APICS Certification Continues to Pay Off for Resource Management Professionals

APICS offers two internationally recognized certification programs, Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) and Certified in Integrated Resource Management (CIRM).  These APICS certifications are recognized as a standard of professional competence in business and manufacturing.

This chapter supports your efforts to become certified by providing Certification Review Courses to assist you in your preparation for the Certification exams.  Listed below are descriptions of the course content covered in each module.

CPIM

CIRM

For additional information about these and other APICS resources, please visit the APICS website at http://www.apics.org.

CPIM Reconfigured Course Descriptions:

Basics of Supply Chain Management

This is an introductory course for production and inventory management personnel and CPIM candidates.  This course provides basic definitions and concepts for planning and controlling the flow of materials into, through, and out of an organization.  It explains fundamental relationships among the activities that occur in the supply chain from suppliers to customers.  In addition, the course addresses types of manufacturing systems, forecasting, master planning, material requirements planning, capacity management, production activity control, purchasing, inventory management, distribution, quality management, and Just-in -Time manufacturing.

Master Planning of Resources

In this course, students explore processes used to : develop sales and operations plans; identify and assess internal and external demand and forecasting requirements; and effect an achievable master schedule consistent with business policies, objectives, and resource constraints.  The course focuses on developing and validating a plan of supply, relating management of demand to the environment, and developing and validating the master schedule.

In addition, the course encompasses concepts for transforming sales, marketing, and business requirements into a feasible and economic operations plan in various business environments.  It also addresses concepts and methodologies for managing projected and actual demands from distribution networks and external customers.   Finally, the course presents methods for integrating sales and operations plans, demand forecasts, and customer demand into a specific master schedule.

Detailed Scheduling and Planning

This course focuses on material and capacity scheduling and planning.   It includes a detailed explanation of material requirements planning (MRP), a technique suitable for use in job shops.  The course also introduces another material planning technique, material-dominated scheduling, which is applicable to process industries and other mature production environments.  The course explains capacity requirements planning in detail and introduces other capacity-planning techniques, including processor-dominated scheduling.

Execution and Control of Operations

This course focuses on three main areas: prioritizing and sequencing work; executing work plans, implementing controls, and reporting activity results; and evaluating and providing feedback on performance.  The course explains techniques for scheduling and controlling production and process operations.  It also addresses the execution of quality initiatives and continuous improvement plans as well as controlling and handling inventories.  Finally, the course presents techniques for evaluating performance and collecting data for effective feedback.

Strategic Management of Resources

In this course, students explore the relationship of existing and emerging processes and technologies to manufacturing strategy and supply-chain-related functions.   The course addresses three main topics; aligning resources with the strategic plan, configuring and integrating operating processes to support the strategic plan, and implementing change. 

For maximum comprehension of course content, students should be familiar with the information and concepts presented in other CPIM modules before taking this course.

CIRM Course Descriptions

Background on the CIRM Program

In today's marketplace, a successful organization demands the development of a well-integrated staff--a corporate team capable of creating a value-driven enterprise that will thrive now and into the 21st century.  The Certified in Integrated Resource Management (CIRM) program meets this demand by providing individuals and organizations with techniques to break down the walls that traditionally have separated departments, divisions, functions, disciplines, and cultures. CIRM creates professionals who can:

Provide effective leadership to self-directed work teams
Understand the implications of strategic and tactical actions throughout the supply chain
Make decisions that will be in the long-term best interests of an organization
Initiate and manage change successfully within an organization
Take actions designed to continuously increase the value of an organization
Contribute directly to the improved operational performance of an organization
Build strategic alliances with coworkers, suppliers, and customers
Adapt to rapidly changing business conditions
Integrate people, technology, and resources for competitive advantage

APICS certification is recognized around the world as a symbol of professional competence and credibility. Since the CIRM program was introduced in 1991, more than 2,700 professionals have earned this prestigious designation.

