FOR RELEASE : August 29, 2005

(TEMPE, Ariz.) Aug. 29, 2005 — Because of the important impact of supply management on business results, the top supply management professional should be recognized as a key source of input and included in the overall business strategy development.

"Purchasing is still at the core of supply management," states Paul Novak, C.P.M., chief executive officer of Institute for Supply Management™(ISM). "However, new and evolving roles are being called for to meet the need for a more strategic approach, ensuring the flow of goods and services the business needs to succeed in the increasingly competitive business environment."

In that more strategic role, the top supply management professional must be in a position to identify new opportunities and seek supply options at an early stage in the process in order to most effectively impact the strategic development of a product or service and have the greatest ultimate impact on the bottomline as a result of strategic relationships and cost-saving materials and methods.

Traditional organizations focus on increasing revenue. Strategic organizations realize there are many ways the supply management function can reduce cost and develop supplier relationships to impact the bottom line.

In his study Supply Management: An Analysis of the Expansion of the Purchasing Field into New Value-Added Roles in Organizations, Joseph L. Cavinato, Ph.D., C.P.M., states "Supply involves many processes . . . it involves a scan of all organizations and processes in the chain from original creation of products and services through to the organization obtaining and/or using them and all the way out to the customer eventually acquiring and consuming them. This involves analyzing steps and flows, handlings, movements, transactions, costs, and information. Some organizations attain 20 percent to 30 percent cost takeout of the business by placing attention to this area."

For more information on the role of supply management, visit www.ism.ws.

As the oldest and largest supply management institute in the world, the mission of the Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM) is to lead supply management. ISM defines supply management as the identification, acquisition, access, positioning and management of resources the organization needs or potentially needs in the attainment of its strategic objectives. By executing and extending its mission through education, research, standards of excellence, influence building and information dissemination — including the renowned monthly ISM Report On Business^® — ISM continues to extend the global impact of supply management ISM's membership base includes more than 40,000 supply management professionals in 75 countries. Supply management professionals are responsible for trillions of dollars in the purchases of products and services annually. ISM is a member of the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM) Visit ISM's Media Room at www.ism.ws, Quick Search: QS130.

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