ISM

The Institute for Supply Management, known as ISM, is the oldest and largest supply management professional association in the United States, founded in 1915 and headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, with over fifty thousand members across one hundred countries. The organization is best known for producing the Manufacturing Report on Business, a monthly survey of purchasing managers at over three hundred manufacturing companies that has been published continuously since 1931 and serves as the most closely watched leading economic indicator for the American manufacturing sector. The Purchasing Managers Index, or PMI, released in this report, is a composite index above fifty indicates economic expansion while below fifty signals contraction, and its monthly release routinely moves financial markets. ISM also publishes the Services Report on Business tracking the non-manufacturing sector and the Semiannual Economic Forecast. Professional certification programs include the Certified Professional in Supply Management and Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity credentials that are recognized industry standards for procurement professionals. The organization maintains three certifications in supply management and publishes the Journal of Supply Chain Management, a peer-reviewed academic journal.