Certification > Certified Supply Chain Professional
APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional
Exam Content Outline
I. Supply Chain Management (SCM) Fundamentals (30%)
A. Overview of supply chain management
1. Supply chain management process overview
2. Definitions of supply chain, supply chain management, including reverse supply chain
3. Value and benefits of supply chain management (using the supply chain to improve profitability and decrease working capital)
a. Key stakeholders in the supply chain
4. Evolution of supply chain management (definition of different stages, recognition, understanding, examples)
a. Functional supply chains
b. Integrated supply chains (internal and external)
c. Value networks
B. Aligning supply chain management with corporate strategy
1. Corporate strategy (strategic and financial planning)
2. Competitive priorities and future direction (use of visibility, velocity, and variability)
3. Aligning supply chain strategy and capabilities with corporate strategy
4. Driving supply chain decisions (e.g. processes, capacities, locations, etc.) with competitive priorities and supply chain strategy
5. Using ERP to align operations with strategy
6. Make-or-buy decisions (outsourcing)
7. Compliance and regulatory issues
C. Managing the supply chain
1. Supply chain objectives
a. Value drivers
b. Key performance indicators (KPI)
c. Balanced scorecard
d. Efficiency and cost versus responsiveness
2. Elements of supply chain management including network configuration, inventory control, product design, information technology and support systems
3. Performance metrics in CFO language (e.g. cash-to-cash cycle, ROA, total supply chain cost, inventory investment, value-added productivity, etc.)
4. Definition of synchronization and key success factors
D. Continuous improvement
1. Definition of continuous improvement
2. Purpose
3. Visibility and analysis
4. Goals and benchmarking
5. Implementation
6. Change Management
7. Tools and philosophies (six sigma, lean manufacturing, theory of constraints, importance of data)
II. Building a Competitive Infrastructure (20%)
A. Demand planning
1. Overview (role in SCM, components, importance, etc.)
2. Role of marketing in demand planning (e.g. product management, new product introductions, market analyses, order policies, etc.)
3. Forecasting (quantitative and qualitative components)
4. Supply chain dynamics (e.g. bullwhip effect)
5. Collaborations (joint planning, service agreements, VMI, CPFR, etc.)
B. Product design considerations – (Involving suppliers sooner in new product development opportunities)
1. Component commonality
2. Modularity vs. integral design
3. Universality
4. Mass customization
C. Manufacturing planning and controlling
1. Business planning
2. Sales and operations planning (S&OP)
3. Master production scheduling (MPS)
4. Material requirements planning (MRP)
5. Capacity requirements planning (CRP)
6. Inventory management
D. Logistics
1. Warehousing
2. Transportation
3. Distribution requirements planning (DRP)
4. 3rd and 4th party logistics (3PL and 4PL)
5. Reverse logistics
6. Global logistics and international business
III. Managing Customer and Supplier Relationships (30%)
A. Customer relationship management (CRM)
1. Introduction to CRM
2. Identify and prioritize customer needs
3. Collect, analyze, and use customer information to determine contact channel and product strategy
4. Develop customer interaction plans
5. Align customer service processes
6. Demand management
7. Sales and marketing using CRM
8. CRM technology
9. CRM outsourcing
B. Supplier relationship management (SRM)
1. Overview of SRM
2. Steps in SRM process
3. Buyer’s/purchasing professional’s redefined role
4. Purchasing (requisitions, purchase orders, and purchasing
contracts)
5. Supplier selection
6. Communication
7. Performance evaluation (relationship to customer needs)
8. Certification
9. Alliances
10. SRM technology
11. Outsourcing SRM
C. Keys to effective relationship management
1. Organizational capabilities
2. Willingness to change
3. Commitment to relationship
4. Open communications and joint objectives
D. Integrated customer/supplier relationship management
1. Role and value organization brings to both supplier and customer
2. Trends enabling greater collaboration
3. Reasons some organizations resist bringing customer and supplier together
IV. Using Information Technology (IT) to Enable Supply Chain Management (20%)
A. Role of IT in the supply chain
1. Overview
2. IT infrastructure: interface devices, communications, databases, system architecture
3. Acquisition and use of data (goals, collection & validation, and analysis)
4. Uses of information technology in the supply chain
5. Supply chain management comprehensive system
B. ERP in supply chain management
1. Overview
2. Leveraging ERP systems
C. Innovative technologies and their uses
1. Overview
2. Supply chain event management/supply chain process management
3. Advanced optimization tools (including WMS, TMS)
4. Technology trends
D. Using IT to enhance supply chain performance (how tool enhances)
1. Overview
2. Electronic data transfer (EDT) and standards [including EDI, bar codes, and RFID (radio frequency identification)]
3. Advanced tools [APO/APS (advance planning and optimization/scheduling), network optimization]
E. eBusiness
1. Overview
2. Internet-enabled supply chains
3. eBusiness considerations (ROI, benefits, etc.)
4. Use in collaborations and joint processes
5. B2B and B2C (business to business, business to consumer/customer)
6. Portals and hubs