OSCM 4025 - Purchasing and Supply Management: Topic starting points

About this page

This page has a few starting point suggestions for each of your topics (although I have lumped together several of them into the broader category Minerals & Mining).

About the articles from encyclopedias such as How Products Are Made and Encyclopedia of American/Global Industries: these can help illustrate the processes involved in the production of your commodities/products.

Immediately below are a couple of databases that most groups will want to use.

Gale eBooks from Gale
Full-text access to 400+ resources covering a broad selection of topics.
Covers arts, business, communication, drama, history, medicine, religion, social science and more.
Mergent Archives from Mergent
Most groups should look for:
– CRB Commodity Yearbook
Click on CRB in the left margin, then select 2018 (the latest year available). Look in the table of contents.
Formerly called Mergent WebReports.
Passport
On first use only, acknowledgement of privacy and security policy required.
Data, reports and analysis about countries, industries, companies and consumers. Includes: economic and social data for ~200 countries; market research reports for ~80 countries; company and consumer profiles. We do NOT subscribe to the Sustainability module.
Video demo on how to search in Passport.
Economic and social indicator data redistributed from IMF, UN, World Bank, OECD. Annual data only.

Fitch Solutions Industry Insights Reports, via ABI-Inform Collection
London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.
Fitch Solutions Country Industry Reports, via ABI-Inform Collection
London, Fitch Solutions Group Limited.

ProcurementIQ from IBISWorld
If on campus and on MU-Secure wifi, use this link.
Procurement research reports provide information on pricing environments, including key trends, price drivers, product characteristics, and purchasing process. A Data Wizard module allows the creation of comparison crosstabs. Current reports only.
These reports are for secondary or indirect procurement (i.e. the supply chain for business services, processes and products).

All agricultural products

The sources below will be useful for most of the agricultural products.

USDA Economic Research Service
Has data and reports on crops, including imports for crops not produced in the US.
FAO Stat
The data portal for the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
PSD Online (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service)
– Click on Reports & Data to find PSD Reports and PSD Publications.
– On the Graphical Queries drop-down menu, look for Top Countries by Commodity.
PSD Online is the public repository for USDA’s Official Production, Supply and Distribution forecast data, reports and circulars for key agricultural commodities.

Mergent Archives from Mergent
Click on CRB in left margin. Currently, 2018 is the most recent edition, but updates are coming soon per the vendor.
Formerly called Mergent WebReports.

All metals, minerals & mining

The sources below will be useful for most if not all of the metals/minerals groups. This includes all the following:

Aluminum	Bauxite	Gold
Helium	Platinum	Tungsten

Commodity Markets Outlook. October 2021.
A World Bank Report.
Commodity Statistics and Information (USGS National Minerals Information Center)
More data and publications. And despite the fact this is a US government body, they provide international data and news about these materials.
Industrial Minerals
A trade publication from Eurmoney Publications.
Mineral Commodity Summaries 2022
US Geological Survey. Contains 2-page summaries about each commodity.

Mergent Archives from Mergent
Click on CRB in left margin. Currently, 2018 is most recent edition available, but updates coming soon per vendor.
Formerly called Mergent WebReports.

Aluminum and bauxite

Aluminium quarterly report - Q1 2022
(2022). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.
Aluminum
Hall, L. (2000). Aluminum. In J. L. Longe (Ed.), How Products Are Made: An Illustrated Guide to Product Manufacturing (Vol. 5, pp. 1-5). Gale.
One of the main products made from bauxite ...
Bauxite Industry
(2008). In W. A. Darity, Jr. (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (2nd ed., Vol. 1, p. 261). Macmillan Reference USA.

Cocoa

Cacao
Stuart, M. (2012). Cacao. In D. E. Vasey, S. E. Fredericks, S. Lei, & S. Thompson (Eds.), Berkshire Encyclopedia of Sustainability (Vol. 4, pp. 62-63). Berkshire.
Chocolate and Confectionery Manufacturing from Cocoa Beans
In Encyclopedia of American Industries. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2021.
Chocolate
Berlow, L. H. (1994). Chocolate. In N. Schlager (Ed.), How Products Are Made: An Illustrated Guide to Product Manufacturing (Vol. 1, pp. 129-133). Gale.
Cote D'Ivoire Agribusiness Report - Q2 2022
(2022). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.

