Materiel vs. Material

Main Difference

The main difference between Materiel and Material is that the Materiel is a military technology and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management and Material is a substance that can occur in different amounts, all with some similar [mixture of some] characteristics, and of which objects can be made up.

• Materiel

  Materiel, more commonly matériel in US English and also listed as the only spelling in some UK dictionaries, (both pronounced , from French matériel meaning equipment or hardware) refers to military technology and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management.

  In a military context, materiel relates to the specific needs of a force 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. Materiel management consists of continuing actions relating to planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, controlling, and evaluating the application of resources to ensure the effective and economical support of military forces. It includes provisioning, cataloging, requirements determination, acquisition, distribution, maintenance, and disposal. The terms “materiel management”, “materiel control”, “inventory control”, “inventory management”, and “supply management” are synonymous.

  Military materiel is often shipped to and used in severe climates without controlled warehouses and material handling equipment. Packaging and labeling often needs to meet stringent technical specifications to help ensure proper delivery and final use.

  Materiel 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.

• Material

  Material is a broad term for a chemical substance or mixture of substances that constitute a thing.

  In the metaphysical sense, materials can be anything something else is consisting of, whether pure or impure, a singular composite or a complex mix, living or non-living matter, whether natural or man-made, either concrete or abstract. Materials can be classified based on different properties such as physical and chemical properties (see List of materials properties), geological, biological, choreographical, or philosophical properties. In the physical sense, materials are studied in materials science.

  In industry, materials are inputs to production or manufacturing processes. They may either be raw material, that is, unprocessed, or processed before being used in more advanced production processes, either by distillation or synthesis (synthetic materials).

  Types of materials include:

  Biomaterial, of biological origin

  Composite material, composed of multiple materials with differing physical properties

  Textiles, sometimes referred to as “material”

  Genetic material