History of the Services Group
A number of ISM members had discussed during the 1999 International Conference the lack of emphasis on the part of ISM towards services. The general feeling of these purchasing professionals was that ISM (NAPM was the organization's name in 1999) was geared more for the manufacturing sector and not the ever growing services sector of the global economy. There was a good deal of talk at the 1999 International Conference on services , but not much action.
Prior to the 2000 International Conference in New Orleans, Peter O'Reilly, sought advice from ISM on establishing a services entity within ISM. He was told that such an endeavor would be welcomed and it should take the form of a group. With the formation ground rules understood, an announcement was made during the 2000 International Conference that a meeting of purchasing professionals interested in forming a services group would be held. At the initial meeting eight people attended. A discussion was held as to what this organization's role should be and who would be its members. It was agreed that this new organization would be called the Services Group and would focus on potential members who either worked for firms in the services sector or purchased services.
The purchasing professionals that attended the initial meeting were assigned duties related to being formally recognized by ISM. Within a month the paperwork for creating the Services Group was submitted to ISM. It was ratified by ISM a few months later.
The folks who created the Services Group also agreed to act as leaders. Monthly conference calls were held to discuss general issues and the possibility of holding some type of conference related to services. With the help if ISM, a date was selected in late November of 2000 for the initial Services Conference. This event was scheduled to be held in the Phoenix area. The problem was how to get speakers with interesting services-related topics within a few months. For the initial conference, each of the new leaders of the Services Group volunteered to speak on a topic. Thus, the first Services Conference was formed. And despite short notice, it was a huge success, as over 50 persons paid to attend this function.
The Services Group has grown each year since those formative years. Some of its accomplishments have been:
Prior to the 2000 International Conference in New Orleans, Peter O'Reilly, sought advice from ISM on establishing a services entity within ISM. He was told that such an endeavor would be welcomed and it should take the form of a group. With the formation ground rules understood, an announcement was made during the 2000 International Conference that a meeting of purchasing professionals interested in forming a services group would be held. At the initial meeting eight people attended. A discussion was held as to what this organization's role should be and who would be its members. It was agreed that this new organization would be called the Services Group and would focus on potential members who either worked for firms in the services sector or purchased services.
The purchasing professionals that attended the initial meeting were assigned duties related to being formally recognized by ISM. Within a month the paperwork for creating the Services Group was submitted to ISM. It was ratified by ISM a few months later.
The folks who created the Services Group also agreed to act as leaders. Monthly conference calls were held to discuss general issues and the possibility of holding some type of conference related to services. With the help if ISM, a date was selected in late November of 2000 for the initial Services Conference. This event was scheduled to be held in the Phoenix area. The problem was how to get speakers with interesting services-related topics within a few months. For the initial conference, each of the new leaders of the Services Group volunteered to speak on a topic. Thus, the first Services Conference was formed. And despite short notice, it was a huge success, as over 50 persons paid to attend this function.
The Services Group has grown each year since those formative years. Some of its accomplishments have been:
- Membership of over 1,700 supply chain professionals.
- Successful and highly rated Services Conferences held annually since 2000.
- The creation of partnerships with various Universities to promote the inclusion of services related curriculum and to award scholarships to students studying in the field of procurement.
- Developing a website that can be used as a communication tool for the membership.
- Hosting a group of purchasing professionals from China at a Services Conference.
- Winning Groups and Forums awards every year that they have been offered, including being the first recipient of the prestigious Excellence Award (2004).
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© 2006 - 2012, ISM Services Group
All Rights Reserved
© 2006 - 2012, ISM Services Group
All Rights Reserved