Organization

The Supply Management branch of the U.S. Postal Service is responsible for the buying and supplying of one of the largest service organizations in the world. Postal Service purchasing policies and procedures are a mix of the best of public and private buying practices. This policy retains the best aspects of the federal procurement system while giving contracting officers the discretion of using market awareness and business judgment when awarding contracts.The U.S. Postal Service is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Purchasing and Materials awards and manages nationwide and large dollar value contracts. Strategically located field offices provide onsite customer support. The material management function manages the acquisition, stocking, and distribution of all postal-specific repair parts, supplies, and equipment; operates one material distribution center; and distributes more than 23,000 line items (worth $200 million) to some 38,000 internal customers each year.The Professional Development staff consists of professionals dedicated to helping Purchasing and Materials achieve its goals by ensuring that contracting professionals have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform at the highest professional standards. The mission of Professional Development is to coordinate the planning, development, and implementation of Purchasing and Materials functional training and professional development programs for purchasing and material management professionals systemwide. Core functions include workforce development and the design and delivery of high-quality, cost-effective instructional systems and other behavioral interventions designed to help optimize purchasing performance, productivity, and quality of purchasing actions. Professional development is responsible for contracting officer certification and maintains a contracting officer database to ensure that they have a highly effective cadre of contracting officers.A student population of approximately 500 employees from Postal Service Headquarters and affiliated field units throughout the country attend training at two locations. While students generally come from two major functional areas, purchasing and material management, employees from other organizational functions who have purchasing or material management responsibilities also attend these classes.