With the increasing popularity of supply chain certification among professionals, it is crucial to determine the future scope of supply chain management and logistics. Recently, with the rise of artificial intelligence, automation has questioned the future of work, particularly considering supply chain management. Moreover, with this, more and more people are asking whether artificial intelligence and automation will replace people.
The answer can be just a simple yes or no but it comes out to be a complex positive. However, before you delve into exploring the future scope of procurement, logistics, operations, and supply chain management, explore the basic aspects of the same.
It can be termed as a focal point of several processes such as warehousing, transportation, storage, and more that are required to execute a said task. However, supply chain management processes differ from organization to organization depending on several factors.
It is inevitable that technology and automation have drastically altered the supply chain. Several tasks have been automated. This indicates that the supply chain processes are streamlined and accentuated to obtain accuracy. Also, automation has altered the supply chain with better predictive analysis alongside reducing time on the otherwise time-consuming processes.
Therefore, instead of considering the supply chain nearing its end, it is best to say that it got along with the evolution of technology. It has extracted and leveraged the benefits of technology in the best way possible. Moreover, despite automation and technological advancements, human interference would still exist no matter what.
Despite the supply chain, logistics, and operations being disrupted, it is evident that the field is evolving. Just like it has faced advancements since its inception, it is being modified to fit into the manners of today. However, being in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution indicates a faster pace of changes at a large scale. With this, the concerns of individuals constantly increase regarding their jobs and works.
However, it is important to understand that automation and technology are also a result of human efforts. Instead of replacing people, technology would improve the performance and efficiency of individuals as well as organizations.
Moreover, individuals with professional knowledge and expertise in the domain will be better able to embrace the changes while leveraging the best of them. People will continue to develop new skills to meet the changing demands and processes in the supply chain and logistics.
Therefore, people concerned about the future scope of logistics and supply chain shall look into the positives of the revolution. Taking up APICS CPIM supply chain courses would do nothing but widen their perspectives and horizons while accepting the new methodologies.
The future scope of the supply chain is bright and regardless of the type and size of the business, it will continue to exist. Advancements would contribute to betterment than disrupting and ending the supply chain sector.
In 2014, Mr. Abhishek Agarwal had contacted KnoWerXvia a mail wherein Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan approached him, and they both had some conversation over mail where Mr. Abhishek shared his dreams. Today Mr. Abhishek Agarwal is feeling pleased and proud to be successful in his life at a young age without much of a struggle because of getting a chance of interact with KnoWerX. Let’s know about Mr. Abhishek’s success story:
On Jan 9, 2015, 6:28 PM Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan sent a mail to Mr. Abhishek Agarwal where he wrote:
“I invite you to become a Certified Demand Driven Planner (CDDP) and be a leader in the latest planning technique called Demand Driven Materials Requirements Planning (DDMRP) that is going to change the world. Gartner has included the Certified Demand Driven Planner (CDDP) Program in its Market Guide for Supply Chain Certification Programs. It is one of ten programs in the guide. This course is being held for the first time in India by none other than the world-famous practitioner, author, consultant and thought leader, Ms. Carol Ptak. Carol is coming for the first time in India. Do not miss this opportunity and be there before others. This 2-day program is from 20 to 21 February, 2015 in Mumbai and covers course, exam and certification. Please find the brochure having details attached.”
The above mail was undoubtedly the turning point of life for Mr. Abhishek. It was the first step in his journey of success, where he was offered to join a two day program in Mumbai to become a Certified Demand Driven Planner (CDDP). Upon reading this mail, Mr. Abhishek became overwhelmed, but he had some doubts which he wrote down to Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan over the mail.
“From: Abhishek Agrawal
Sent: 11 January 2015 06:27
To: Ravindra Tulsyan
Dear Ravindraji,
Regards from my side.
I am really thankful to you for having considered me for this certification. However, there are some issues I want to highlight. The course material of APICS courses is awesome and it’s a great learning experience. However, after doing these courses we realize that the industry people don’t value the certifications as my as we put efforts and the expenses incurred for it. I have completed my CSCP last September and have come across numerous occasions where HR people are not aware of CPIM/CSCP. I am really willing to go to that extra mile and do my CPIM also. However, the only thing that stops me from doing so is the lack of recognition after the certifications.Don’t treat this email as a disapproval of courses. In fact, APICS courses are the best in the business. They could the even better off if we could get enough recognition after that.”
