Updates from APICS

Announcing New APICS Seminar Series with Local Opportunity

APICS is pleased to announce a new regional educational program. The APICS North American Seminar Series brings sought after educational programming into local markets in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. These one-day seminars are taught by expert instructors and are designed to provide participants with best practices, actionable takeaways, and an expanded understanding of the topics.

The series was developed to ensure APICS seminars are recognized as essential to the career development of supply chain and operations management professionals and to continue to increase North American participation in APICS events even as conference products expand to cover new international markets. 

Inaugural seminars
Six seminars will be offered in 2012. The seminars will cover the following topics:

Strategic Sourcing
David Jankowski, CFPIM, CSCP
The APICS Strategic Sourcing Seminar helps participants navigate the complex landscape of international business. Companies and organizations need skilled operations and supply chain management professionals to keep their businesses favorably positioned in today’s intensely competitive global marketplace. The workshop provides a comprehensive study of the critical tasks and challenges associated with sourcing and procurement. David Jankowski, an APICS Master Instructor and leading supply chain consultant, will lead attendees through strategic sourcing strategies and best practices.

Supply Chain Risk Management: Identify, Assess, Mitigate, and Manage Risk
Greg Schlegal, CPIM, Jonah
The Supply Chain Risk Management Seminar provides participants with a glimpse of the global supply chain risk landscape. Definitions of risk management, and new techniques and tactics to mitigate risk will be discussed along with profiles of early adopters of risk management.  Attendees have the opportunity to utilize a “Heat Map” tool to assess risks within their supply chains. This seminar is lead by Greg Schlegal, vice president of business development, Shertrack LLC.

Demand Driven MRP
Carol Ptak, CFPIM, CIRM, and Chad Stevens
This seminar will discuss Demand Driven material requirements planning (MRP), a new solution that helps companies tackle three pervasive problems of today’s operations and supply chain environment: unacceptable inventory performance, inadequate service level performance, and related expenses and waste.  The presenters will discuss the core problems that cause poor results, present an alternative demand-driven structure for planning and controlling materials flow, and present initial results from actual implementations. Carol Ptak and Chad Smith, authors of Orlicky’s Material Requirements Planning, third edition (McGraw-Hill, 2011) offer an in-depth exploration of the logic behind the innovative and groundbreaking inventory and materials planning and execution method known as demand driven MRP (DDMRP). 

Host chapters needed
Chapter involvement is critical to the success of this program. Chapters will participate by providing local marketing, venue selection guidance, and two or three staff to provide onsite management of the event. APICS corporate will manage registration, finance, marketing collateral, advertising, logistics, materials and reports, and venue and food and beverage agreements. APICS will provide registration materials to chapters prior to the event. Chapters are asked to manage the onsite functions to ensure proper room set-up, onsite coordination of meal functions, and badge distribution, among other responsibilities.

The price for each seminar is $399 for members and $499 for nonmembers. Chapters will receive a $50 rebate for each registration.  This is a freestanding event and may not be conducted in tandem with a district meeting or local educational conference. 

We hope you will join us in this exciting venture that brings APICS events and education to local markets in a new way. If you would like to take part, please complete this form.

Announcing 2011 Third-Quarter Chapter Incentive Program Winners

APICS Chapter Incentives Program recognizes chapters for the increased presence of APICS in their local markets. The third-quarter 2011 winners were selected based on reporting in the categories of APICS certification, APICS Bookstore sales activity, and new member totals (see charts below). 

Your chapter's participation can earn you prizes and recognition by recruiting new members, delivering exceptional education, and supporting the APICS brand. Each quarterly winning chapter receives a prize and is eligible for the quarterly grand prize drawing for a $500 APICS gift certificate, redeemable for APICS Bookstore materials or toward a conference registration.  A chapter is eligible to win one grand prize drawing per year.   

For further details or questions about the APICS Chapter Incentives Program, contact APICS District and Chapter Services at 1-800-444-2742, ext 5436, +1-773-867-1777, or chaprel@apics.org. 

The winning chapters for third quarter 2011:
2011 THIRD-QUARTER GRAND PRIZE WINNER

2011 THIRD-QUARTER CATEGORY WINNERS                          

Announcing the latest version of the CMS/CBAR Workbook

The District Manager's Committee is introducing a revision to the Chapter Minimum Standards/Chapter Benchmark Reporting (CMS/CBAR) program. The new CMS/CBAR Workbook will be used for the 2011-2012 program year, which started August 1, 2011. 

The primary purpose of the CMS/CBAR workbook is to enhance the growth, development, and membership value of APICS chapters; this is accomplished by evaluating each chapter with criteria that has a direct and positive impact on chapter performance.  

