Matériel (from the French for equipment or hardware, related to the word material) is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercialsupply chain management. Material is the substance or matter from which something is or can be made, or also items needed for doing or creating something. ... This page discusses common devices known as tools, for other meanings see Tool (disambiguation) Modern hammer A tool is, among other things, a device that provides a mechanical or mental advantage in accomplishing a task. ... The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability at each price (supply) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand). ... Business refers to at least three closely related commercial topics. ... Supply chain management (SCM) deals with the planning and execution issues involved in managing a supply chain. ...
In a military context, matériel relates to the specific needs of an army to complete a specific mission. The term is also often used in a general sense ("men and materiel") to describe the needs of a functioning army. A nations army is its military, or more specifically, all of its land forces. ... A mission literally means something that is sent, from the Latin word missum, sent. Thus we may refer to space exploration expeditions as space missions, or to a diplomatic outpost in a foreign territory as a diplomatic mission. Christian missions are movements or outposts of Christian proselytism. ...
Matériel in the commercial distribution context comprises the items being moved by the services of or as the products of the business, as distinct from those involved in operating the business itself. Distribution is one of the four aspects of marketing. ...