Since Mr. Abhishek already did a certification in September 2014, but he did not get any appreciation, all this was interrupting him to commence a new certification course. To clear his doubts further, he again wrote a mail to Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan wherein he expressed some of his queries. After reading and analysed the mail, Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan replied in the following manner:
“On 12 Jan 2015 19:14, “Ravindra Tulsyan” wrote:
Dear Abhishek,
Wishing You a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2015!
Thanks a ton for your feedback.
There is a lot of truth in what you have written. We are trying hard to increase the awareness in India. From zero awareness in 1992 when I brought APICS to India, to today, there is a sea change. But we still have a lot of work to do.What has happened in the past is that most people who got APICS certified, moved to IT industry with higher salaries. Therefore, very few APICS professionals remained in core industries like manufacturing and distribution. Therefore, the manufacturing and distribution industry could not experience the difference between an APICS certified professional and non-certified professional. That limited its demand in core sector and popularity. However, the multi-national companies, especially American multinationals, give a lot of weight to this certification. I suggest you look for a job in those companies, or, you can always switch your career to the IT industry where its recognition is much deeper. And, once again, thanks a ton for your feedback.If there is anything I can do to help, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Thanks and best regards.
Ravindra K. Tulsyan, CFPIM, CIRM, CSCP, SCOR-P”
In the above mail, Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan responded in a very humble way about the confusion of Mr. Abhishek. Mr. Ravindra stated, most people who learned APICS chose their career in the IT companies because of offering high salaries and high perks. A very few APICS certified professionals joined the core industries like manufacturing and distribution wherein they are not valued as per their expectation. Mr. Ravindra also expressed, APICS certification is highly valuable in American multinational companies. Therefore, you could have tried there. By reading the message of Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan, Mr. Abhishek further replied in the following manner:
“From: Abhishek Agrawal
Sent: 12 January 2015 21:20
To: Ravindra Tulsyan
Dear Ravindraji,
Thanks for the reply and wish you a very Happy New Year too!!!
Currently, I am working with Reliance Digital Retail. I did my CSCP to get an entry into MFG/FMCG sector. Just need some advice from your side about if I can still make it to the MFG/FMCG sector. I am really interested to do my CPIM. However, I am a tad sceptical about getting into the core sector because of my current profile. Having said that, I have 3 years of experience with companies like Crompton Greaves and Nerolac Paints. I am attaching my resume for your reference. Would doing CPIM help me to the go over to the core sector again. Please guide me to overcome my dilemma. Also, if there are any assignments with respect to teaching/projects in your organisation, I will be really interested to do it.”
In the above mail, Mr. Abhishek revealed about his current job at Reliance Digital Retail and also wrote about his curiosity to join CPIM. However, he was a little nervous about getting into this core sector because of his profile. He also disclosed his three years of experience in companies, namely Crompton Greaves and Nerolac Paints. To share a clear picture of his experience and career-goals, Mr. Abhishek Agarwal attached his CV in the mail and sent to Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan. What Mr. Ravindra ji had replied, is given following.
After I went through your resume, I opine that CPIM would be good for you. You will thank me later on in your life.As far as your scepticism is concerned, I have only one principle. Eye for the job that you like and apply vigorously. It works. Remember, there is a saying try, try and try again and again; at last you will succeed. Do not dilute your ambitions. Your ambitions should be high. But have ambitions that are not too unrealistic. And go for your ambitions without doubt, fear or scepticism. Be confidant and positive about yourself. You will succeed. If there is anything I can do to help, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Thanks and best regards.”
After thoroughly reading the CV sent by Mr. Abhishek, Mr.Ravindra Tulsyan sent the above mail wherein he suggested him to learn CPIM that was related with his experience as well as his career dreams. Mr. Ravindra advised Mr. Abhishek to go for this course to make his career viable. He also asked Mr. Abhishek about his more queries. After reading the received mail sent by Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan, Mr. Abhishek replied further:
“From: Abhishek Agrawal
Sent: 06 June 2020 20:23
To: Ravindra Tulsyan
Dear Sir,
Today, when I read this email, I would really like to thank you for your advice back in 2015. Today, when I look back, I really feel that the efforts have shown fruits today. I have completed my CPIM, CSCP and CLTD and realised my dream of getting a job overseas without going through any of the Visa application process on my own ?Once again, thanks for your suggestion back then when I really needed your help.
Regards,
Abhishek Agrawal”
The above mail is being depicted a bunch of joy expressed by Mr. Abhishek for Mr.Ravindra Tulsyan KnoWerX Education because this destination, he was able to choose his career towards learning CPIM, CSCP and CLTD. In this mail above, Mr. Abhishek has talked about the suggestions he received from Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan, which gave him the right path to move. All this gave him an international job without going through any lengthy process of visa application.