A net change document is available that lists all the current changes to CMS and CBAR.

The program includes the following enhancements:

• Expansion of the student and student chapter support section from 4 questions to 16 questions
• Program threshold levels remain the same, and an additional 105 points were added to the maximum achievable (465 points to 570 points).
• New questions added to the following sections: Communications, education, and chapter management.

The CMS/CBAR Workbook, CMS/CBAR Handbook, and the CMS/CBAR net change document are posted on CBOX and are provided below.

• CMS-CBAR Workbook October 2011
• CMS-CBAR Handbook October 2011
• CMS-CBAR Net Change Document October 2011

If the chapter requires assistance with the program, contact your respective district volunteer staff or APICS Channel Partner Services at chaprel@apics.org, +1-773-867-1777, or 1-800-444-2742, ext. 5436.

News, Information, and Best Practices

APICS membership update

APICS membership grew again in October to 36,396 members.
2011 year-to-date highlights

• APICS is six percent (or 2,202 members) ahead of the 2010 year-end membership total.  
• APICS added 1,131 new members in October and 10,195 new members in 2011. This is a 17 percent increase in new members over the same period in 2010.
• Through October, we have had a four percent decrease in lapsed members compared to the same period in 2010.

Q&A: Q: I am the chapter membership director and would like to reach out to past and current members along with prospecting for new members. Are there any resources available?

A: Sample letters and emails are available in C-BOX > General Marketing. Use these sample letters as a template for corresponding with prospective members, to welcome new members, to reach out to members whose membership has lapsed, and for recruitment. Be sure to visit  C-BOX > Membership section for other resources beneficial to membership directors and strategies for membership retention from the 2011 APICS Volunteer Leadership Workshop. 

Reminder: New member and lapsed member survey findings

APICS conducts member research to inform our member acquisition and retention activities as well as to identify areas for growth. APICS partners can use this information to inform their activities as well. Below are findings from recent new and lapsed member surveys.

Lapsed members exit survey 
Third-quarter results from the lapsed member survey were in line with previous quarters. In looking at the top reasons individuals did not renew, membership is too expensive returned to the top three for the first time in a few quarters. Also of note, the number of companies paying dues dropped below 40 percent.

Key findings were

• 14 percent were members for eleven or more years; 29 percent were members for one year
• 40 percent were members for eleven or more years; 28 percent were members for one year
• Employers paid for membership for 38 percent of the respondents
• 45 percent do not hold any certifications
• 89 percent of respondents would recommend APICS to a colleague.

New member survey
Third-quarter new member survey results are in line with results from all of 2010. The majority of survey respondents joined APICS to further their careers. In the international and e-membership groups, we see 'employer encouragement to join' among the top three reasons respondents joined APICS; this is the first time that reason has been indicated across any of the membership types.

Professional and academic members key findings include the following trends:

• Twenty-nine percent were recommended to APICS by a colleague; thirty-eight percent were recommended by their employer; fifteen percent by an internet search.
• Top three reasons to join APICS (respondents asked to select all that apply):
• To further my career (74 percent); also selected as the primary benefit of membership.
• Access to educational programming (52 percent).
• Networking opportunities (49 percent).
• The primary benefit of membership for professional and academic members is to further their careers (35 percent).
• Fifty-six percent indicated they are somewhat likely to attend a chapter event; thirty-four percent said are very likely.

Student member key findings include the following trends:

• Thirty-five percent of students were recommended to APICS by a friend or associate; twenty-one percent by their faculty advisors; twenty-one percent by an internet search.
• Top three reasons to join APICS (select all that apply):
• To prepare me for my career (85 percent); this was also selected as the primary benefit of membership
• Certification savings (69 percent)
• Networking opportunities (62 percent)

Back to top

Important Reminders

APICS member benefits: Aberdeen Research Vault access

Reminder: APICS members no longer will receive access to the Aberdeen Research Vault. APICS members who currently are signed up on the Aberdeen website will not be impacted and will have continued access to Aberdeen research through the duration of their two-year access.

Updates to APICS Basics of Supply Chain Management and Detailed Scheduling and Planning

The APICS Basics of Supply Chain Management (BSCM) and Detailed Scheduling and Planning (DSP) modules will be updated to a new version in 2012. The changes will require purchasing new APICS Instructor Kits for these two courses in 2012. To ensure our chapters, international partners, and instructors have adequate time to plan and budget for the new materials, we are notifying you now. As we have done the last four years, we will offer these new instructor kits for $150 to those partners and instructors who already own a current version of the APICS Instructor Kit, through March 31, 2012.

