
  • RSVP → Répondez S’il Vous Plaît (Please Respond)
  • EOD → End of Day
  • EOW → End of Week
  • FY → Fiscal Year
  • HQ → Headquarters
  • R&D → Research and Development
  • PR → Public Relations
  • HR → Human Resources
  • IT → Information Technology
  • CEO → Chief Executive Officer
  • CFO → Chief Financial Officer
  • COO → Chief Operating Officer
  • CTO → Chief Technology Officer
  • CMO → Chief Marketing Officer

✅ 2. Finance

Essential financial and accounting terms

  • ROI → Return on Investment
  • EBITDA → Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization
  • P&L → Profit and Loss
  • COGS → Cost of Goods Sold
  • CAPEX → Capital Expenditure
  • OPEX → Operating Expense
  • EPS → Earnings Per Share
  • NAV → Net Asset Value
  • APR → Annual Percentage Rate
  • APY → Annual Percentage Yield
  • IRR → Internal Rate of Return
  • NPV → Net Present Value
  • FCF → Free Cash Flow
  • DCF → Discounted Cash Flow
  • CAGR → Compound Annual Growth Rate
  • VAR → Value at Risk
  • FX → Foreign Exchange
  • LIBOR → London Interbank Offered Rate
  • GAAP → Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
  • IFRS → International Financial Reporting Standards
  • SEC → Securities and Exchange Commission
  • FASB → Financial Accounting Standards Board

✅ 3. Marketing

Digital marketing and branding concepts

  • SEO → Search Engine Optimization
  • SEM → Search Engine Marketing
  • CTR → Click-Through Rate
  • CPC → Cost Per Click
  • CPM → Cost Per Mille (Cost Per Thousand Impressions)
  • CPL → Cost Per Lead
  • CPA → Cost Per Acquisition
  • ROAS → Return on Ad Spend
  • CRM → Customer Relationship Management
  • CMS → Content Management System
  • UX → User Experience
  • UI → User Interface
  • A/B → A/B Testing
  • KOL → Key Opinion Leader
  • UGC → User Generated Content
  • Viral → Viral Marketing
  • Influencer → Influencer Marketing
  • Affiliate → Affiliate Marketing
  • Email → Email Marketing
  • Social → Social Media Marketing
  • Content → Content Marketing
  • Digital → Digital Marketing

✅ 4. Human Resources

Talent management and development terms

  • HR → Human Resources
  • CHRO → Chief Human Resources Officer
  • HRBP → Human Resources Business Partner
  • L&D → Learning and Development
  • DEI → Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • ESG → Environmental, Social, and Governance
  • FTE → Full-Time Equivalent
  • PTO → Paid Time Off
  • FMLA → Family and Medical Leave Act
  • ADA → Americans with Disabilities Act
  • EEO → Equal Employment Opportunity
  • OSHA → Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  • FSA → Flexible Spending Account
  • HSA → Health Savings Account
  • IRA → Individual Retirement Account
  • 401(k) → 401(k) Plan
  • W-2 → Wage and Tax Statement
  • I-9 → Employment Eligibility Verification
  • ATS → Applicant Tracking System
  • JD → Job Description
  • KSA → Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
  • RFP → Request for Proposal

✅ 5. Technology

IT and software development concepts

  • IT → Information Technology
  • CTO → Chief Technology Officer
  • CIO → Chief Information Officer
  • API → Application Programming Interface
  • SDK → Software Development Kit
  • UI → User Interface
  • UX → User Experience
  • QA → Quality Assurance
  • DevOps → Development Operations
  • SaaS → Software as a Service
  • PaaS → Platform as a Service
  • IaaS → Infrastructure as a Service
  • IoT → Internet of Things
  • AI → Artificial Intelligence
  • ML → Machine Learning
  • DL → Deep Learning
  • NLP → Natural Language Processing
  • CRM → Customer Relationship Management
  • ERP → Enterprise Resource Planning
  • CMS → Content Management System
  • VPN → Virtual Private Network
  • SSL → Secure Sockets Layer

