Certified Supply Chain Professionals

January 22nd, 2009

Australia’s First Certified Supply Chain Professionals.

On June 17, 2006 in Sydney APICS Australasia held the first exam for the new “Certified Supply Chain Professional” (CSCP) qualification. Seven candidates from around Australia sat the 4 hour exam and all passed. Phil Heenan from Victoria was one of the “lucky” candidates and here are some comments that may assist other APICS members thinking about going for this new qualification for supply chain professionals.

Recently I received the new APICS qualification Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP). Here are some thoughts on my experience.

The “course” is divided into 4 “modules” as follows:

Supply Chain Fundamentals
Building Competitive Operations, Planning, and Logistics
Managing Customer and Supplier Relationships
Using Information Technology to Enable Supply Chain Management

The thing I like about this course is it allows you to work at your own pace and sit the exam only when you feel confident with the content. How do you know you are ready? Prior to your study you log onto the APICS web site and do a “pre-test” which gives you your starting point and marks in each of the four modules as well as an overall “score” you would have received had the test been the real exam.

When you receive the print modules you then work through each “book” and at the end test yourself via the web for that specific module. Once you are confident in each module, and your scores are where you would like them, you sit a simulated exam via the web again and receive your overall score. The feedback also indicates marks in each module as well so you can put further study where it is required.

Prior to completing the post-test and actually sitting the exam you may also wish to use another of the features the “eFlashcards”. These present a definition of a term, and you supply the term. This interactive drill-and-practice review option spans all modules and helps learn the inevitable new terminology and acronyms which may be the difference between a pass and a fail.

I would think that the most challenging module for most practitioners would be the Information technology section which contains quite a lot of technical terms so an experienced instructor will greatly assist your learning in this and other areas.

This qualification is sorely needed in Australia and the process, coupled with 1 exam, will enable busy supply chain professionals the ability to gain a good grasp of supply chain management principles through a variety of options. I thoroughly recommend it.

Phil Heenan

www.heenan.com.au

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Upcoming Events

Achieving Accurate & Balanced Inventories. Free safety stock simulation software.

All attendees who come along to my August 5 Inventory Class will receive a free programme that enables you to simulate different safety stock levels and observe the resultant inventory value. Although this is a programme, it also is based on pretty good logic and is used by many of my clients. Of course you may also buy it for $AUS495 if you don’t like the content of the upcoming class.APICS Vic May Mailout 2010

I’ll also be involved in a few of the apics Victoria courses starting July. I’ll be teaching the next module of the Purchasing Diploma which is always a lot of fun as well as great learnings, doing two days of the BSCM with Annette Sando, and 3 days of the SMR module with John Brister. I hope to see you there or why not pass this onto a friend who may need some education or coaching.

Companies who book me for an S&OP process assessment this year will also receive this simulator free as well as a sales forecasting programme. My assessments consist of 3 days interviewing key personnel, then an additional 3 days to prepare a comprehensive report outlining strengths, opportunities, and action plans.

Cost is $AUS15,840. Unbelievable value when you consider how many of your current problems may be solved and the resulting financial benefits that would be gained. Check out the articles section of this web site for examples of what other already great companies have achieved as a result of this aproach.

APICS Customer Focused Supply Chain Management course Tokyo & Upcoming Events

APICS has a new Supply Chain Management course for individuals who interact with, and support, supply chain professionals. Phil Heenan conducted the first Asia/Pacific session in Tokyo June, 2010 and highly recommends it to both Supply Chain and non Supply Chain personnel. It can be highly tailored and conducted on an in house or public basis and is held over two days with 3 activities to support the application of theory. Many practical handouts are given and I like to include safety stock simulations using software Heenan Consulting has developed to show how safety stock strategies affect customer service. As an APICS Authorised Education Provider (AEP), and the first person appointed in Australia by APICS as a Lead Instructor for both CPIM and CSCP, we are happy to teach and coach your supply chain personnel.

For supply chain professionals in Melbourne Australia, apics (this is the logo for the Australian chapter of APICS USA presently), Victoria has many public courses starting soon at the North Melbourne office, including:

Diploma of Purchasing, managing purchasing and the supply chain module (1 of 4) – July 14
Basics of Supply Chain Management – July 19
Execution and Control of Operations – August 12
Master Planning of Resources – July 17 (this module includes S&OP, MPS, DRP, MRP so it is at the heart of an integrated business planning system)
Strategic Management of Resources – July 24 (this module covers key aspects of choosing, implementing and managing ERP software, and the necessary change management issues that are entailed)
Certified Supply Chain Professional – September 17

Please be aware these courses may also be conducted within your own premises if that is more convenient or cost effective for your organisation. Many of the largest and most successful companies in the region conduct courses this way. Just contact Sandra at apicsvic@bigpond.com or visit the apics Australia web site www.apics.org.au

And, don’t miss it – Lean Vision Conference hosted by apics and AME, September 8, 9 & 10. Check out the web site at – www.leanvision.com.au. This conference has some great national and international speakers including Chris Gray author of so many S&OP resources including the pioneering MRPII The Standard System, S&OP Best Practices and MRPII The Right Choice. Chris is being sponsored by QAD. See you all there.