IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE A TIME WHEN THE NEED FOR CONtinuing ed in our industry has been greater. As the supply chain world
becomes more complex, many practitioners are struggling to keep their
heads above water, leaving them with little time to keep up with what’s
happening around them. Then there’s the recent influx of “techie”
types who have mastered the necessary technology but know very little
about the basics of supply chain management. Put them together and
you have a group of managers who either lack rudimentary knowledge
or are simply having a hard time staying current.
One tried and true method of getting up to speed and up to date is
through professional certification programs. Today, practitioners can
choose from a variety of offerings that provide supply chain-specific
education, bring them up to speed on current practices, and provide
outside verification that they know their stuff.
Certification is not a new idea in the industry.
Various industry organizations have offered professional certifications for some time. The venerable
American Society of Transportation and Logistics,
or AST&L (then known as the American Society of
Traffic and Transportation), launched its first certification program—the Certified in Transportation
& Logistics credential—way back in 1948. APICS
(then known as the American Production and
Inventory Control Society) rolled out its Certified
in Production and Inventory Management program—the first of what would become a series of
well-known certification programs—in 1973.
In 2015, APICS merged with AST&L in a bid to expand its logistics
education and certification portfolio to cover the entire supply chain.
In July 2016, the group (now known simply as APICS) announced a
new program that, according to the organization, “sets the standard
for logistics education.” That new program, called the certification
in logistics, transportation, and distribution (CLTD), will “equip
individuals with the essential knowledge they need to reduce costs,
increase customer satisfaction, and achieve recognition as a logistics
expert,” according to APICS. Although candidates can earn the designation by passing a single exam, the program contains eight modules
covering subjects from order management to reverse logistics. (APICS
published 850 pages of study guides and materials, so this will not be a
cakewalk by any means.)
But that’s not the only game in town. In 2011, the Council of
Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) announced the
launch of its SCPro certification. In its announcement, the organi-
zation described SCPro as “a rigorous three-level certification [that]
BY CLIFFORD F. LYNCH fastlane
Keeping up with the supply chain
offers supply chain professionals a concrete
way to fully demonstrate a broad range of skills
that command competitive salaries and titles
while giving hiring managers an independent
barometer of a candidate’s commitment to and
success within the supply chain management
profession.” Candidates progress through three
levels, entering the next level only upon satisfactory completion of the previous one. The last
level requires candidates to apply the knowledge and skills they’ve acquired to complete a
real-world project, which should give them a
definite edge in the job market.
For many of us, the first
question will be, “Do I really
want to do any of this?” I
would say, probably so, particularly if you are new to the
industry, do not have a solid
supply chain background,
or simply want to stand out
from your peers.
The second question will
no doubt be, “Which certification should I seek?” That
is a tougher question, and I
offer a tough answer: both.
I would pursue the APICS CLTD certification
first. Right now, it has better name recognition
in the industry and will be excellent preparation
for the SCPro. I have no doubt that the CSCMP
program will increase in stature, and by the
time you’re ready to begin that journey, it will
be much better known than it is today. This
endeavor will take some time, but when the
task is complete, you will have the best of both
certification worlds.
Clifford F. Lynch is principal of C.F. Lynch & Associates, a provider
of logistics management advisory services, and author of Logistics
Outsourcing – A Management Guide and co-author of The Role of
Transportation in the Supply Chain. He can be reached at cliff@
cflynch.com.
