SAPICS courses: strengthening business through fundamental skills

In today’s volatile global economy, supply chain resilience separates leaders from laggards. Yet many firms chase advanced technologies for advantage while neglecting fundamental supply chain management, warns industry body SAPICS.

“Entry-level employees are often upskilled with soft skills courses, rather than education that focuses on their actual job descriptions and roles within their organisation, as well as the greater supply chain. They have no idea how important their roles are or where they fit into the circular framework of the supply chain,” says Claire Ambrose, director at IRM Supply Chain Training, a SAPICS Authorised Education Partner (AEP). 

“Once they understand this, they feel like they are part of something bigger and that their contribution counts towards total supply chain optimisation,” she asserts.

To ensure that individuals and organisations get the supply chain basics right from the start, Ambrose recommends SAPICS short courses, which also offer new entrants to the field an understanding of the diverse career opportunities and varied paths available in the supply chain sphere. SAPICS first introduced its well-rounded short courses in 1982, with the SAPICS “Basic Stores & Stock Control” (BSSC) and “Principles of Production & Inventory Management” (PPIM) courses. The “Basics of Manufacturing & Operations Management” (BMOM) course was later added to the line-up.

“I recommend SAPICS short courses to my clients for their entry- to medium-level employees over any other educational offering. The content is the most relatable and industry-relevant, and applicable for all personnel – from entry level to middle-range employees – tasked with integral supply chain functions like demand planning,” says Ambrose.

“I am very familiar with competitor programmes that are accredited by the tertiary education department, but would rather recommend the SAPICS programmes as they are higher quality, offer more concise content and are not as generalised,” she continues.

The SAPICS BSSC course is aimed at warehouse employees, supervisors and managers. It promotes stores efficiency and sound management practices. The BMOM course, meanwhile, offers a basic insight into production and inventory management systems and helps develop learners’ interdepartmental understanding and communication.

“The BSSC and BMOM courses make the entry-level employees feel as if the course was specifically designed for them, and it really does build confidence,” Ambrose says.

SAPICS’s PPIM course provides learners with a sound understanding and base knowledge from which to advance their studies in operations management. Ambrose says it is a powerful career booster. “The PPIM is a brilliant planning programme and many learners achieve promotions after completing it. The course gives them an understanding of all methodologies and best practices behind their very important planning and inventory control roles. Controlling and planning inventory is the backbone of any organisation, and the PPIM gives a solid foundation for this,” she explains.

Ambrose reports seeing noticeable changes in students’ confidence – in both themselves and the practical application of their roles – after completing SAPICS short courses.

Organisations that have supported the programmes and reaped the benefits over the years include Mercedes-Benz South Africa, Toyota, Plessey SA, Aspen Pharmacare, Transnet Rail Division, Transnet Harbours and Eskom. Ambrose and IRM ran a successful BSSC course for Transnet earlier this year, with the students achieving a 100% pass rate. “We are currently midway through training with another group of 30 for the BSSC and 27 for the PPIM, and the students have had high praise for the programmes,” Ambrose concludes. 

More information on SAPICS short courses is available here.