LThe Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) program is a new industry educational and certification program created to meet the rapidly changing needs of the supply chain management field.

From the manufacturing to the service industry, regardless of whether a company is serving business or consumer markets or is for profit or not-for-profit, the increasingly important role of supply chain management is affecting all organizations. Customers already expect good quality at low prices, and speed of delivery is becoming more important. As a result, effective supply chain management has become essential to successfully compete in today's global marketplace.

The CSCP program takes a broad view of the field, extending beyond internal operations to encompass all the steps throughout the supply chain—from the supplier, through the company, to the end consumer—and provides you with the knowledge to effectively manage the integration of these activities to maximize a company's value chain.

Benefits of the CSCP Program

After earning your CSCP designation, you will

*Learn to boost productivity, collaboration, and innovation

*Discover how to positively affect lead times, inventory, productivity, and bottom-line profitability

*Understand how to manage the integration and coordination of activities to achieve reduced costs and increase efficiencies and customer service

*Gain the knowledge to effectively and efficiently manage worldwide supply chain activities

*Achieve greater confidence and peer and industry recognition

*Enjoy the potential for career advancement and increased earnings.

Who should pursue the CSCP education and designation? The CSCP program is for professionals in operations and supply chain management. This designation is ideal for you if you are Interested in more depth of knowledge and understanding in the areas of supplier and customer relations, international trade, the use of information technology to enable the supply chain, and physical logistics.

*A professional who is consulting or teaching supply chain functions

*Working with enterprise resources planning (ERP) systems.

The CSCP program will help you advance your career while giving you the foundation to improve your company's competitive position and profitability.

Becoming a CSCP Candidate

The CSCP examination is available to individuals who have relevant work experience and education. To be eligible for the CSCP exam, a candidate must meet one of the following criteria:

*Bachelor's degree or equivalent, plus two years of related business experience

*CPIM, CFPIM, CIRM, or C.P.M. designation plus two years of related business experience

*Five years of related business experience.

*Individuals must submit an application documenting their eligibility to take the APICS CSCP exam.

CSCP Modules

The CSCP body of knowledge is made up of the following four modules

*Supply Chain Management Fundamentals

*Building Competitive Operations, Planning, and Logistics

*Managing Customer and Supplier Relationships

*Using Information Technology to Enable Supply Chain Management

Earning Your CSCP

To earn the CSCP designation, candidates must complete and pass one comprehensive four-hour exam. The CSCP exam will be administered in paper-and-pencil format.

Course Content Outline

Supply Chain Management (SCM) Fundamentals

A. Overview of supply chain management

• Supply chain management process overview

• Definitions of supply chain, supply chain management, including reverse supply chain

• Value and benefits of supply chain management (using the supply chain to improve profitability and decrease working capital)

• Key stakeholders in the supply chain

• Evolution of supply chain management (definition of different stages, recognition, understanding, examples)

• Functional supply chains

• Integrated supply chains (internal and external)

• Value networks

B. Aligning supply chain management with corporate strategy

• Corporate strategy (strategic and financial planning)

• Competitive priorities and future direction (use of visibility, velocity, and variability)

• Aligning supply chain strategy and capabilities with corporate strategy

• Driving supply chain decisions (e.g. processes, capacities, locations, etc.) with competitive priorities and supply chain strategy

• Using ERP to align operations with strategy

• Make-or-buy decisions (outsourcing)

• Compliance and regulatory issues

C. Managing the supply chain

• Supply chain objectives

• Value drivers

• Key performance indicators (KPI)

• Balanced scorecard

• Efficiency and cost versus responsiveness

• Elements of supply chain management including network configuration, inventory control, product design, information technology and support systems

• Performance metrics in CFO language (e.g. cash-to-cash cycle, ROA, total supply chain cost, inventory investment, value-added productivity, etc.)

• Definition of synchronization and key success factors

D. Continuous improvement

• Definition of continuous improvement

• Purpose

• Visibility and analysis

• Goals and benchmarking

• Implementation

• Change Management

• Tools and philosophies (six sigma, lean manufacturing, theory of constraints, importance of data)

Building a Competitive Infrastructure

A. Demand planning

• Overview (role in SCM, components, importance, etc.)

• Role of marketing in demand planning (e.g. product management, new product introductions, market analyses, order policies, etc.)

• Forecasting (quantitative and qualitative components)

• Supply chain dynamics (e.g. bullwhip effect)

• Collaborations (joint planning, service agreements, VMI, CPFR, etc.)

B. Product Design Considerations – (Involving suppliers sooner in new product development opportunities)

• Component commonality

• Modularity vs. integral design

• Universality

• Mass customization

C. Manufacturing Planning and Controlling

• Business planning

• Sales and operations planning (S&OP)

• Master production scheduling (MPS)

• Material requirements planning (MRP)

• Capacity requirements planning (CRP)

• Inventory management

D. Logistics

• Warehousing

• Transportation

• Distribution requirements planning (DRP)

• 3rd and 4th party logistics (3PL and 4PL)

• Reverse logistics

• Global logistics and international business