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Glossary entry

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.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +4 purchasing division / section / unit
3 +2 purchasing group
3 procurement group/department
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""

Discussion

Mario Freitas Apr 23, 2014:
Ok, Tony, you've got a point, I've worked mainly for engineering companies from the US, Canada and Australia, none from Europe. All of them had a Procurement Dept. and the purchasing was part of the Admin Group. So my concept here is limited to a certain type of company, and I wasn't aware of it. I thought it was a standard thing. Thanks for clearing this out!
Tony M Apr 23, 2014:
@ Mario That's not entirely true; in EN, 'purchasing' (and even 'buying') is widely used for the departments/services that deal with buying in goods, raw materials, etc. in a wide range of organizations, from very small ones to giant multi-nationals.
'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.
Anca Florescu-Mitchell Apr 23, 2014:
@ Asker I think "purchasing departement" as you first suggested is the one to go with, especially if you have already used "department" for "pôle". You are the only one who has the context (scale, type of acquisitions/purchases etc.).
Mario Freitas Apr 22, 2014:
In addition fo pôle, there's achat, Purchase refers to small purchases of cleaning materials, stationery, etc. For big equipment and capital assets, the dept. is called "Procurement" not "Purchasing". Purchasing is done by the Administration Dept. It is Procurement that has a separate dept.
merlrennes Apr 22, 2014:
As you say, Tony, it is a "buzzy" term and very "à la mode".
Tony M Apr 22, 2014:
@ Merl I don't think that's universally true — lots of companies use 'pôle' as a rather pompous (and very buzzy!) term for all the things we've been discussing about. It could indeed sometimes be a group's 'central purchasing unit' — but it really is something that has quite a wide range of interpretations depending on the actual organization.

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.
merlrennes Apr 22, 2014:
The primary concept of a pôle is centralization which implies that there is a strong emphasis on the fact that in this context of purchasing, everything must go through it. Thus the word is more emphatic than section or unit. Department is perhaps more structured, with a Department head, etc. and perhaps more local. I think the concept of pôle is a newer idea with for example, Poles of Excellence in France being created by the last government here. Grenoble for example is a Pole of Excellence.
James Greenfield (asker) Apr 21, 2014:
Sorry, I realise now it was quite a basic question, I thought it was department but wasn't sure. I check the glossary before posting questions, sorry about missing it. Thanks for all your help.
philgoddard Apr 21, 2014:
We've had "pôle" lots of times before. Are you checking the glossary before you post questions?
James Greenfield (asker) Apr 21, 2014:
Thanks both, I previously translated 'pôle' as department, 'Institutional investment and Third-Party Distribution department'. Would department be ok again, giving 'purchasing department'?

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'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 39 minutes (2014-04-21 22:24:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

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.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 jour13 heures (2014-04-23 10:55:29 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

'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!
agree Colin Morley (X)
13 mins
Thanks, Colin!
agree EirTranslations
12 hrs
¡Gracias, Beatriz!
agree AllegroTrans
1 day 12 hrs
Thanks, C!
Something went wrong...
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
Something went wrong...
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
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.
Something went wrong...
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