Mike Parson of the USPS was one of many purchasing professionals on the agenda of the ISM Indirect-MRO Buyer group annual conference held in Seattle recently. Parson, who is a PURCHASING MRO All Star Buyer, spoke at the conference. This time, he updated attendees on the progress of his MRO team at consolidating its purchasing and putting the ordering process online. They've tackled janitorial and MRO supplies then set their sights on MRO services, with good results. Now they're focusing their efforts on ensuring that they are working with an optimal supplier base while implementing some more mature supply chain management concepts such as supplier performance measurement, value engineering and customer relationship management. It won't be surprising if the group invites him to speak at another conference in the future. For more information on the Indirect-MRO Buyer group, please contact Joel Thomas, chairman, at (479) 527-9062 or mrogroup@sbcglobal.net.