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Manufacturing Education is really not negotiable

We all went to school so that we had a chance to learn – even it we got no farther than basic reading, writing and arithmetic – the three R’s. At least we were prepared to do something that would contribute to society, even at a very basic level, and we could earn a living. We were told that if we didn’t do that we would end up on the streets.

Well, that was then, we probably went on to some form of tertiary education and went into business at a fairly junior level and, if we were lucky, got promoted until we reached our ceiling. We got frustrated banging our heads on that ceiling and tried to move on. The question keeps coming up “what experience do you have in the Supply Chain field?” and the answer is often “none”. The result is – no progress and more frustration. The whole field of Supply Chain management is finally getting the recognition it deserves, 30 years after SAPICS and APICS put it out there and to get ahead you need to learn about it.

The best way to get ahead is to get educated, not the three R’s we mentioned above, but focused, professional education from SAPICS or APICS.  If you work for a distribution or retail company you may want to start by studying Stores and stock control and then the Basics of Supply Chain Management.

Perhaps you are in the Manufacturing sector – Consider the Basics of Production and Inventory management before moving on to Principles and eventually consider becoming Certified in Production and Inventory Management through APICS. Certified professionals are in demand because of their wide knowledge of the interrelationships of the many facets of the business world. They are able to recognise where problems may occur and eliminate them before they arise. Managers without those skills simply cannot do this as they have never been exposed to this training.

At another level there is also the Certification as a Supply Chain Professional, this covers all aspects of managing your supply chain and takes a close look at many of the human aspects of this subject as well as the more “normal” technical treatment of Supply Chain matters.

There many advantages to this education, not least is the perspective that cannot be gained any other way. All the experience in the world is useless if there is no milestone to measure it against.

SAPICS and APICS Education gives you that milestone and supplies you with the language to explain it clearly and accurately to those around you. More than that, it gives you the tool set to advance and break through that frustrating ceiling, allowing you to develop and grow as you deserve to.

Eric Warner CPIM CSCP