Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
pôle achat
English translation:
(central) purchasing division / section / unit / centre
Added to glossary by
Tony M
Apr 21, 2014 21:44
10 yrs ago
2 viewers *
French term
pôle achat
French to English
Bus/Financial
Business/Commerce (general)
deux signatures conjointes de catégorie « A » et avis du responsable du pôle « Institutionnels et Distributeurs Tiers » d’XXXXX ou du responsable pôle achat concerné
This section comes from a list of signing authorities of a company. I'm not sure how to translate 'pôle achat'. Any help is much appreciated.
This section comes from a list of signing authorities of a company. I'm not sure how to translate 'pôle achat'. Any help is much appreciated.
Proposed translations
(English)
4 +4 | purchasing division / section / unit | Tony M |
3 +2 | purchasing group | merlrennes |
3 | procurement group/department | Mario Freitas |
Change log
Apr 23, 2014 11:15: Tony M changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/1646174">James Greenfield's</a> old entry - " pôle achat "" to ""purchasing division / section / unit""
Proposed translations
+4
19 mins
French term (edited):
pôle achat
Selected
purchasing division / section / unit
Well, it really all depends on what you use to translate 'pôle' everywhere else — which in turn depends on what the exact structure of the company is. You will probably need to look at the different levels of departments, divisions, etc. and then work out what you call each of those. It may also be influenced by the names of some other 'pôles', if you seek to be consistent (which is probably a good idea!) — in other words, for some other 'pôles', one translation or another might be more or less suitable, depending on the sort of title you end up with.
When I used to work for Dorset C.C., they called it a 'purchasing section'
Cf. 'Pôle emploi' = more or less 'Job Centre'
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Note added at 39 minutes (2014-04-21 22:24:10 GMT)
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Asker, 'department' MAY be alright, and 'Purchasing Department' is just fine — BUT do be wary that sometimes you will find 'services' or 'departments' within a 'pôle', thus giving you a problem... hence why I pointed out that you need to investigate the overall company structure before deciding... sometimes I draw myself a little diagram to help me keep track of it all, for a long document and a complex company structure.
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Note added at 1 jour13 heures (2014-04-23 10:55:29 GMT) Post-grading
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'centre' is of course another option, which comes closer to Merl's notion of 'grouping'; it can be useful in some circumstances, but needs to be used with care, and only if you know quite a bit about the company structure.
When I used to work for Dorset C.C., they called it a 'purchasing section'
Cf. 'Pôle emploi' = more or less 'Job Centre'
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 39 minutes (2014-04-21 22:24:10 GMT)
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Asker, 'department' MAY be alright, and 'Purchasing Department' is just fine — BUT do be wary that sometimes you will find 'services' or 'departments' within a 'pôle', thus giving you a problem... hence why I pointed out that you need to investigate the overall company structure before deciding... sometimes I draw myself a little diagram to help me keep track of it all, for a long document and a complex company structure.
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Note added at 1 jour13 heures (2014-04-23 10:55:29 GMT) Post-grading
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'centre' is of course another option, which comes closer to Merl's notion of 'grouping'; it can be useful in some circumstances, but needs to be used with care, and only if you know quite a bit about the company structure.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Daniel Weston
11 mins
|
Thanks, Daniel!
|
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agree |
Colin Morley (X)
13 mins
|
Thanks, Colin!
|
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agree |
EirTranslations
12 hrs
|
¡Gracias, Beatriz!
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agree |
AllegroTrans
1 day 12 hrs
|
Thanks, C!
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks very much"
+2
12 mins
purchasing group
The word pôle is used a lot in France to give the idea of a centre around which things group. Hence the people in this company who are responsible for purchasing are grouped together.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Daniel Weston
: this works, too, depending on the company structure
19 mins
|
agree |
GILLES MEUNIER
10 hrs
|
40 mins
procurement group/department
Suggestion
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Tony M
: Could work in some contexts, but do note that 'procurement' generally has a much narrower application than simply 'achat'; so this might be an uneasy fit in certain other contexts.
8 hrs
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Narrower? It's quite the opposite. The procurement process is a complex one, involving big equipment, quotation, negotiation and contracts, whereas purchasing is just routine materials.
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Discussion
'Procurement', on the other hand, is used in a much more restricted range of situations: first and foremost, it is a term commonly used by the Ministry of Defence etc. that deal with major contracts of national or even international importance.
It is also sometimes used by other Government bodies; and lastly, it is used by SOME companies, but mainly ones that deal with purchases on a large scale; it would be unusual for a procurement service to deal with buying office staples, for example!
So while 'purchasing' can never be wrong in any situation, 'procurement' can, and therefore needs to be used with some caution.
I suspect too that 'procurement' may be found rather more widely in the US than in Europe.
Your 'Pôle d'excellence' is a little bit of a red herring, inasmuch as these are external things that do indeed group together otherwise unconnected bodies, cf. 'Centre of Excellence' in the UK. In some other contexts, but with the same notion of grouping together, a 'pôle' may even be a 'hub' — but I don't really think this is the concept that applies in this context, which appears oin the face of it to be more internal.