Sunday, October 6, 2013

Supply Chain Domain Certifications

Following are major domain SCM Certifications:

APICS Certificates: The Association for operations management:

1) CPIM - Certified in Production & Inventory Mangement
The APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) program is recognized worldwide as the standard of professional competence in production and inventory control and supply chain management. Obtaining APICS certification shows a commitment to the profession that leads to a sense of accomplishment, demonstrates value to the employer, enhances earning potential, and provides a path to career advancement. The APICS CPIM program is divided into five process-oriented topic areas to provide participants with the best possible educational assessment and knowledge base.

 Entry Module 
  •      Basics of Supply chain Management
  Core Competency Modules
  •       Master Planning of Resources
  •       Detailed Scheduling and Planning
  •       Execution and Control of Operations
  Capstone Modules 
  •       Strategic Management of Resources

2) CSCP: Certified Supply Chain Professional
The APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) program is recognized worldwide as the premier supply chain management education and certification program.

The APICS CSCP program takes a broad view of operations, extending beyond internal operations to encompass the entire supply chain—from supplier, through the company, to the end consumer. The program provides professionals with the knowledge necessary to understand and manage the integration and coordination of end-to-end supply chain activities. The APICS CSCP program is divided into four modules to provide participants with the best possible educational assessment and knowledge base.

A CPIM / CSCP Education can help you to:
  •   Increase your functional knowledge of production and inventory management.
  •   Improve efficiency across the processes of your organization's supply chain.
  •   Streamline operations through accurate forecasting.
  •   Predict outcomes more accurately.
  •   Maximize customer satisfaction by delivering products and services Just-in-Time.
  •   Increase profitability by optimizing your organization's inventory investment.
  •   Enhance your credibility among employers, and customers

3) CTL: Certified in transportation & Logistics 
The CTL designation may be used just as similar recognitions are employed in accounting, insurance, medicine, law, and other professions. Either the full expression or the initials may be used after the individual’s name on business cards, stationery, etc. The CTL credential remains valid with active membership in AST&L


4) PLS: Professional designation in logistics & Supply chain management
professionals seeking an understanding of the key strategies for improving customer service and increasing the efficiency of their logistics and supply chain operations. The purpose of the PLS is to recognize individuals that have completed a course of study examining the strategies for improving logistics and supply chain operations and are seeking to apply this knowledge within their profession.


References:
www.apics.org
www.astl.org
www.knowerx.com (India Partner)


Saturday, October 5, 2013

Cross functional career options in SCM (Supply Chain Management)

This blog is for the people who want to know the various options available in the vast field of supply chain management. Supply chain or more recently called Value chain is the management of the flow of goods or services right from the raw material vendors to the end customers. It includes various interconnected networks, channels, nodes involved in the provision of delivering products and services.

SCM draws heavily from the Operations, Procurement, Logistics, Manufacturing Planning & Information Technology (mostly ERP). SCM has evolved with the various management techniques like JIT (Just in Time), Kanban, Lean Manufacturing, Network Optimization, Sales & Operation Planning, Green Supply Chain management, TOC (Theory of Constraints) etc.

Major career options available in the Domain SCM Area are:
  • Procurement / Sourcing
  • Supply Chain Planning
  • Production / Operations Planning
  • Logistics
  • Demand Planning
  • Sales & Operations Planning
  • Vendor Management etc.

Whereas the other career options related to the SCM are:
  • ERP Functional Consulting (SAP, Oracle etc.) 
  • ERP Technical consulting (ABAP, PL/SQL in ERP Products)
  • ERP Presales
  • Business Consulting
  • Business Analysts
  • SCM Analytics
  • Master Data Management
Usually there are cross functional requirements in various jobs in the market. Mostly in ERP consulting it is always preferred if the candidate has the domain knowledge / Experience. Also the people in the domain industries are required to have worked on major ERP / IT applications related to their domain. E.g. A Demand planner should be conversant in estimating the demand using highly complex applications like Oracle Demantra / SAP ATO.

In order to enhance the knowledge of the related areas following are some useful courses:
1) Experts who work in ERP / IT applications but lacks in domain experience can look into the following courses that can help to ameliorate their domain knowledge:
  • CPIM (Certification in Production & Inventory Management from APICS)
  • CSCP (Certification in Supply Chain management from APICS)
  • CTL (Certification in Transportation & Logistics from ASTL)
  • SCM Online courses from IIMs / top institutes
2) Similarly people with domain knowledge can enhance their ERP / IT skills with the help of following courses:
SAP Certification from partners like Genovate or Simens
Oracle Certification from Oracle University (In Bangalore / Hyderabad in India)
Online courses on ERP from reputed institutes

This cross functional learning will also help to switch the career in case the opportunity knocks the door :)