Supply Chain Management Certification – How to Become a Certified SCM Professional

There is no formal requirement for SCM managers to be certified, but supply chain management certification can give you a lot of individual benefits and be extremely beneficial for the company you are working for. You should definitely worth about the main certification option and how you can become certified. In this way, you will be able to take the necessary stems for getting a certificate timely.

Supply chain management certification is available from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the largest SCM professional association in the world. The formal credential of ISM is called Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM). This credential is relevant and recognized internationally. You can earn it provided that you meet three different conditions.

You need to have 3 years of full time work experience in SCM in order to obtain supply chain management certification from ISM. Applicants from all types of SCM positions apart from clerical and support ones are approved. The industry and type of employer you are working for are irrelevant for gaining eligibility to become CPSM.

You have to have a bachelor’s degree from regionally accredited institution or an international equivalent in order to obtain supply chain management certification. Regionally accredited educational institutions are the ones that are recognized by one of the six US accrediting organizations that are listed with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). You can readily check whether you meet this one of the eligibility criteria by visiting the CHEA website or the website of the college or university that you have your bachelor’s degree from.

You need to 3 CPSM exams in order to obtain supply chain management certification. This is the final requirement for applicants. Foundation of supply management is the first exam you need to take. This is a more general test, which covers topics like cost and finance, sourcing and contracting and negotiation. It consists of 165 questions out of which 150 are scored.

Effective supply management performance is the next exam. Some of the major areas it covers are logistics, planning and project management. This test also has 165 questions with 150 of them counting towards your overall score. Leadership in supply management is the third exam that you will need to take. It covers three topics, which are leadership, risk and compliance and strategic sourcing. This test has 180 questions 165 of which are scored.

You can take a CPSM bridge exam to obtain supply management certification, if you already a C.P.M (certified purchasing manager). The bridge exam consists of 180 questions on SCM that are not covered in the C.P.M exam. Some of the major sections of the bridge test include sourcing, logistics, supplier relationship management and materials and inventory management.

This is how you can obtain supply chain management certification and become CPSM. You need to keep in mind that the validity of an issued certificate is three years. Every three years, you will have to verify that you have 60 continuing education hours, so that your certification can be renewed. It is best for you to meet this requirement before your certification expires, even though you will be given a grace period of one year.