Supply Chain Management Certification: Which is Right for You?
Professional development opportunities for those who thrive in supply chain management are limitless. Nevertheless, it’s important to ensure you pursue the very best supply chain management certification for you personally.
An Overview of Supply Chain Management Certification
Whether you’re new to supply chain management or pursuing promotion to a higher level, supply chain management certification could make all the difference. But with such a wide range of options available, it isn’t quite as simple as choosing jus any certification at random.
Looking at things from a relatively broad perspective, there are three primary supply chain industry groups to consider. ISM is an organisation with a focus on sourcing and procurement, APICS focuses more on manufacturing and CSCMP is more about trucking/logistics. Each of which has expanded significantly over the years, in terms of both physical size and appeal in the eyes of employers.
Whichever way you go, certification could hold the key to taking your career to the next level.
Should You Get Certified?
Without any shadow of doubt, getting certified could make all the difference to your long-term career prospects. For one thing, it gives you the capacity to immediately convince employers that you’re committed to this particular line of work. You’re able to demonstrate exactly what you can bring to their organisation, producing an accolade that could give you the edge over the competition.
Anything you can produce that demonstrates your commitment to continuous personal development only stands to enhance your career prospects. Certification alone isn’t sufficient, but can certainly complement work experience, education and general acumen. If it’s a case of deciding between two very similar candidates, the applicant with supply chain management certification is likely to land the job.
But it’s not only about getting hired in the first place. Statistics suggest that supply chain management certification can also have a direct impact on the respective candidate’s salary. The more qualified, capable and committed you present yourself as, the more likely you are to earn more as a result. As such, experts worldwide strongly recommend pursuing formal certification at the earliest possible stage in your supply chain management career.
The earlier you get started, the greater you stand to benefit from professional certification.
Which is the Best Supply Chain Management Certification?
This is a question that can only be answered by the individual candidate. As touched upon above, there are three primary names that are considered by many to offer the best supply chain certification. Which, in each instance, has a specific area of focus within the industry.
It all depends on your specialist area, the location in which you intend to work and your overall objectives. But these are far from the only supply chain management certifications available.
What’s more, there are also specialist areas of certification to consider within the respective brands, examples of which include:
-
APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional certification (CSCP)
-
APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM)
-
APICS Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR-P) Endorsement
-
ISM Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM)
-
ISM Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity (CPSD)
-
SCPro Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP)
-
SOLE Certified Professional Logistician (CPL)
-
NCMA Certified Professional Contract Manager (CPCM)
Once again, anything you can add to your resume that demonstrates your commitment to continuous professional development could give you the edge.
Getting Started…
Anyone interested in exploring supply chain management and related career opportunities for the first time could be an ideal candidate for online study. Distance learning provides the opportunity to study in your own time at a pace that suits your lifestyle, with full tutor support provided from start to finish.
Here at Brentwood Open Learning College, we offer a dynamic collection of Supply Chain and Logistics Management Courses to suit all experience levels and career objectives.
Check out our complete course catalogue online, or contact a member of our student support team for more information.
