Puskuri

Puskuri is a Finnish noun meaning a buffer or cushion that absorbs shocks, dampens fluctuations, or provides temporary storage. The concept is used in several fields to describe a protective margin that helps maintain stability in the face of variation in demand, supply, or processing speed.

In finance and budgeting, a puskuri refers to a reserve fund or contingency margin intended to cover unexpected costs or income shortfalls. Common terms are taloudellinen puskuri or hätävarapuskuri, used to describe financial resilience and the buffering of personal or organizational finances against surprises.

In information technology and data processing, puskuri denotes a buffer memory or area that stores data temporarily between producer and consumer. Buffers help accommodate differences in data processing rates or network transmission, preventing data loss, latency, or bottlenecks.

In production planning and logistics, puskuri or puskurivarasto refers to buffer stock kept to cover for supply delays, variability in demand, or lead time fluctuations. The size of a puskuri is chosen to balance inventory costs against service levels and operational continuity.

Usage notes: The term is widely understood in Finnish, with variants such as puskurivarasto or varmuuspuskuri appearing in specific contexts. It is a general-purpose concept not limited to technology, finance, or manufacturing.

Etymology: The word puskuri is a native Finnish formation used to translate the concept of a buffer or cushion. It is commonly linked to buffering in engineering, computing, and economics and is often understood as a loan-translation from related languages.