Library: Supply chain and Value chain: Trade Associations

Important trade associations in this field

The following organizations play important roles in the entire supply chain process and reflect the changing needs and trends within the Supply Chain and Logistics areas.

APICS APICS is the leading professional association for supply chain and operations management. Targeted for those working in operations management, "including production, inventory, supply chain, materials management, purchasing, & logistics." Offers white papers, industry news, a buyer's guide, & information on educational opportunities. Search under the Research or Education tabs for info.
Council of Supply Management Officials Provides case studies and info on Hot Topics in the field. Use the Research or Education or Publications tabs to gather titles. If they are listed for a fee, many items can be found through the Baker University Library catalog.
Institute for Supply Management Offers access to CAPS Research which contains nearly 100 in-depth research publications on strategic topics, hundreds of benchmarking reports on over 20 industries and topics, and global research events across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Of note are results from ISM surveys such as the Report of Business and the PMI index. See 'Publications' and 'Products & Tools' tabs for reports and resources on SCM. Some info is free to members, but you can sign up for a free account to see what is available.

Find a Trade Association in the following databases:

Gale Business: Insights This link opens in a new window
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This database has access to the associations related to business that are found in the Encyclopedia of Associations. In order to search ONLY for associations, follow the directions below:
This innovative resource includes company profiles (with corporate parent/sibling relationships), industry rankings, products and brands, investment reports, industry statistics, financial ratios, case studies, and corporate chronologies and history. Coverage is from 1980-present.

1. Start from the Advanced Search screen.

2. Scroll down to: by content type and select: Associations. Leave the search boxes empty and select: Search.

3. Slide to the right. Under Filter Your Results, select Publication Title, and then the encyclopedia of associations your need. Most of the time, you'll be using the second one, Encyclopedia of Associations: National Organizations of the U.S. Select: Apply.

4. Slide to the right again. Under Filter Your Results, select: Search Within, then your industry. For example, Airlines. Select : Submit.

5. Under Associations, you'll see the first few listings. In order to see the entire list, select: Associations.

ABI/INFORM Collection This link opens in a new window Find articles focused on business, finance and economics. Also features company profiles.
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Most scholarly and comprehensive way to explore and understand business research topics. Searches three ABI-INFORM databases: Dateline, Global, and Trade and Industry. Covers business and economic conditions, corporate strategies, management techniques, as well as competitive and product information. Its international coverage gives researchers a complete picture of companies and business trends around the world. Search nearly 8,000 publications worldwide, almost 80% available in full text. The database contains complete runs of key business and management journals, providing a unique historical perspective from 1923-present. Full text coverage of the Wall Street Journal is also included from 1984-present.

Embedded within this database, you'll find First Research.
Provides industry profiles covering over 1000 industry segments.

Follow these steps to access:

1. From the Advanced Search screen, slide to the top left and select the 3-bar menu.

2. Select: Browse

3. Under Industry and Market Research, select: First Research

3. Scroll down to find your industry.
4.Select: View Documents

5. Select a .PDF document that looks interesting. Scroll to the end and find a segment titled: Industry Websites. You'll find a list of associations that monitor your industry.

ABI First Research Industry websites

Business Searching Interface This link opens in a new window This is an enhanced interface for Business Source Premier which allows users direct access to screens for browsing Company or Industry Profiles and Country or Market Research Reports.
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In addition, the following source types are included: academic journals, SWOT analyses, trade publications, industry profiles, company profiles, market research reports and product reviews.

Why consult Trade Associations?

Professional and trade associations are membership organizations, usually nonprofit, which serve the interests of members who share a common field of activity. Often, when doing research, it is quite helpful to consult an industry trade association to gather data and trends.

The activities of professional and trade associations often include some or all of the following:

providing public relations for the field
collecting and publishing statistics on the industry or profession
advising members on technological or management issues
promoting research
sponsoring conferences
monitoring regulations in the field
lobbying government

Associations typically publish a newsletter or magazine distributed to members and many produce additional publications for the public. Some compile proprietary market data and analysis that is available only to members.