To survive and thrive in the 21st century, every organization needs to become a value-driven enterprise. The new business environment calls for all organizations to become driven by the concept that to remain in
business they have to deliver superior value to their customers. Superior value is a relative concept, since it refers to the level of value provided by an enterprise relative to that provided by the best alternative source or supplier.

Most people relate value in economic terms: value for money, price performance, etc. If an organization delivers superior value, the enterprise not only survives but also grows. Furthermore, an enterprise can reach its objectives of profits, market share, or return on investment by reducing costs through identifying and eliminating activities that do not contribute to this value delivery.

Customers in the 21st century will demand quick response, guaranteed products and services, the utmost quality, and the lowest possible price. This economic focus is creating the need for organizations to develop
and use people with a broad understanding of all the organization's core processes and their interrelationships. These people will be equipped to make decisions that will not only improve the short-term financial results of an organization but concurrently increase the chances for the long-term
viability of the enterprise. The success of any business in the 21st century will increasingly depend upon its ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions, taking swift action to maximize the opportunities presented.
This type of organization will be horizontal and organized around core processes whose owners are accountable to their customers.

The development of a well-integrated team of people who understand the specific implications of every decision is fundamental to the long-term success of an enterprise and an essential prerequisite to the
successful implementation of an enterprisewide information system. Competitive advantage will be obtained by those organizations that move quickest to adopt this new model.

The curriculum of the Certified in Integrated Resource Management (CIRM) program was created specifically to develop individuals as business leaders and influencers who are capable of transforming organizations into value-driven enterprises. CIRM is the educational framework that provides individuals with the knowledge they need to make and implement decisions in an environment subject to rapid and constant change, thus providing the enterprise with a distinct competitive advantage.

As part of its own continuous improvement process, the CIRM program has changed to reflect this strategic direction.

Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals (EC&F)

The first module is called Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals (EC&F), formerly Support Functions. This first module introduces a CIRM candidate to the strategic fundamentals of the value-driven enterprise, the management concepts of organizational design and structure, the basic business processes that will be covered in the CIRM curriculum, and the four basic support functions of quality, human resources, finance and accounting, and
information systems.

CIRM candidates are strongly advised to take the EC&F exam before any of the other CIRM exams. Candidates who have already taken one or more of the other exams are advised to take the EC&F exam next before taking the remaining exams. Candidates still must pass the first four CIRM exams before registering to take the Integrated Enterprise Management (IEM) exam.

Identifying and Creating Demand (I&CD)

This module was formerly known as Customers and Products. This module deals with the business processes involved in the definition of the marketplace, the identification of customer wants and needs, and the translation into requirements for products and services to be delivered by the
enterprise. I&CD addresses how customer satisfaction is accomplished through creating and delivering products, services, and operational mechanisms that add value for customers.

Identifying and Creating Demand (I&CD)

Designing Products and Processes (DP&P), formerly Manufacturing Processes. This module covers the business processes involved in the conversion of market needs into specific products and services. DP&P presents a general model of the conceptual design process from the identification of need through the definition of requirements, design creation and development, design testing, and eventual implementation of the design concept.

Delivering Products and Services (DP&S)

Delivering Products and Services (DP&S), formerly Logistics. This module addresses the business processes required for an organization to deliver customer satisfaction. DP&S covers the integrated planning and control of all resources and business processes in the supply chain required to deliver products and services to customers. The supply chain includes producers, distributors, and consumers.

Integrated Enterprise Management (IEM)

The fifth and final CIRM module is called Integrated Enterprise Management (IEM). This module brings together all the areas covered in the other four modules, together with the application of strategic thinking to enterprisewide issues, such as the integration of individuals within teams, functions, and the
enterprise, and the evolution of an enterprise within its environment and over time. This final module acts as a capstone of the whole CIRM educational program.

Candidates who have already started the CIRM program will get credit for successful completion of exams in either of the equivalent modules. Candidates still must pass the first four exams before taking the IEM exam.