The Value of the Certification Process A PI Q and A
The Value of the Certification Process A PI Q and A
Reader Question:
In SCM, what is the relevance of certifications like APICS-CSCP?
Raheel Ahmad
eSourcing & SCM Professional
India
My Response:
I actually just returned from a speaking engagement at the APICS Houston 6 Packed conference.
While I both write and teach accredited courses for organizations such as the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC), this was my first event with APICS.
In terms of your broader question regarding the relevance of the certification process, given my extensive research in this area there is really a two-stage answer to your question.
To begin, with the growing talent vacuum the demand for procurement professionals is on the rise resulting in opportunities for salary increases of between 25% and 35%. A recent European study found that while there were only 5,000 students who graduated from institutions with a degree in supply chain practice, there were 75,000 available positions. This certainly provides one of the reasons for the salary increase. (Note: the numbers appear to be similar in the North American market, especially given the fact that very few organizations have a viable succession plan in place to replace individuals who are nearing retirement.)
In this context, association reports demonstrate that designations such as CSCP provide graduates with a better opportunity to be at the higher end of the increased pay scale with the elite companies.
However, and outside of the framework of the profession itself, the designations of CSCP, CPM, CPP etc. do not appear to carry the same weight as say a CA designation in finance.
To many association executives, this is the biggest and most pressing isuue that needs to be addressed.
Certainly a CPO Roundtable hosted by CPO Agenda is quite telling. I have provided the link to one of the many articles I have written on this subject below.
Titled Procurement’s expanding role and the executive of the future, I analyse the discussion between CPOs from international firms such as Danone and Nestle.
Besides the increasing (and recognized) importance of the supply chain, the general consensus is that purchasing departments are best run by someone with a background in finance versus procurement. In many instances, the purchasing department is therefore reduced to a functional role rather than a strategic one.
In large part this is due to the disconnect in a number of key areas including how supply practice savings are captured and recorded.
In another article I wrote titled Bridging the Communication Gap Between Finance and Purchasing (see link below), of the approximately 11% of reported savings by the purchasing department, finance only booked approximately 3%. This represents a significant 73% difference.
What this means is that finance and purchasing are not on the same page. And since finance is still viewed by a corporation’s senior executive has providing a window on an organization’s overall health, this disconnect to a certain degree undermines rather than enhances the purchasing department’s perceived role and capabilities.
In this light, it is important to evaluate the curriculum of the various purchasing courses to ensure that the core elements are reflective of the market’s requirements that a purchasing professional have an expanded understanding of all areas of an enterprise’s operations.
To summarize, the designations do provide a competitive advantage within the framework of the profession itself (re the difference in pay scale for a professional with a designation versus one without).
However, and in terms of the broader market as a whole, there is still a great deal of work left to do before the desired parity between a CSCP and CA designation can be achieved.
Recommended Reading:
Procurement’s Expanding Role and the Executive of the Future
Bridging the Communications Gap Between Finance and Purchasing
The Value of the Certification Process A PI Q and A - To learn more about this author, visit Jon Hansen's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
The following is an interesting question that was submitted by an eSourcing and SCM Professional regarding the relevancy of the certification programs offered through a number of associations.
Reader Question:
In SCM, what is the relevance of certifications like APICS-CSCP?
Raheel Ahmad
eSourcing & SCM Professional
India
My Response:
I actually just returned from a speaking engagement at the APICS Houston 6 Packed conference.
While I both write and teach accredited courses for organizations such as the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC), this was my first event with APICS.
In terms of your broader question regarding the relevance of the certification process, given my extensive research in this area there is really a two-stage answer to your question.
To begin, with the growing talent vacuum the demand for procurement professionals is on the rise resulting in opportunities for salary increases of between 25% and 35%. A recent European study found that while there were only 5,000 students who graduated from institutions with a degree in supply chain practice, there were 75,000 available positions. This certainly provides one of the reasons for the salary increase. (Note: the numbers appear to be similar in the North American market, especially given the fact that very few organizations have a viable succession plan in place to replace individuals who are nearing retirement.)
In this context, association reports demonstrate that designations such as CSCP provide graduates with a better opportunity to be at the higher end of the increased pay scale with the elite companies.
However, and outside of the framework of the profession itself, the designations of CSCP, CPM, CPP etc. do not appear to carry the same weight as say a CA designation in finance.
To many association executives, this is the biggest and most pressing isuue that needs to be addressed.
Certainly a CPO Roundtable hosted by CPO Agenda is quite telling. I have provided the link to one of the many articles I have written on this subject below.
Titled Procurement’s expanding role and the executive of the future, I analyse the discussion between CPOs from international firms such as Danone and Nestle.
Besides the increasing (and recognized) importance of the supply chain, the general consensus is that purchasing departments are best run by someone with a background in finance versus procurement. In many instances, the purchasing department is therefore reduced to a functional role rather than a strategic one.
In large part this is due to the disconnect in a number of key areas including how supply practice savings are captured and recorded.
In another article I wrote titled Bridging the Communication Gap Between Finance and Purchasing (see link below), of the approximately 11% of reported savings by the purchasing department, finance only booked approximately 3%. This represents a significant 73% difference.
What this means is that finance and purchasing are not on the same page. And since finance is still viewed by a corporation’s senior executive has providing a window on an organization’s overall health, this disconnect to a certain degree undermines rather than enhances the purchasing department’s perceived role and capabilities.
In this light, it is important to evaluate the curriculum of the various purchasing courses to ensure that the core elements are reflective of the market’s requirements that a purchasing professional have an expanded understanding of all areas of an enterprise’s operations.
To summarize, the designations do provide a competitive advantage within the framework of the profession itself (re the difference in pay scale for a professional with a designation versus one without).
However, and in terms of the broader market as a whole, there is still a great deal of work left to do before the desired parity between a CSCP and CA designation can be achieved.
Recommended Reading:
Procurement’s Expanding Role and the Executive of the Future
Bridging the Communications Gap Between Finance and Purchasing
The Value of the Certification Process A PI Q and A - To learn more about this author, visit Jon Hansen's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
|||
Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Jon's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
|
||
|
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 FREE Twitter Background in PSD Make Attitude Your Ally Best Cover Letter Definitions of Success Law of Attraction in Action |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2009 | |
 |
Top 50 Marketing Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
