APICS Volunteer Connection > Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities

Voice of the Customer Council
The Voice of the Customer (VOC) Council will be the mechanism for listening to the needs of current and potential members and customers and ensuring those needs are fulfilled by an efficient and effective deliverables system. The VOC Council is an important component of the new APICS organization. It is the main group that serves as a resource to staff to determine the best way to use existing resources to meet customer needs and assists staff with implementation of the strategic plan. In 2004, the council will be chaired by APICS President-Elect Tom Krupka, CFPIM, Jonah.

The VOC Council will

• Review and validate the information generated by the VOC research carried out by staff members as they work to strengthen existing programs and services and develop new programs and services
• Make significant headway in serving APICS' potential customers—those in the field not presently connected with APICS and not using APICS products and services
• Provide input to the ongoing process of strategic planning
• Set short-term goals to support the broad directions of the strategic plan
• Orchestrate chapter involvement in the VOC process
• Help develop ideas and programs that will best enable the VOC information to be applied to all APICS products/services and delivered to all chapter volunteer leaders
• Communicate VOC information throughout the organization and link VOC to the APICS Board of Directors and Body of Knowledge Council.

Body of Knowledge Council
The APICS Body of Knowledge (BOK) is the foundation of all APICS products and services—ensuring that it is current and covers all appropriate topics. The organization's principal activities focus on delivering education—in a variety of formats—based on this body of knowledge. Another primary area of activity is certification, providing standards for measuring knowledge of the field and providing strong, respected professional credentials that can affect an individual's career progress.

APICS recognizes that these two activities are separate yet closely related. Because of their strategic importance to APICS, they deserve high-level attention regarding priorities, resources, quality, and future direction. The BOK Council will coordinate and direct these important areas, using ad hoc task forces and product development groups to carry out the specific work. In 2004, the BOK Council is chaired by APICS Executive Vice President Nick Testa, CFPIM, CIRM, Jonah.

The BOK Council will

• Ensure that the ongoing BOK is at pace or ahead of the industry overall
• Recommend priorities in education and certification for the APICS Board of Directors to use in making resource allocation decisions
• Use the information generated by the VOC Council to ensure that the APICS educational products and services are responsive to member and customer needs
• Provide direction to BOK committees and task forces
• Communicate BOK information throughout the organization and link BOK to the APICS Board of Directors and the VOC Council.

Product Development Groups
The role of the Product Development Groups is to work closely with professional staff on a product-by-product basis. Each Product Development Group does not create products, but rather advises on all aspects of product development, including marketing and distribution. A group is formed—one per product—for each product as it is initiated, and it will disband once the product has reached its distribution phase. At that point, the Voice of the Customer process, i.e., market research, will serve as the mechanism to monitor the use and effectiveness of the product, recommending changes as appropriate.

Local Chapters
APICS' 260-plus geographically based local chapters are governed and managed by volunteers. Volunteer opportunities range from program development to financial management to new member greeters. To learn how you can get involved locally, contact the chapter in your area.

Society Board of Directors
The APICS Board of Directors is responsible for governance and defining the strategic direction of the organization. The board consists of 22 positions. Functional vice presidents are selected through a society nominating committee process that convenes in July of each year. Region vice presidents are selected through the region nomination process by September of each year. If you require more detailed information, please e-mail the APICS Director of Membership Henri Wingfield at h_wingfield@apicshq.org.

Region Leadership
Region vice presidents are members of the APICS Board of Directors and are selected through the region nomination process by September of each year. Regions also have volunteer staff opportunities. If you require more detailed information about region opportunities, please contact the appropriate region vice president.