The new materials will be available for preorder December 1, 2011, and will ship beginning December 16, 2011. The 2012 edition of the APICS BSCM will move to version 4.0 and the 2012 edition of the DSP will move to version 5.0. The APICS upgrade kit includes the net change document, updated instructor guide pages, and updated or new PowerPoint slides will be available for download through the APICS Instructor Center on December 16, 2011.

The APICS upgrade packet includes printed copies of the detailed change document, updated instructor pages, and the complete PowerPoint visuals CD-ROM is available for preorder starting December 1, 2011, through APICS Customer Service, for shipment beginning December 16, 2011. The cost of the packet is $25. Contact APICS Customer Service at 1-800-444-2742 or +1-773-867-1777 orservice@apics.org.

Returning APICS CPIM Participant Guides

APICS partners (chapters and international associates) that have unused APICS CPIM Participant workbooks that were purchased after September 1, 2011, will be able to return them for replacement until February 28, 2012. When sending a return, please include the front cover only, original purchaser's name, address, and approximate date of purchase. A receipt is not mandatory but appreciated. Please send the covers to the following address:

Attention: APICS Customer Service
APICS The Association for Operations Management 
8430 West Bryn Mawr Avenue 
Suite 1000 
Chicago, IL 60631 USA

NOTE: Do not send the covers to Gilmore Global. This will create additional expense for you and will delay the replacement of your books. For more information, contact APICS Customer Service at 1-800-444-2742 or +1-773-867-1777.
If you have any questions or need of further information, please contact us.

Chapters: pdadmin@apics.org 
International associates: globalservices@apics.org

APICS CSCP program update

As we informed you in April, to support the APICS strategic priority to implement a process to regularly update APICS courseware and ensure APICS certification programs reflect current professional practices, the APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) program will be updated for the 2012 educational year. This update enables APICS to maintain the credibility and high-quality standards of the certification.

North American chapters: Read the notice now. 

International partners: Read the notice now.

APICS CSCP pricing update

The APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) program was released in late 2005, with the first exam administered in March 2006. Due to the changing nature of supply chain management, APICS conducted a job task analysis in 2010 to ensure that the body of knowledge that was tested by the APICS CSCP exam, matched the tasks that industry professionals are engaged in today. The job task analysis resulted in a significant update to the APICS CSCP exam for 2012. Although it was clear a considerable investment was required to fully update the APICS CSCP Learning System to match the new exam, the changes were necessary to ensure APICS core products retain their leadership position in the market. 

Further review prompted APICS to review pricing of the APICS CSCP product line. In order to continue to offer members a high-quality educational experience, prices for the APICS CSCP Learning System and exam must be adjusted.

Please remember: Prices have not changed for the APICS CSCP Learning System since the program began more than five years ago, not even to keep pace with inflation.

• Because of the current economic environment, APICS will increase the price gradually to recover the investment of the updates.
• Pricing for the APICS CSCP exam has been adjusted to below the inflation rate for the last five years and does not include significant operational cost increases of the computer-based testing migration.
• The APICS CSCP Learning System pricing has been aligned to half of the inflation rate for the last five years.
• Effective January 1, 2012, APICS will have new prices for these APICS CSCP products.

APICS channel partners were notified of the price changes July 21; please refer to that email for an overview of the price changes.

APICS CSCP Instructor Guides, the APICS CPIM materials, and the Fundamentals/Principles program prices will not change in 2012; however, as planned updates are completed in future years, the price will be adjusted to reflect the investment in those products. APICS will review pricing on all products at regular intervals to ensure the pricing structure aligns with investment recovery objectives, inflation, and the organization's strategic priorities. The price changes ensure that APICS can continue to bring you the high-quality materials you rely on.

Questions? Contact APICS Customer Service at 1-800-444-2742 or +1-773- 867-1777. or service@apics.org.

APICS CFPIM pricing update

Please note that, beginning January 1, 2012, the APICS CFPIM application price will increase from $30 to $50.

APICS CSCP leads available to volunteer leaders

Is your chapter or international organization offering or planning to offer APICS CSCP review to your local market? If so, you can now receive contact information for potential students looking for local APICS CSCP instruction. 

To receive these leads, you must indicate your readiness by listing your course offerings with APICS. If you currently do not have a course scheduled, but have the ability (instructor or resources) to offer a course, you can opt in to receive leads using the same form.

Opt in to receive APICS CSCP leads. Questions? Contact APICS Channel Partner Services at chaprel@apics.org.

Back to top