The Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) it is a globally recognized professional credential offered by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) It is one of the largest supply management association in the world as well as one of the most respected.” Being certified as a CPSM indicates the holder has achieved mastery of supply management’s core competencies. The certification program’s emphasis on strategic supply chain integration, along with

procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or serv ...

and Supply Chain Management, prepares the practitioner to move beyond tactical thinking in order to generate strategic solutions and to evolve continually in the rapidly changing supply management environment. Since the certification program's inception, ISM has granted nearly 13,000 CPSMs and has current CPSM holders in 68 countries.

History

Up until 2008, the highest credential that ISM offered was the Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) designation, which the

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

first offered in 1974. The C.P.M. required qualified applicants to pass four exam modules that measured their aptitude in areas such as

purchasing Purchasing is the process a business or organization uses to acquire goods or services to accomplish its goals. Although there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly betwee ...

, supplier relations, quality issues, business law, personnel challenges,

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

and more. As respected as the C.P.M. was in the procurement profession, ISM determined that a new level of certification was needed to address the evolving needs of the supply management professional and the increasing complexity of business, including the intricacies of

globalization Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...

. ISM’s development of the CPSM qualification allowed it to move beyond a narrow focus on purchasing to roles that require a broader knowledge of supply management and leadership. With the introduction of the new qualification, ISM discontinued testing for the C.P.M. designation and transitioned it to a recertification-only status. During a transitional period that ended in 2015, ISM offered those holding a C.P.M. qualification the opportunity to take a bridge exam to qualify for a CPSM certification.

Criteria

To obtain a CPSM designation, the association requires candidates to have three years of full-time, professional supply management experience (nonclerical, nonsupport) with a regionally accredited bachelor's degree or international equivalent or five years of supply management experience (nonclerical, nonsupport) without a degree. Before qualifying for the CPSM designation, candidates must pass three exam modules.

Exam Focus

Each of the three required CPSM exam modules has a different focus. The exam modules can be taken in any order. Exam 1: Supply Management Core * Sourcing *

Category management Category management is a retailing and purchasing concept in which the range of products purchased by a business organization or sold by a retailer is broken down into discrete groups of similar or related products; these groups are known as pr ...

Negotiation Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement c ...

Legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

Contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

ual * Supplier Relationship Management *

Cost In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in whic ...

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the ...

management * Financial Analysis Exam 2: Supply Management Integration * Supply chain strategy *

Demand In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...

planning *

Forecasting Forecasting is the process of making predictions based on past and present data. Later these can be compared (resolved) against what happens. For example, a company might estimate their revenue in the next year, then compare it against the actual ...

* Product & service *

Quality management Quality management ensures that an organization, product or service consistently functions well. It has four main components: quality planning, quality assurance, quality control and quality improvement. Quality management is focused not ...

Logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

materials management Materials management is a core supply chain function and includes supply chain planning and supply chain execution capabilities. Specifically, materials management is the capability firms use to plan total material requirements. The material re ...

Project Management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. T ...

Exam 3: Leadership & Transformation in Supply Management *

Leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

* Strategy development *

Stakeholder engagement Stakeholder engagement is the process by which an organization involves people who may be affected by the decisions it makes or can influence the implementation of its decisions. They may support or oppose the decisions, be influential in the orga ...

* People

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

* Systems capabilities &

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

Risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environm ...

& Compliance * Corporate

Social Responsibility Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which an individual is obligated to work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for the benefit of the community that will inherit the world that individual leaves behind. Social ...

Maintaining Certification

To maintain the integrity of the credential, ISM requires CPSM holders to continue learning and developing their skills throughout their career. The CPSM certification is valid for three years, and the holder must apply for recertification to maintain the designation. To be eligible for recertification, CPSM holders must earn 60 hours of approved continuing education through any combination of: * Taking semester-long college courses. * Attending seminars, conferences, and educational programs; teaching courses; and publishing journal articles. * Participating in work-related training (either taken or taught) involving business-related topics. * Contributing to the profession (holding certain offices in ISM or an ISM

affiliates In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or ...

). * Retaking CPSM exams (during a certain time frame) or obtaining a Certified Professional in Supplier Diversity (CPSD) certification from ISM. After a designated one-year grace period, a professional whose certification has lapsed must retake all three exams.

References

External links

* {{Official website, 1=https://www.instituteforsupplymanagement.org/ Professional titles and certifications