✅ 6. Purchasing

Procurement and supplier management terms

  • PO → Purchase Order
  • RFQ → Request for Quotation
  • RFP → Request for Proposal
  • RFI → Request for Information
  • BOM → Bill of Materials
  • SKU → Stock Keeping Unit
  • EOQ → Economic Order Quantity
  • ROP → Reorder Point
  • ABC → Activity-Based Costing
  • TQM → Total Quality Management
  • JIT → Just-In-Time
  • VMI → Vendor Managed Inventory
  • EDI → Electronic Data Interchange
  • EFT → Electronic Funds Transfer
  • FOB → Free On Board
  • CIF → Cost, Insurance, and Freight
  • EXW → Ex Works
  • DDP → Delivered Duty Paid
  • DAP → Delivered At Place
  • FCA → Free Carrier
  • CPT → Carriage Paid To
  • CIP → Carriage and Insurance Paid To

✅ 7. Production

Manufacturing and quality control concepts

  • OEE → Overall Equipment Effectiveness
  • TPM → Total Productive Maintenance
  • TQM → Total Quality Management
  • Six Sigma → Six Sigma
  • Lean → Lean Manufacturing
  • Kaizen → Kaizen
  • Kanban → Kanban
  • 5S → 5S Methodology
  • FMEA → Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
  • SPC → Statistical Process Control
  • QFD → Quality Function Deployment
  • APQP → Advanced Product Quality Planning
  • PPAP → Production Part Approval Process
  • MSA → Measurement System Analysis
  • DOE → Design of Experiments
  • DMAIC → Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control
  • DMADV → Define, Measure, Analyze, Design, Verify
  • PDCA → Plan-Do-Check-Act
  • HACCP → Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
  • GMP → Good Manufacturing Practices
  • ISO → International Organization for Standardization
  • CE → Conformité Européenne

✅ 8. Logistics

Supply chain and warehouse management terms

  • SCM → Supply Chain Management
  • WMS → Warehouse Management System
  • TMS → Transportation Management System
  • ERP → Enterprise Resource Planning
  • RFID → Radio-Frequency Identification
  • GPS → Global Positioning System
  • EDI → Electronic Data Interchange
  • 3PL → Third-Party Logistics
  • 4PL → Fourth-Party Logistics
  • FTL → Full Truck Load
  • LTL → Less Than Truck Load
  • FCL → Full Container Load
  • LCL → Less Than Container Load
  • INCOTERMS → International Commercial Terms
  • DDU → Delivered Duty Unpaid
  • DDP → Delivered Duty Paid
  • EXW → Ex Works
  • FCA → Free Carrier
  • CPT → Carriage Paid To
  • CIP → Carriage and Insurance Paid To
  • DAT → Delivered At Terminal
  • DAP → Delivered At Place

✅ 9. Quality

Quality standards and methodologies

  • TQM → Total Quality Management
  • Six Sigma → Six Sigma
  • ISO → International Organization for Standardization
  • QA → Quality Assurance
  • QC → Quality Control
  • QMS → Quality Management System
  • FMEA → Failure Modes and Effects Analysis
  • SPC → Statistical Process Control
  • DOE → Design of Experiments
  • PDCA → Plan-Do-Check-Act
  • HACCP → Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
  • GMP → Good Manufacturing Practices
  • CE → Conformité Européenne
  • UL → Underwriters Laboratories
  • FDA → Food and Drug Administration
  • EPA → Environmental Protection Agency
  • OSHA → Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  • ANSI → American National Standards Institute
  • BSI → British Standards Institution
  • JIS → Japanese Industrial Standards
  • DIN → Deutsches Institut für Normung
  • ASTM → American Society for Testing and Materials

✅ 10. Environment

Sustainability and environmental responsibility concepts

  • ESG → Environmental, Social, and Governance
  • GHG → Greenhouse Gas
  • CO2 → Carbon Dioxide
  • CH4 → Methane
  • N2O → Nitrous Oxide
  • HFC → Hydrofluorocarbons
  • PFC → Perfluorocarbons
  • SF6 → Sulfur Hexafluoride
  • NF3 → Nitrogen Trifluoride
  • REDD+ → Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
  • CDM → Clean Development Mechanism
  • JI → Joint Implementation
  • ETC → Emissions Trading Scheme
  • CER → Certified Emission Reduction
  • VER → Verified Emission Reduction
  • CCS → Carbon Capture and Storage
  • CCU → Carbon Capture and Utilization
  • BECCS → Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage
  • DAC → Direct Air Capture
  • Afforestation → Afforestation and Reforestation
  • RE100 → Renewable Energy 100
  • SBTi → Science Based Targets initiative

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