Also, on 7th June 2020, Mr. Abhishek sent another mail wherein he explained a short description about his journey of success.
“From: Abhishek Agrawal
Sent: 07 June 2020 20:07
Dear Sir,
My APICS journey started in 2014, and I first cleared the CSCP exam. The content of the exam really impressed me, therefore went for CPIM and completed it in 2016. Back then, it was a 5 modules pattern, hence it used to take it bit longer to achieve it. Just recently, I completed my CLTD. Out of the 3 exams, I found the CLTD the toughest, probably since I don’t have much logistics experience.
The content has been exceptionally good. In fact, it seems the SAP architecture has its roots in the APICS materials. More than getting jobs, I think APICS makes you well equipped to handle the real time situations. This is in a way, a competitive advantage for any supply chain professional. I would strongly recommend APICS courses to any SC professional.
Regards,
Abhishek Agrawal “
In the second mail sent by Mr. Abhishek after his success, he wrote about the certifications that made him able to get a job abroad without sending any application for visa approval. He revealed that he had cleared CSCP, CPIM, and CLTD, and he found CLTD was the toughest one. Also, he said that APICS is really a viable career as it makes the person competent to handle the real-time situations seamlessly, and it also made him be able to settle down his lives abroad.
Mr. Abhishek’ssuccess had been possible only with the supervision of KnoWerX Education’s expert (Mr. Ravindra Tulsyan). He had fully opened up about his experience and future goals. Now he has settled abroad beautifully and proudly without standing in a big queue of some immigration consultancy.
Established in the year 1992, KnoWerX Education has been successfully integrated with the Premier Channel Partner of APICS and Affiliate of Demand Driven Institute with a motive of offering globally recognized distance learning professional certification programs. The APIC certifications and endorsement provided at KnoWerXcomprises Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Supply Chain Operations Reference Professional (SCOR-P), Transportation and Distribution (CLTD), and Certified in Logistics. Thus, to gratify your dream of getting a job internationally, you are just away from a single course.
Also, KnoWerXis a prominent provider of public, professional courses and training programs in the areas of demand planning, operations management, supply chain management, distribution management, logistics management, transportation management, production management, Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) Framework, and Theory of Constraints (TOC).
Thus, the right guidance for a career makes the person’s future secured and fruitful anyhow. No matter what education or experience a person has? The advice given by an expert is always rewarded. An expert has already gone through many difficult phases of life. Thus, contacting a specialist is not a bad deal, especially if you are focused on achieving your career goals.
Written by Ravindra TulsyanCFPIM CIRM CSCP SCOR-P CDDP PLS CLTD DDPP, the article talks about the vital role of Supply Chain Professionals to help nation achieve this vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat. We, SCM professionals, have made impossible things possible and its once again time to, raise to the occasion.
In the speech of our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, on 12th May 2020, the “Supply Chain” terminology was used eight times. Though it is a proud era for our supply chain management fraternity to rejoice and be happy that our profession is getting into the limelight, it also puts a lot of responsibilities on us.
Our Prime Minister clearly wants to convert the COVID-19 pandemic challenges into an opportunity for India. The case that he brought out was that of India started manufacturing of 2,00,000 PPE and N95 masks in such a short time when none were made in India before COVID-19 pandemic hit India. I personally have no doubt that Indians, when challenged, can move mountains with little or no resources. I remember, when India did the Pokhran nuclear test, US stopped giving technologies required for our space program. But then, Indian scientists successfully developed their own technologies when no help came from outside. Our supply chain management fraternity is expert in this. We do these impossible possible every day using the jugaad techniques.
He spoke about:
(a) Making India’s supply chain modern,
(b) Managing the cycle of demand and supply chain,
(c) Empowering all stake holders of supply chain,
(d) Strengthen our supply chain with local resources and with local flavour,
(e) Strengthening agricultural supply chain,
(f) Supply chain that can compete globally,
(g) India to play a big role in global supply chain, and,
(h) Importance of local manufacturing and local supply chain.
If we do our SWOT analysis, I think our Strength is knowledge at the leadership level and to some extent at the middle management level. We are great fire fighters. An average Indian is quite intelligent. We have a big pool of young workforce that will work hard under a good leadership. Most large companies have installed a good ERP system. India’s IT skills are also one of the biggest assets. Our Weaknesses are our infrastructure, our attitude to defy systems when not convenient to us, our chalta hai attitude, not being proactive, habit of procrastinating, our low self-esteem, our limited understanding of global supply chain management practices, corruption in Government interface part of supply chain management, high cost of products due to lack of economy of scale, etc. However, Opportunities are huge. India can be biggest beneficiary of the efforts of most countries to diversify manufacturing from China. India can become a developed country with increased prosperity of every citizen and a good future for our next generations. Threats include other countries who are competing with India to take away the pie of manufacturing diversification, like, Brazil, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand, and, Vietnam.
