Resources
Other internet sites of interest to the Purchasing and Supply Chain Professional
ISM-Pittsburgh presents the following Internet sites that may be of help to the Purchasing/Supply Chain Professional. We will continuously be building this page to add to its value, so we welcome your additions. (Click here to suggest an addition to ISM-Pittsburgh Links Page).
ISM-Pittsburgh in no way recommends or endorses the products or services of any of the sites listed here...
Choose from the following categories:
Associations & ISM Affiliate Sites
The official website of APICS, the educational society for resource management.
The Institute for Supply Management home page. Tons of great stuff for members including articles, jobs, speakers, consultants, seminars etc.
National Contract Management AssociationInformation about membership, job referral, certification and related links.
National Institute of Governmental PurchasingA nonprofit educational organization dedicated to helping governments buy.
An extensive list of URLs by purchasing category.
The web site for the NYU Purchasing Dept. with links to Purchasing Departments of other universities.
Directories
Electronic component search page that presently does not charge.
Electronic component search page that presently does not charge.
Contains a number of great features for locating businesses across the U.S. Database has 5,000 yellow page directories to locate any business websites. Can create full-color drawing maps and directions (up to 200 miles) from any address or zip code. Has access to a Lycos city guide for local information on the 450 largest cities in the U.S. Has begun a classified ads page that currently lists vehicles, computers, real estate and more for sale.
Database of over 300 electronics distributors. Must be a registered member to use the site ($45.00 USD/month). Gives you access to a distributor's inventory and allows you to see what quantity of a specific part the distributor will have on hand as of a specified date.
A centralized search engine to hi-tech manufacturers of electronics and electrical, mechanical products and services. Search by manufacturer, product or service. Can send an RFP to one or multiple suppliers. The site is free.
Excellent site for finding metals suppliers. To access their database of over 2,500 suppliers, you need to purchase a subscription to MSO Plus for $300. A non-registered user has access to 75 suppliers. Metal Suppliers Online also gives you access to materials property data, covering more than 5,000 industrial metals.
Links for buyers in the chemical industry. Alphabetical listing of about 100 chemical companies with sites on the Web, links to chemical-related periodicals (Cyberchem News, Chemistry Week) and other links of interest pertaining to the chemical-industry.
Links to many steel-making companies and steel-related web sites. The categories include heat-treating, steel/scrap recycling and stainless and specialty steels.
The virtual trade show for the chemical industry. Buyers can search 2,000 chemical companies and do business with them online. The site also provides access to forums for those interested in chemical-related discussions.
Provides a broad base of technical, engineering, design, maintenance and procurement information for professionals across the disciplines.
Searches solely for MRO suppliers of industrial products and services. Thousands of suppliers listed in 15 categories.
Companies are categorized and listed by the goods or services they provide.
Provides the only end-to-end e-commerce solution for buyers and sellers of chemicals and plastics worldwide.
We're one of the Internet's most comprehensive sites tailored to engineering, design, purchasing, logistics and distribution professionals.
The Federal Government's publication of government policies from approved per-diem rates for travel on government business, to the reimbursement rate on privately-owned vehicles.
is a free service to buyers which lists over 130,000 suppliers nationwide with profiles. Buyers can search by item description, SIC codes or Federal supply codes.
Thomas Register of American Manufacturers. Can do free searches after registering.
Free industrial marketplace containing 550,000 distributors, manufacturers and service companies in 6,000 categories searchable by product/service, location, brand and company name. Includes supplier catalogs, brochures and linecards. Send RFQ’s and purchase directly from suppliers using Order Online.
Creator and operator of vertical trade communities.
International
The State Department's site designed to provide a secure environment for the conduct of American diplomacy.
An agency in the Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Delivers vital economic, business, and international trade information produced by the U.S. Government to you so you can make an important decision that may affect your business, your career, your community, or your personal finances. Fees are associated with the use of this Site.
Mission: To be the preeminent collector and provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States.
International Chamber of CommerceContains the ICC's international arbitration rules and information on its publications, services and products that include a model contract for the international sale of goods.
United Nations Commission on International Trade LawYou can find the text of the C.I.S.G. (Conventions on International Sales of Goods) here.
Gives an overview of the economic status of individual countries and Europe in general.
