APICS certifications are the industry standard qualification for professionals in Supply Chain & Operations. As an overview, there are two main course areas:

• CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management) covers the operational management inside your organisations four walls, is extremely relevant for any candidate working in a manufacturing/planning environment, is the proven industry standard qualification, is very detailed in specific areas. Requires 2 or more years of experience
• CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional) covers the end-to-end supply chain from first supplier to end customer, the only certification of its kind. Covers the supply chain from a more holistic perspective and is ideal for supply chain professionals seeking to understand how the entire supply chain works focussing on areas such as cash flow. Requires 5 or more years of experience (or 2 years with a Bachelors degree)

Certificate in Production & Inventory Management (CPIM)

Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP

Why APICS in your Organisation?

• APICS certifications are the industry standard qualification for Supply Chain Management, equivalent to legal or accounting body qualifications. It is a proven course & qualification built on 40+ years of practice globally
• APICS qualifications can be set as a base entry requirement, this can be built into the recruitment policy so new starters join with an existing, shared understanding of terms & processes
• Gives a shared language & understanding of terms and processes that underpin operations & supply chain management to all those in your organisation who undertake an APICS course
• Talent begin to look beyond their own silo and start to make linkages between their job, the broader process, and how it all ultimately serves the customer & meets business targets
• Detailed tactical decision making improves with understanding
• As talent within your organisation unravel the content, they can apply their learnings directly and become more engaged contributors to overall success
• A greater understanding exists throughout the organisation of why senior management objectives are set on topics such as service level and inventory
• Gaining industry accreditation is a source of motivation for individuals
• Systems and process adherence, data quality & adoption improves as APICS content is complementary to modern ERP systems & processes (such as SAP MRP & APO or equivalent)
• Overall business performance on KPI’s improve as talent within your organisation learn, adopt and succeed with applying what they’ve learned on the APICS course, complimented when an entire team share the journey

Specific Functional Areas Covered

• Production & Operations management
• Inventory management
• Supply Chain management
• Demand Planning
• Procurement
• Supply/Materials management

How to embed within your company

To embed this within your organisation, experience has shown there are 4 common methods which vary in how to suit based on factors such as geographical, timing & size of your team:

1.      Individual Study: Each candidate buys the exam content and study themselves at their own pace & time. They book exam dates directly. This approach allows the greatest flexibility yet requires a lot of dedication on the part of the candidate, offers little visibility on whether candidates are progressing or not outside of exams, but is the most cost effective solution

2.      Distance Learning: This is the most popular option. If attending a regular fixed location is not possible, then here you buy the exam content and can arrange an instructor virtually. This allows a lot of flexibility and ease of attending classes

3.      Classroom Study: Here you candidate buys the exam content and signs up for a series of instructor led classes in an external location. This is a great way to undertake the exams as the candidate has a set structure, an instructor who will take you through the content & answer questions, and meet external colleagues in different companies to share ideas, building your network as they study

4.      In House Training: Here content is bought by the company and a tutor is arranged to facilitate all your candidates on their journey through the course via class type learning on your site. This is a great way to help your team undertake the exams as they have a set structure, an instructor who will take you through the content & answer questions, and meet colleagues to share ideas, building their internal network as they study

Available Courses

Exams

All exams are multiple choice exams, and all are now provided by Computer Based Testing (CBT) in an external location

For CPIM, there are 5 exams covering each of the 5 topics. On Passing all 5, then the candidate is Certified in Production & Inventory Management

For CSCP, there is one 4 hour exam, on passing this exam, then the candidate is a Certified Supply Chain Professional

Those with APICS & IPICS membership enjoy reduced prices for exams. Exam credits are bought via IPICS, with candidates then booking their exam in one of the CBT centres within the exam windows

Purchase APICS Exam Credits

Benefits of IPICS membership

There are many benefits to membership of IPICS in addition to the base certification. IPICS is looking to develop a functioning network of supply chain professionals

• Members jobs postings to pinpoint your recruitment an individuals who are already certified
• Reduced prices on APICS content (manuals, workbooks, exams)
• Regular updates to members
• Access to IPICS networking events
• Charitable/Social Responsibility opportunities via IPICS supported initiatives
• Opportunity to contribute to the Industry in Ireland by joining the IPICS management council
• Reduced cost for APICS sanctioned events