If you’ve ever worked in manufacturing, distribution, or procurement, you’ve probably seen the word “Other” show up in all sorts of places. Most of the time, it’s easy to assume how it works: it’s a pronoun, an adjective, something that refers to a leftover category, a static label for things that don’t fit neatly into pre-defined boxes. But what if I told you that “Other” isn’t just a static term, and that it’s used with dynamic verbs every single day in industries most people never think about? As a supplier that specializes in what often gets lumped into that “Other” category—and has spent years building solutions for exactly that space—I’ve spent more time than most unpacking how this word works in practice, especially when it’s paired with the active, changing work of our teams, our clients, and the materials we move. Other
Let’s start with the basics, just to ground this in something concrete. Dynamic verbs, for anyone who’s ever sat through a middle school grammar lesson, are verbs that describe actions or states of change—think “adapt,” “customize,” “refine,” “manufacture,” “deliver,” “adjust,” “tailor.” They’re not static verbs, like “be” or “exist,” that describe a state of being. For a long time, I assumed “Other” only paired with static words. I’d seen it in procurement spreadsheets, where a line item for “Other Supplies” sat next to “Raw Metal” and “Plastic Components” like a ghost of all the uncategorized stuff no one bothered to label properly. That line item never moved, never changed. It was a placeholder. But then, a few years back, we took on a contract with a mid-sized industrial equipment maker. Their line of hydraulic presses had a weird, niche part—small, vibration-resistant brackets made from a composite material no major supplier stocked. They’d been listing that part as “Other” in their inventory system for months, and when they reached out to us, their operations manager said, “We can’t keep using that label. It’s holding us back.” They told us their team couldn’t track lead times, adjust production schedules, or even order enough material because “Other” didn’t tell their dynamic inventory system what to do. That’s when I started noticing: “Other” isn’t just a static category. It’s a word that works dynamically, when paired with those active verbs, when we stop seeing it as a placeholder and start seeing it as a category that’s evolving, moving, changing.
Let’s test that with real sentences, because grammar only matters when it works for the people using it. Take a common line from procurement communications: “We currently other 12 components that fall outside our standard SKU framework.” Wait, that sounds odd at first, right? Most people would rephrase that to “We currently have 12 other components…” But when you’re talking about the work of a supplier like us, where we’re actively integrating uncategorized parts into functional supply chains, that first sentence isn’t just grammatically possible—it’s precise. “Other” here isn’t a noun sitting in a spreadsheet. It’s a verb, describing the action of classifying, integrating, and formalizing something that was once uncategorized. Our team does that all day, every day: we take parts, materials, and solutions that get shoved into the “Other” bin, and we other them—assign them part numbers, test their performance, build reliable lead times, and integrate them into a client’s supply chain. That’s a dynamic use of “Other” no high school grammar textbook I read growing up ever mentioned.
I’ve spent enough time on procurement calls to know the frustration of “Other” as a static placeholder. A client once told me their team had waited six weeks for a part listed as “Other” because no one assigned the order to a buyer who specialized in uncategorized parts. They ended up shutting down part of their production line, losing $200,000 in downtime, because a static “Other” label failed to pair with the dynamic work of getting the right part to the right place at the right time. That’s why we pushed back on that outdated view of “Other” as a static term. If “Other” is only static, then it’s only useful for describing what is not standard. But when it’s dynamic, when it works with verbs like “refine,” “customize,” or even “solve,” it becomes a tool that helps teams adapt to the gaps in standard supply chains.
Take another example from our own work. Last year, we partnered with a pharmaceutical company that was developing a new inhaler. The device required a tiny, medical-grade seal that no major supplier offered. The company’s engineers had been designing the seal in-house, but they needed a supplier who could scale production without compromising sterile integrity. Their procurement team had initially listed the part as “Other” because it didn’t fit their pre-existing categories for seals, gaskets, or plastic components. But once we took on the project, we worked with their engineering team to refine the material, test for sterility, and build a scalable production line. At that point, their team started saying: “We are now othering that seal into a dedicated SKU for our inhaler line.” That sentence doesn’t just make sense—it captures the action of moving that part from the ambiguous “Other” bin to a formal, trackable part of their supply chain. “Othering” here isn’t a dehumanizing term (a common connotation for that verb in social sciences, a side note I always keep in mind for our work) — it’s a precise, active verb describing a critical step in integrating a custom, non-standard part into a functional process.