Canadian Securities CommissionSEDAR is similar to EDGAR and is the electronic filing system for the disclosure documents of public companies and mutual funds across Canada.
Information about companies from around the world
A search engine for European companies.
Thomas Register of European ManufacturersEuropean industrial buying guide that provides immediate access to 140,000 industrial suppliers throughout 17 European countries. Membership required
The Universal Currency ConverterEasy to use currency converter.
50,000 suppliers searchable by country, product or supplier. Includes a great deal of other information related to Asian Sourcing.
Looking for more time? This site will tell you where it is still yesterday or if you are really in a hurry, where it is already tomorrow. The page is automatically reloaded every 5 minutes and tells you the time anywhere in the world.
Minority/Small Business
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)A part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the MBDA has two databases, the Phoenix database and the Opportunities database, that work together to match minority companies with corporate or institutional business opportunities. Interested businesses that have an opportunity for a minority company can inquire for a list of minority companies that are eligible to partner with them.
The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC)A site whose sole purpose is to provide a link between corporate America and minority-owned businesses. Site has a database that lists over 15,000 certified minority-owned businesses. Their screening process ensures you are dealing with a qualified minority enterprise. You must be a member of NMSDC to access this database.
Minority Business Yellow PagesJust like the phone yellow pages, you find these minority businesses alphabetically by category. Choose a category and you receive a listing that is alphabetical by state with the company's address, phone and fax numbers and a contact name.
World Wide Minority Business NetworkOver 6,000 minority businesses listed in 150 categories by state.
National Minority Business Council (NMBC)An umbrella organization of small businesses located both nationally and internationally. Have a business referral service through which they can supply corporate and government buyers with contacts of minority or woman-owned businesses
Diversity Information ResourcesPublisher of the TRY US National Minority Business Directory. The directory lists over 7,000 minority suppliers and be purchased as a hard copy or on disk. Search by commodity or keyword (disk can also search by state/region).
An online directory that links you to minority businesses that have their own website.
Periodicals for Purchasing/Supply Management
The online site for Purchasing Today.
This site leads you to the Purchasing Magazine site as well as many other trade magazine sites you may want to explore. You can also search for over 30,000 manufacturers and service companies, tradeshows, and professional organizations. The site has discussion forums with 2 specific to purchasing.
The online home of Purchasing Magazine.
The SCM Digest is a weekly summary of E-Commerce news affecting today's Supply Chain Manager. The SCM Digest is provided as a service of Email @ dot com, LLC. Rick Ankrum, C.P.M., A.P.P. is the editor.
Ziff DavisPublishers of PC Week, PC Magazine and many others, is a great site for product evaluations, articles on PC related issues.
Purchase on-line
A full-service distributor of office products serving mainly medium and large size businesses, institutions and government agencies. SyntraNet is their online catalog that can be browsed by item, category or manufacturer. Must have an account to order online. With an account you can create order templates for frequently ordered items and view listings of recently ordered items.
This is the very user-friendly site of the well-known business-to-business distributor.
Next Level Purchasing's mission is to provide high-tech tools that enable Purchasing Departments to achieve a higher degree of success. Next Level Purchasing offers online purchasing classes, reverse auction software, and supplier management software. In addition, Next Level Purchasing regularly hosts purchasing seminars and training.
The online arm of the nationwide office supply chain, this site allows you to purchase your supplies via the Internet. Payment is either COD or by credit card and they offer next-day delivery at no charge.
A user-friendly MRO business-to-business mall that claims to be the one-stop buying solution to all your MRO buying needs. Site has over 125 suppliers offering 300,000 products in 5 areas: lab equipment and supplies, electrical equipment and supplies, industrial equipment, clinical supplies and professional services.
ProcureIT from Verian Technologies
A web-based, enterprise-wide electronic procurement and MRO solution that automates the entire purchasing and materials management process. The application is deployed directly to individual user desktops and gives you complete control over all of your purchasing activity.
Reference Materials
Manufacturing Industry Research Desk
A compilation of tools and resources available on the Web to assist you in research. Tools include a 13-step process of research basics that gives you tips about the best way to do research online. Includes links to relevant websites in the search process and also references printed sources when not available on the Web. Examples of sites listed: Census Bureau, Federal Data SIC Codes, SEC Filings, Thomas Register and many more sites for seeking information on a particular company.
