Purchasing

Mary Walker

Book review: The First 50 Years
May 14, 2007

If you are a member of The Institute for Supply Management, a good book to read on the history is “The First Fifty Years of the N.A.P.A. 1915-1965." Paul V. Farrell was the author and editor of Purchasing Magazine.

This is the beginning---

One of the most significant facts about American business, Frederick Lewis Allen wrote in “The Big Change” is it’s willingness to swap ideas.And the most characteristic of all American institutions for carrying on that cross-fertilization, is the business or trade associations.

“Specialists… go to meetings to swap notes on progress in their particular fields and to pick up ideas” he wrote.“They find common ground in devotion to the broadening of their particular area of learning."

It was just such a group of emerging specialist who, in early 1915, joined together to form what was to become one of the most important business groups in American industry, the National Association of Purchasing Agents, now the Institute for Supply Management.

In ISM today, we don’t call it swapping notes, we call it networking.You can join ISM as a direct member, which means you are not connected to a local affiliate.You receive all the benefits of a member but you do not interact with the local affiliate.When you belong to the local affiliate, you can access their website, receive their newsletters, attend their dinner meetings and be aware of what is going on in your local arena.This is one of the things that made ISM great, the opportunity to network with the members in your area and keep up with meetings, seminars and etc.

The swapping of notes in a particular field has led to the formation of the “Groups and Forums”.There is no charge to join one of these groups in ISM.

ISM Groups are composed of members with common interests for education and networking in various topics.Group membership is open to all ISM Regular and Direct members.The Minority and Women’s Business Development Group won the Groups and Forums Excellence Award at the International Conference..Our Materials Management Group, which I am Vice-Chair, came in second place.

The 2007 forms are already on the ISM website.The groups and forums awards were established to recognize those Groups and Forums that demonstrate excellence in their professional operations, educational offerings, recruitment, training and retention efforts, while at the same time communicating the value and prestige of the Institute for Supply Management and the supply management profession.It is great to be recognized at the conference, plus receiving $2500. credit towards an educational program.

ISM Forums are composed of members who are employed in a specific sector and come together for the sole purpose of exchanging information and ideas about supply management in that specific section.Forum membership is limited.

I am 2^nd Vice-Chair of the Southwest Forum which represents those affiliate members of ISM in the area encompassing Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas and is committed to provide the highest level of educational development opportunities to every purchasing and supply management professional in this geographic area.We hold the Southwest Materials Management Conference every year.

Let me know if you know anyone working on a book for the next fifty years of ISM.This would certainly be a challenge.

Posted by Mary Walker on May 14, 2007 | Comments (0)