Institute for Supply Management
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| Abbreviation | ISM |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1915 |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Purpose | Supply Management |
| Headquarters | Tempe, Arizona |
| Location | |
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Region served
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International |
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Membership
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50,000+ |
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Chief Executive Officer
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Thomas W. Derry |
| Website | Official website |
Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®) is the oldest, and the largest, supply management association in the world. Founded in 1915, the U.S.-based not-for-profit educational association serves professionals and organizations with a keen interest in supply management, providing them education, training, qualifications, publications, information, and research.
ISM currently has 50,000 members in more than 90 countries. It offers two qualifications, the Certified Professional in Supply Management® (CPSM®) and the Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity® (CPSDTM), and, in partnership with the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, sponsors CAPS Research.
ISM competes against several educational, certification, and membership organizations serving the supply chain profession, including APICS, the Next Level Purchasing Association, the National Contract Management Association, the American Purchasing Society, and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply.
Institute for Supply Management originated in 1915 as the National Association of Purchasing Agents (N.A.P.A.).
In the early twentieth century, purchasing and the function that it served and represented did not enjoy the full support of management, which was typically indifferent to it or unaware of its potential. Prior to 1915, local purchasing associations had formed in at least 10 major cities in the U.S., including one of the most active groups in Buffalo (founded in 1904). There was a realization among some purchasers that they needed a national group to advance their profession and share useful information among members, but support was spotty. There was a certain level of distrust organizers had to overcome as buyers were practically strangers to each other and feared that their participation would reveal information that could benefit rival companies. As Charles A. Steele, president of N.A.P.A. stated in 1923:
Ironically, it was not a purchasing agent but a salesman working for the Thomas Publishing Company by the name of Elwood B. Hendricks who realized the full potential of the buying function and was the driving force behind forming a national purchasing association. In 1913, Hendricks's plan began to bear fruit when he helped form the Purchasing Agents Association of New York that was to become the nucleus of the national organization. The New York group applied for and received a charter for N.A.P.A. in 1915. The first local groups to affiliate with the new national association were New York City and Pittsburgh in 1915 and Columbus in 1916. South Bend, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Philidelphia, Detroit and Los Angeles followed them in 1917. Buffalo later affiliated with N.A.P.A. in 1918 and by 1920 there were over 30 affiliates and that number continued to skyrocket. Hendricks efforts were so instrumental in the organization's success that it gave him an honorary lifetime membership.
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Wikipedia