Supply Chain Certifications That Will Help You Land a Job
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Supply Chain Certifications That Will Help You Land a Job
By: Olivia Montgomery, PMP on July 21, 2021
Supply chain professionals considering a certification face a bewildering array of options—there are multiple organizations and certifications from which to choose.
While acquiring a certification can have a significant effect on your career trajectory, it’s a process that requires a considerable outlay of time and money. For individuals in the early stages of their career, it can be difficult to make an informed choice. To help make this professional development decision easier, we set out to learn which certifications are in fact worth pursuing.
Whatever certification you choose, you should first make sure it is as widely recognized as possible.
In this article, we focus on well-known and reputable certifications:
APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) offered by The Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)
APICS Certified in Planning and Inventory Management (CPIM 7.0) offered by The Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)
To find out the benefits each certification offers and what positions they’re ideal for, we interviewed three supply chain professionals with almost a century of experience between them:
Bob Ferrarri, consultant and industry analyst who runs the prominent Supply Chain Matters blog;
Rich Sherman, “supply chain guru” at consulting firm Trissential and author of the book, Supply Chain Transformation: Practical Roadmap to Best Practice Results; and,
Monty Boyle, a strategy and transformation architect professional and consultant who has received almost all of the certifications discussed in this article
CSCP: Ideal for general supply chain careers
Before you select a professional certification, it’s essential to know what areas of supply chain management appeal to you. If you’re looking to first gain a broad overview, then Ferrarri, Boyle, and Sherman agree: the best certification is the CSCP from APICS.
First launched in 2006, over 13,000 supply chain professionals in 78 countries have since gained the CSCP. According to the APICS, it “provides you with a mastery of supply chain management best practices and distinguishes you as an industry expert with specialized, high-level knowledge and skills.”
But what’s actually in it? I asked Ferrarri, who, in spite of his three decades of experience in supply chain management, took the certification five years ago to see if he was “up to speed.” His reply? More or less “everything is in it.”
Boyle, who also took the APICS CSCP after working in supply chain management for decades, elaborates on this: “It teaches you to look at the supply chain from a broad perspective; to view the relations between the areas of planning, sourcing, manufacturing, and delivering and see how the overall supply chain integrates.”
Exam eligibility requirements
To be eligible to take the APICS CSCP exam, you must have at least one of the following:
Three years of business experience
A bachelor’s degree or an international equivalent
An active CPIM, CPIM-F, CIRM, SCOR-P, CPM, CLTD certification
A note on membership: ASCM members on average have a higher pass rate for APICS certification exams compared to non-members. You can and should ask your employers to sponsor your membership. You can’t get a yes if you don’t ask!
You can check out the exam content before registering here. Ferrarri estimates that a driven individual could be ready for the CSCP exam in three to six months.
Why get an APICS certification?
Here are some benefits supply chain professionals report from their certification:
APICS-certified individuals earn 21% more than their non-certified peers
Women under 40 years old report a median salary of $81,000 annually, which is $2,000 more than what men reported
95% of all supply chain professionals kept their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic
Supply chain professionals with at least one APICS certification have a median salary of $90,000, which is 27% higher than those without one
*Based on the 2021 ASCM Supply Chain Salary and Career Survey Report and the 2020 ASCM Salary Survey
Another advantage of the CSCP, Ferrarri says, is that it’s what many employers want. “More and more companies today are seeking generalists—people with cross-functional knowledge, experience, and skills,” he explains.
Sherman agrees. “Supply chain management is evolving into a truly end-to-end process that synchronizes cross-functional activities and includes suppliers and customers,” he says.
“Employers want to have managers that not only have an understanding of the function they’re responsible for, but for how their processes interact with other functional processes and organizations. This is especially important as the person’s career moves forward and their responsibilities include more functions.”
CPIM: Ideal for a career in inventory management
The CSCP can be “mixed and matched” with other certifications, should you later decide to venture deeper into a specific area. According to our experts, if you’re seeking a career in inventory management, then the APICS CPIM is the best certification to get.
Over 100,000 people have pursued the CPIM since its inception in 1973, making it the most recognized of all the certifications discussed here. ASCM describes the CPIM in rather broad terms on its site, but Sherman boils it down to the following: “You get the CPIM if you want to learn production planning and scheduling and inventory management. It’s very plant floor focused.”
Below are the details provided by ASCM for the latest CPIM certification version 7.0, released on February 25, 2021.
Exam eligibility requirements
No bachelor’s degree is required, and you need only two or more years of experience in the field
CPIM Part 1 and CPIM Part 2 exams must be passed within three years of each other to earn the CPIM designation
Boyle, who has the CPIM, says that each individual will get something different out of it depending on their prior experience, but stresses that the certification training provides everyone with a solid grounding in the terminology and thought processes involved in production and inventory management.
As a result, people who have the CPIM share common concepts and terminology that are very valuable in the workplace. For example, Boyle highlights the section of the exam dedicated to manufacturing capacity planning, which categorizes capacity planning in three ways: By the master production schedule, by capacity bills, and by resource profiles. Anyone with the CPIM will likely approach capacity planning in a similar way.
Why be certified
Here are some benefits professionals report from their certification:
According to ACM, those with the CPIM earn 14% more than those without it, while 64% believe getting certified had a positive impact on their careers
APICS-certified individuals earn 21% more than their non-certified peers
95% of all supply chain professionals kept their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic
*Based on the 2021 ASCM Supply Chain Salary and Career Survey Report and the 2020 ASCM Salary Survey
Supply chain certifications: A valuable investment
There are many factors to consider when contemplating whether to get a professional supply chain certification, but our experts agree: All three certifications discussed here are excellent qualifications that will most likely set you apart from the competition when searching for a job.
In Ferrarri’s view, certifications are increasingly becoming a prerequisite in supply chain careers. Sherman points out that, if confronted with two candidates of equal experience, one of which has a formal certification, a recruiter will almost certainly opt for the certified individual. “It’s all about risk mitigation,” he explains.
Boyle agrees, but adds that ultimately, a lot comes down to you—you’ll need to take the time to do your research and think carefully about your own career goals to decide which certification is best for you.
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2021年9月2日
