Chemical Management Services (CMS)

Chemical Management Services (CMS) is a business model in which a customer purchases chemical services rather than just chemicals. These services can encompass all aspects of the chemical management lifecycle including: procurement, delivery/distribution, inventory, use (including chemical substitute research), collection, monitoring/reporting, training, treatment, disposal, information technology, and even process efficiency improvements; each of which poses its own costs and risks. Under CMS, the service provider is compensated based on the quality and quantity of services provided that reduce chemical lifecycle costs, risks, and environmental impacts, not on the volume of chemical sold. Therefore the service provider has the same objective as their customer: to reduce chemical use and cost. Both participants achieve bottom line benefits through reduced chemical use, cost, and waste.

The goal of the Chemical Management Services model is to reduce chemical use and cost, and to reduce the environmental impact of chemical use.

This model is now widely used in the automotive, aerospace, and microelectronics sectors where environmental benefits observed include reduced chemical use, reduced emissions, and reduced waste generation, as well as substantial cost savings. A total cost reduction of 30%, on average, has been achieved in the first five years. The CMS market has grown roughly 50% from 2000 to approximately $1.22
billion (FY1999-2003) and all indicators point to continued steady growth.