FOR RELEASE: August 12, 2002

(Tempe, AZ) — The Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM) announces the upcoming release of its newest instructor-led, interactive, online learning course: Achieving Value-Add through Supply Alliances. Through this course, supply management professionals will learn to develop and maintain effective and positive relationships addressing cultural and organizational barriers within their organizations. This four-week course will be available September 6 - October 4, 2002.

The Achieving Value-Add through Supply Alliances course has seven learning lessons with over 27 learning objectives. Lessons covered in this course include: scope, structure, and dynamics of strategic relationships; incorporating supplier alliances into your internal organizational structure; barriers to successful supplier alliances; preparing the organization for supplier alliances; key considerations in negotiating a supplier alliance; implementing a supplier alliance; and measuring and maintaining the effectiveness of a supplier alliance. Each learning lesson consist of the following:

• Scope, structure, and dynamics of strategic relationships
  Identify the benefits of supplier alliances to supply management organizations, describe different structures and life cycles of supply relationships, and compare the scope and dynamics of strategic and non-strategic supplier relationships.
  
  
• Incorporating supplier alliances into your internal organizational structure
  Acknowledge relative advantages and disadvantages related to centralized and decentralized organizational structures, explain the key influences that shape relationships in centralized and decentralized purchasing structures, recognize and respond to perspectives held by other internal functions when considering implementation of supplier alliances.
  
  
• Barriers to successful supplier alliances
  Discover barriers to forming supplier alliances, analyze the impact of internal organizational influences on potential supply alliances, analyze the impact of external organizational influences on potential supply alliances, and examine how electronic commerce may affect supply alliances.
  
  
• Preparing the organization for supplier alliances
  Examine typical objectives and expectations in supplier alliance relationships, analyze key influences that may affect organizational support for supplier alliances, examine criteria for selecting supplier alliances, and examine how to sell the concept of supplier alliances internally.
  
  
• Key considerations in negotiating a supplier alliance
  Understand key considerations when preparing to negotiate a supplier alliance, review general rules for negotiations and negotiation techniques, and analyze key considerations in handling differences in expectations and examine considerations for closing a negotiation session.
  
  
• Implementing a supplier alliance
  Evaluate the process of developing long-term mutually beneficial relationships, identify essential elements of a supplier alliance, examine typical areas of short- and long-term opportunity in a supplier alliance, and examine the use of facilitation strategies to ensure successful implementation of a supplier alliance.
  
  
• Measuring and maintaining the effectiveness of a supplier alliance
  Measure the value and effectiveness of a supplier alliance, recognize how to optimize the transaction process and why that is important to the success of supplier alliances, and examine how to ensure continuous, mutually beneficial performance under a supplier alliance.

To register for this course go to www.ism.ws/education/SeminarSearch.cfm. For more information on ISM's self-paced and instructor-led courses, go to www.ism-knowledgecenter.ws or call ISM's customer service department at 800/888-6276, extension 401.

The Institute for Supply Management™, established in 1915, is the world's leading educator of supply management professionals and is a valuable resource for decision makers in major markets, companies, and government, and reflects the increasing strategic and global significance of supply management. For further information, see the ISM Web site at www.ism.ws.

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