Mica

Top Natural Mica Producing Nations, 2023
Top Natural Mica Producing Nations, 2023. (2025). In V. L. Burton, III (Ed.), Market Share Reporter (35th ed.). Gale. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/I2502086448/GBIB?u=milw10296&sid=bookmark-GBIB&xid=99197077
Mineral Product Manufacturing in the US
(2024, May). Mineral Product Manufacturing in the US. US 32799. Retrieved from IBISWorld database.

Corn

As a type of grain, you may search keyword 'corn' within the 'grains' category.

PSD Online (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service)
– Click on Reports & Data to find PSD Reports and PSD Publications.
– On the Graphical Queries drop-down menu, look for Top Countries by Commodity.
PSD Online is the public repository for USDA’s Official Production, Supply and Distribution forecast data, reports and circulars for key agricultural commodities.
U.S. Food Imports (coffee included)
Downloadable dataset in .csv can be found at the bottom of the page.

Lithium

Fitch Solutions covers this sector well. See reports below.

Argentina mining report - 2021.
(2021). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.
Chile mining report - Q1 2022
(2022). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.
Commodities monitor - July 2021
(2021). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.
See pages 11-15.
EV Battery Supply Chain: Trends, Risks And Opportunities In A Fast-Evolving Sector
(2021, December). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.
Global lithium outlook: Trends, risks and opportunities amidst the battery boom
(2021). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.
Lithium Statistics and Information
From the National Minerals Information Center, US Geological Survey.
Lithium Investing News
From Investing News Network in British Columbia, Canada.

Coffee

Coffee Beans Market Size, Share and Industry Analysis, Report 2024-2032
PSD Online (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service)
– Click on Reports & Data to find PSD Reports and PSD Publications.
– On the Graphical Queries drop-down menu, look for Top Countries by Commodity.
PSD Online is the public repository for USDA’s Official Production, Supply and Distribution forecast data, reports and circulars for key agricultural commodities.
U.S. Food Imports (coffee included)
Downloadable dataset in .csv can be found at the bottom of the page.
Coffee
Coffee. (2008). In P. J. Bungert & A. J. Darnay (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Products & Industries - Manufacturing (Vol. 1, pp. 247-260). Gale. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2831100034/GVRL?u=milw10296&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=991d6e29

Platinum

Leading Platinum Consumers Worldwide, 2019
(2022). In Market Share Reporter. Ed. Virgil L. Burton, III and Robert S. Lazich. 32nd ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.
Platinum and the Platinum Group Metals
(2010). In C. W. Allin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Global Resources (Vol. 3, pp. 951-954). Salem Press.

Tungsten

Tungsten
Newton, D. E. (2010). Tungsten. In K. J. Edgar (Ed.), Chemical Elements (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 635-639). UXL.
Includes section on uses of the mineral.
Tungsten
(2010). In C. W. Allin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Global Resources (Vol. 4, pp. 1243-1245). Salem Press.
State of the PM Industry in North America—2021
From the trade association Metal Powder Industries Federation.
Powder Metallurgy Part Manufacturing
2020. In Encyclopedia of American Industries. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.

Gold

Gold
Haley, A., & Danley, B. (1994). Gold. In N. Schlager (Ed.), How Products Are Made: An Illustrated Guide to Product Manufacturing (Vol. 1, pp. 204-208). Gale.
Gold quarterly report - Q1 2022
(2022). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.
South Africa mining report - Q1 2022
(2022). London: Fitch Solutions Group Limited.
South Africa contains large reserves for gold and platinum.

Helium

Helium
Cavette, C. (1999). Helium. In J. L. Longe (Ed.), How Products Are Made: An Illustrated Guide to Product Manufacturing (Vol. 4, pp. 256-261). Gale.
Leading End Markets for Helium, 2019
(2021). In Market Share Reporter. Ed. Virgil L. Burton, III and Robert S. Lazich. 31st ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.
Industrial Gas Manufacturing
(2021). In Encyclopedia of American Industries. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale.
Has some information about helium production.
Chemical Engineering
A trade publication via ProQuest's ABI/Inform Collection.