Buyers

The vast number and variety of products bought in the United States, and the length and complexity of the supply chains that lead to the creation of these products help to explain the number of organizations that serve the buyers, purchasing agents, and managers who participate in buying the final products of these supply chains. One of the oldest and largest of such organizations is the Association for Operations Management, also known as the American Product and Inventory Control Society (APICS), with 45,000 members in over 100 countries. The American Purchasing Society (APS) offers its members, among other benefits, a Career Center on its Web site, where one can view job listings, post one's resume and have it evaluated, and receive advice on resume preparation and career planning. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) has a similar resume and job posting service, and also offers both online and face-to-face courses. The National Retail Federation (NRF) represents an industry that accounts for one out of every four jobs in the United States. The NRF emphasizes lifetime careers in retailing in which being a retail salesperson is only a beginning.