This site is a resource for standards such as ISO 9000, ANSI and DIN. Electrical and electronic standards are not covered.
Association founded in 1993 for objective, independent information on the strategic use of outside resources. For the site to provide useful information, you need to become registered as a member of the institute.
This site contains COMEX and NYMEX data for gold, silver, platinum, livestock, meat, petroleum and lumber. You can also access CNN data on currencies, interest rates, technology stocks and other U.S. stock market data.
All information compiled by the World Bank
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)The North American Industry Classification System will provide common industry definitions for Canada, Mexico and the U.S. The new system will replace what has commonly been known as industry SIC codes. This site provides a variety of information about the upcoming changes and the surrounding business issues.
A site that is basically an online list of want ads advertising scrap metals that are either available or wanted. You can post an ad in 4 categories of metal: Iron and Steel, Non-Ferrous Metals, Precious Metals and Exotic Metals. Listings are free and left on the site for 30 days. You can also buy, trade and sell other recycled materials at the site such as wood, batteries and computers.
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR)You can review this site for the complete Federal Acquisition Regulations. More stuff than you ever wanted but some good procedures and definitions are contained in FAR that could save you time if you are developing amanual. If your firm is selling to the government this information can be helpful in understanding their requirements.
Tons of data on labor rates for various industries.
Internet Economic and Statistics ResourcesResource of economic indicators, including the monthly ISM survey.
The latest manufacturing trends and resource management information on the WWW.
Best Manufacturing Practices Center of ExcellenceUnited States Navy reports of Best Manufacturing Practices designed to improve competitiveness.
A search engine covering nationwide street prices on computer components.
Securities and Exchange CommissionGreat place for financial data of public companies.
Online sources of information from the Federal Gov't. Includes international trade information.
Standard Industrial Classification SearchGreat place for getting SIC codes. Found by our past President Ray Robinson. Searchable by putting in the item description.
U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsVast amounts of economic data related to material prices and labor both domestically and internationally. Includes the Consumer and Producer Price indexes.
Price indexes covering many years for over 10,000 items sorted by SIC code or major commodity groupings. A great source of data to compare with your own material price index or to use in price/cost analysis.
Tons of helpful data, references, and links related to cost estimating.
Book summary: During the past 20 years, the procurement and supply chain profession has radically evolved. Once a tactical and back-office function, it is now a strategic business opportunity that can be fundamental to the success of any organization. A few leading companies have achieved an enormous competitive advantage and outstanding bottom-line performance by incorporating a procurement and supply chain strategy into their core corporate strategy. Why haven’t more companies seized this same opportunity? The reason is very simple: a lack of understanding at the senior executive level. Virtually all books on procurement and supply chain have been written for the day-to-day practitioner. Now, there is a book to explain this opportunity to all corporate executives, and also illustrate the leadership role the senior executive needs to play. Straight to the Bottom Line will enable senior corporate executives to turn the enormous top-line and bottom-line potential of supply chain and procurement into reality.
Search Engines & Browsers
Download the latest browser and other goodies from Netscape.
Very popular search engine.
Download free Microsoft Browser 4.0 Explorer.
Popular search engine.
Software/Systems for Purchasing
A daily source for computer news and information with a link to tons of shareware.
A consortium that facilitates electronic commerce. Establishes standards for Internet commerce.
An industry consortium for companies using, promoting and building electronic commerce solutions on the Internet.
Electronic Commerce Knowledge CenterThe Comprehensive Online Sourcebook & Information Center for Electronic Commerce Technologies.
American Tech, intranet/internet solutions for online Purchasing & Requisitioning. Online demo and also list of top 10 Purchasing Web Sites.
Everything you need to find related to Microsoft.
Transportation
Track your packages as they travel to their destination.
You can track your UPS packages online.
This is the US Airways home page and can prove quite helpful for those who travel by air.
Temporary Purchasing Services and Purchasing Consultants (Local).
Companies listed in this category must be represented by at least one regular membership in ISM-Pittsburgh.
This Company offers a variety of purchasing services, including temporary & permanent placement of purchasing professionals.
Bendorf & Associates Purchasing ConsultantsConsulting and training in all phases of purchasing, supply chain management and global sourcing for manufacturing and service organizations