Supply chain education is essential

September 18, 2024

Supply chains have never been as volatile as they are today, impacted by health crises like the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflict, climate change, and economic instability. Amid the uncertainty, however, one certainty is the growing demand for skilled, knowledgeable, suitably qualified supply chain professionals who can navigate the ongoing challenges and changes. So says supply chain industry body, SAPICS.

Education is key to ensuring that supply chain professionals are equipped to deal with the increasing complexities of supply chain management and rapid advances in technology, SAPICS stresses. The organisation has been working to elevate, educate, and empower supply chain professionals in South Africa and across the continent since 1966. It provides Southern African supply chain practitioners with access to a range of internationally recognised certifications, as well as high quality, impactful short courses.

SAPICS is the Premier Elite Channel Partner in sub-Saharan Africa for APICS, which is part of the US-based international supply chain management body, the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM). SAPICS is also a global affiliate of the Demand Driven Institute (DDI), the Institute of Business Forecasting (IBF) and the International Supply Chain Education Alliance (ISCEA). These global organisations all promote best practice methodology for the supply chain profession and, through these partnerships, SAPICS provides the best education content available globally for the supply chain profession. This content is delivered through a network of carefully selected SAPICS Authorised Education Partners.

RAPIDLY CHANGING LOGISTICS, TRANSPORTATION, AND DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRIES

The SAPICS education offering includes the APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM), Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution (CLTD), and Certified in Transformation for Supply Chain (CTSC) qualifications.

The CPIM is considered the premier certification for internal supply chain business operations, while the CLTD programme addresses the burgeoning need for standard benchmarks in the rapidly changing logistics, transportation, and distribution industries.

The APICS CSCP programme is the first and only supply chain certification that encompasses the end-to-end global supply chain. CSCP designees gain the skills to effectively manage global supply chain activities that involve suppliers, plants, distributors, and customers located around the world.

The CTSC programme, meanwhile, provides the essential knowledge to help employees effectively manage an end-to-end supply chain transformation project.

SAPICS offers training in the Supply Chain Operations Reference Digital Standard (SCOR DS) model, which organisations around the world and across industries are increasingly adopting to make dramatic and rapid improvements in their supply chain processes.

Recognising the imperative to drive sustainability in supply chains to benefit organisations, the environment, and society, SAPICS education includes a masterclass in the best practices and solutions to build a sustainable supply chain – provided in partnership with ASCM – as well as ISCEA’s Certified Sustainable Supply Chain Professional programme.

One designation that SAPICS offers through the DDI is the Demand Driven Materials Requirements Planning (DDMRP) qualification. This formal planning and execution method is designed to correct the inadequacies of conventional MRP, given today’s more volatile, complex, and service orientated supply and manufacturing scenarios.

The Demand Driven Leader Programme is also provided, equipping senior and mid-level operations and supply chain managers with the ability to design, implement, and sustain a Demand Driven Operating Model (DDOM). The Adaptive Enterprise Foundations (AEF) programme is another offering, introducing individuals working in all areas of the supply chain to the components needed to make an organisation truly adaptive.

FORECASTERS AND DEMAND PLANNERS NEEDED

As we move rapidly into the age of big data and analytics, forecasters and demand planners are in high demand. In order to equip people in these positions with the specific skills and knowledge needed, the SAPICS education line-up includes the IBF’s Certified Professional Forecaster (CPF), Advanced Certified Professional Forecaster (ACPF), and Certified Supply Chain Analyst (CSCA) qualifications from ISCEA. The latter course is aimed at young professionals, those aspiring to move into a career in supply chain management, or those wanting to gain a solid foundational knowledge of the end-to-end supply chain.

Healthcare supply chain management encompasses a specific set of principles and procedures to deliver products and services to the right place, at the right time, at the right price in order to save lives and optimise patient care. ISCEA’s Certified Healthcare Supply Chain Analyst programme offered by SAPICS covers many of the traditional supply chain topics. These include purchasing, transportation, and sourcing, while the programme also covers healthcare-specific topics such as GS1, healthcare innovation, and supply chain risk management.

SAPICS SHORT COURSES: GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT

SAPICS’ short courses are designed to help individuals and organisations to get the supply chain basics right. They also offer new entrants to the field an understanding of the diverse career opportunities and varied paths available in the supply chain sphere.

These courses have been assisting companies and their employees since 1982, when the SAPICS Basic Stores & Stock Control (BSSC) and Principles of Production & Inventory Management (PPIM) short courses were first introduced. The BSSC course is aimed at warehouse employees, supervisors, and managers. It promotes stores efficiency and sound management practices. The PPIM course provides learners with a sound understanding and base knowledge from which to advance their studies in the field of operations management. The Basics of Manufacturing & Operations Management (BMOM) is another short course that offers a basic insight into production and inventory management systems and helps to develop learners’ interdepartmental understanding and communication.

SAPICS short courses are high value because they are structured to prepare the learner for the challenges of today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) supply chains. SAPICS short course material is constantly updated to deal with the rapid changes in the dynamic, ever-evolving supply chain field, despite the fact that the core concepts remain the same.

Supply chains are essential for businesses to run, consumers to get the goods they need, and society to function, but they can only be as effective and efficient as the people who manage them. Find out more about SAPICS’ education offerings at https://www.sapics.org.za/certifications-courses.