However, Atmanirbhar Bharat is doable. Immediate action is to educate, train, motivate, and empower supply chain management workforce, especially young, at the middle management and at the operating level. This can happen by providing world-class education and training in global supply chain management processes and best practices. This would lead to transformation in our human resources by being proactive, shed our chalta hai attitude, leading to improved quality, improved productivity, lower cost, better customer service, etc. on the path to Atmanirbhar Bharat and global Indian brands.
KnoWerX Education is ready to help India in achieving our Prime Minister’s vision. In fact, KnoWerX was formed and working with the vision to make India numero uno and regain its leadership position globally, since almost 3 decades. If you need to participate in Atmanirbhar Bharat mission by developing your supply chain management workforce, KnoWerX can help. Kindly download KnoWerX App on Android and iOS platforms to access various webinars, free courses, and industry recognised certificate courses in Supply Chain management.
Supply chain management (SCM) is the broad range of activities required to plan, control and execute a product’s flow, from acquiring raw materials and production through distribution to the final customer, in the most streamlined and cost-effective way possible.
The most basic version of a supply chain includes a company, its suppliers and the customers of that company. The chain could look like this: raw material producer, manufacturer, distributor, retailer and retail customer.
A more complex, or extended, supply chain will likely include a number of suppliers and suppliers’ suppliers, a number of customers and customers’ customers or final customers. All the organizations that offer the services required to effectively get products to customers, including third-party logistics providers, financial organizations, supply chain software vendors and marketing research providers.
The SCM program helps you demonstrate your knowledge and organizational skills for developing more streamlined operations. Since its launch in 2006, more than 25,000 professionals in 100 countries have earned the CSCP designation.
Rating of the key challenges within current and future SCM:
Over the last couple of years, tremendous technology shifts and innovations have been developed that are about to influence the way of doing business thoroughly and that will likely change many aspects of our daily transactions as consumers, customers, suppliers and manufacturers.
Key challenges in managing the supply chain in the context of wider global trends affect corporations of all sizes and pose threats to existing supply chain organization. In addition, moving with the trends and incorporating their benefits requires a restructuring of operations whilst being able to maintain a competitive position in the market.
The study was conducted with interviewees from automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and supplier’s industry, machinery industry, consumer products industry and high tech industry.
In order to consider both the past and the present, the 2019 survey built upon the last “futures” survey CAPS Research. While some items were updated to reflect today’s business environment, most of the items remained the same. Specific supply strategies are influenced by forces of change, business strategies and supply missions.
SCM in the digitalized economy:
Supply professionals see that their organization’s business strategies are becoming more customer-oriented, reflecting the shift in the forces of change toward meeting downstream customer requirements.
It is very important to understand supply chain management needs in future as its education increases the salary by 27% on average designees, improves hiring potential by 65%, maximize organization’s ERP investments moreover it helps to effectively manage global end-to-end supply chain activities which ultimately increase your professional value and secure the future of supply chain management professionals.
Supply Chain Management (SCM)is the most misunderstood or rather abused term(inology). Right or wrong, there are numerous interpretations of this buzzword, all with an intention of showing that they are at the forefront of emerging business management practices. People also incorrectly use the following three terms interchangeably: Supply Chain Management, Supply Management and Supply Chain.
At the same time, there is a lot of confusion between what is Operations Management (OM) and what is Supply Chain Management (SCM). Some people think OM is a subset of SCM and some think that SCM is a subset of OM. There are also others who think that SCM is the same old OM with a new and fancy label. I have been to several seminars and conferences where speakers have said that SCM has been existing since the era of Adam and Eve. Once I sought clarification from Late Prof. David F. Ross and even he wrote to me that there is no agreement on this topic even in the academic world globally. However, I see that most business schools globally have renamed their MBA in OM to MBA in SCM but still teaching almost the same syllabus.
Even in the corporate world, there is a lot of confusion. I have seen many MNCs that have renamed their procurement function as Supply Chain Management function. Some other companies renamed their planning function as a Supply Chain Management function. And, some companies have renamed their logistics function as Supply Chain Management function. Then there are other companies who have created a Supply Chain Management Department to manage their “end-to-end” Supply Chain but their definition of “end-to-end” is from sourcing till delivery. And, therefore, all functions like planning, procurement, operations, logistics, etc. report to this newly created Supply Chain Management Department.