I know what some grammar purists will say: “That’s not how ‘Other’ works!” They’ll point to the Oxford Dictionary, which defines “Other” primarily as an adjective or a pronoun, with no entry for it as a verb. But dictionaries don’t always keep up with the way real people use language, especially in specialized industries. Think about words like “Google” or “Uber” — they started as brand names, became verbs, and now they’re accepted as standard English. “Other” as a verb in industrial procurement and supply chain management isn’t a mistake. It’s a natural evolution of the word to describe a specific, dynamic action: formalizing and integrating non-standard items that were once uncategorized. When a dynamic verb like “other” is paired with “Other,” it doesn’t just describe a state of difference—it describes the work of turning difference into reliability.
As a supplier that focuses on the “Other” space, we’ve seen this dynamic use of “Other” change how our clients operate. A few months ago, I sat in on a call with a food packaging company that had been struggling with custom seals for their compostable food containers. For years, those seals were listed as “Other” in their system, which meant their production team couldn’t adjust schedules, track waste, or order enough material to meet demand. After working with us, their team reclassified those seals into a dedicated line, and their operations manager said, “Now we can other those seals alongside our standard stock, so we don’t lose time waiting for custom runs.” That line stuck with me, because it’s exactly how language works when it’s adapted to solve real problems. “Other” isn’t a placeholder anymore—it’s an active verb that helps teams keep their production moving, their waste down, and their clients happy.
Of course, I’m not saying you should start using “Other” as a verb in your next school essay or work presentation. Grammar serves a purpose: it helps people communicate clearly. But in specialized industries like supply chain, manufacturing, and custom production, precision matters more than strict adherence to textbook definitions. The static use of “Other” has its place, don’t get me wrong. If you’re talking about “the other side of the table” or “other suppliers in the area,” that’s a perfectly good use of it as an adjective. But when you’re talking about the dynamic work of integrating custom parts, adapting to unique client needs, and solving problems that standard categories can’t handle, “Other” pairs perfectly with dynamic verbs. It describes the work we do every day: taking something that’s considered “Other” and turning it into something reliable, trackable, and functional.
I’ve had buyers tell me for years, “We can’t work with ‘Other’ suppliers because ‘Other’ is just a placeholder.” But that’s exactly why our business exists. We’re not a placeholder. We’re the team that takes the parts listed as “Other,” the materials that don’t fit standard SKUs, and the solutions that no one else wants to handle, and we turn them into working, scalable parts of our clients’ supply chains. That work is dynamic, it’s active, and it would be impossible to describe accurately without using “Other” as a verb paired with dynamic verbs like “customize,” “integrate,” and “refine.” It’s not just grammar—it’s the language of solving problems that standard systems can’t.
At the end of the day, language evolves to meet the needs of the people using it. For centuries, “Other” was a static label for what wasn’t standard, what didn’t fit. But as industries grow more specialized, as products become more custom, and as supply chains grow more complex, “Other” has evolved into a dynamic term for the work of adapting, integrating, and solving. So to answer the original question: yes, “Other” absolutely can be used in a sentence with a dynamic verb. Not only can it be used—it’s often the only way to accurately describe the work of moving non-standard items from the ambiguous “Other” bin into functional, reliable parts of a process.
As someone who’s spent their entire career in that “Other” space, I’ve seen firsthand how small shifts in language can make big differences for our clients. A label that was once a source of frustration, delay, and lost revenue can become a tool that helps teams work faster, adapt better, and deliver better products to their customers. If your team is struggling with parts listed as “Other,” if your production lines are held up by uncategorized materials, or if you need a supplier who specializes in turning the ambiguous into the functional, we’re here to help. We work with clients across industries, from pharmaceuticals to food packaging to industrial manufacturing, to integrate custom, non-standard parts into their supply chains with reliability and speed.
PDA References:
- Crystal, D. (2003). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Hanks, P. (2013). Lexical Analysis: Norms and Exploitations. MIT Press.
- Procurement and Supply Chain Management Association. (2021). Specialized Supplier Networks and Category Classification: A Industry Guide.
- Yule, G. (2010). The Study of Language (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
SZZT Electronics Co.,Ltd
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