Associations worldwide have also added to this confusion by projecting that they impart SCM knowledge to ensure that members do not leave them to join other associations. Associations focused only on procurement, or only on manufacturing, or only on logistics, or only on freight-forwarders, etc., all call themselves associations focused on SCM. To confuse more, a new term has been coined: Supply Management, for procurement function that is often misunderstood as Supply Chain Management.
So, what is SCM?In 1982, Keith Oliver, a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, introduced the term “supply chain management” to the public domain in an interview for the Financial Times (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supply_chain_management).
Let’s understand the term Supply Chain first. Every organization is a link in a chain (or rather web) that supplies goods and services to consumer or end-customer. The (forward) chain starts from mother nature (source of raw material, e.g. mines, forest, farms, animals, water, atmosphere, etc.) and ends at consumer or end-customer.like you and me. We also have a reverse supply chain that returns materials back to mother nature. This supply chain has been existing since the era of Adam and Eve but now this chain has become too long, web-like, global and too complex. Traditionally, each link in the chain managed itself and did not attempt to coordinate with its preceding links (suppliers) or succeeding links (customers). Every link tried to forecast the demand without having full visibility of the chain that resulted in what is known as the bullwhip effect.
With the advent of information technology, network connectivity, automated data transfer in real-time across the world, etc. the idea of “managing” the Supply Chain emerged. SCM is based on the foundation of information visibility and data transfer in real time across the entire supply chain using modern information technology. The idea is to “manage” the whole supply chain (mother nature to consumer) like a single entity. Obviously, this necessitates that one link (organization) in the supply chain acts as a “Channel Master” or “Nucleus Firm” that has the primary responsibility of “managing” the whole supply chain. This is the model of Supply Chain Management.
Since, Point of Sale (POS) is the primary interface with consumers, if POS data is made visible to the whole supply chain, it will eliminate the need of forecasting, or at least let forecasting be done only by retailers and not by everyone, completely eliminating the bullwhip effect. The traditional push (forecast driven) systems can be replaced by pull (demand driven) systems. The irony is, though we have more computing power and better forecasting algorithms, forecast accuracy is deteriorating day by day due to long lead times, complex supply chains, fast-changing consumer taste, shorter product life cycle, and volatile demand, where past does not necessarily represent the future. Therefore, Supply Chain Management is moving towards being totally demand-driven (“pull” as opposed to “push” or forecast driven). Some examples of supply chains are from stump to rump (toilet tissues), from cow to cone (ice cream), from ore to blade (shaving blades), etc.
One can easily imagine that to achieve this dream of SCM,.mutual trust, real-time information visibility and information sharing is required between all SCM partners in the whole supply chain. This is not an easy task to achieve but must be done and will be done in the future world that will be completely connected through information technology and networking. In current scenarios probably no supply chain is totally connected and centrally managed. But that will be the future. However, collaboration does exist between partners to some extent. Take the example of e-tailers. They have brought sellers, financial institutions and logistics service providers on a single platform in real-time.
Therefore, the essential role of the Supply Chain Management function is to ensure collaboration among partners across the whole supply chain. The typical activities of SCM function involve aligning of SCM strategies in the whole supply chain, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), Product Life-cycle Management (PLM), building mutual trust, making information available and its sharing transparent in the whole supply chain, signing mutual contracts, ensuring equal sharing of risks and rewards among SCM partners, managing SCM risk, doing collaborative planning for the whole supply chain, implementing supply chain event management, measuring performance globally (for the whole supply chain), implementing sustainability, etc. Though SCM function interacts with all functions of an organization like procurement, operations, logistics, etc., it does not replace them. SCM function works outside the organization to ensure that the whole supply chain works in a collaborative fashion like a single entity. Though there needs to be an SCM function in every organization, the most powerful SCM function will be with “Channel Master” or “Nucleus Firm”.
So, concluding the discussion, SCM is not operations, or procurement, or supply management, or logistics, or production, or warehousing, or planning of a company’s activities, etc., SCM is a new concept that needs to be implemented globally by building trust and data sharing among supply chain partners. The two terms of supply chain and supply chain management are not synonyms.
You may want to download the free mobile app called “APICS Dictionary” and review definitions of all the above-mentioned terms used, one-by-one. To learn more about Supply Chain Management, you may also study the APICS CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional) body of knowledge.
