I am going to try and help make sense of what I have seen lately.

I found this wonderful summary that shows just a few of the supply chain designations that tug at our minds and profession. If you have noticed that some are missing then don’t worry. I just wanted to point out an observation.

When I started in supply chain my goal was to become a professional purchaser (PP) and I attained the designation in 1986. A few years later the designation was updated to Certified Professional Purchaser to reflect a national movement to create the profession’s visibility and government recognition. It then changed to SCMP and then to a CSCMP.

I suspect that the one that I am about to get will be the last one I will need. I am now a Certified Supply Chain Leader (CSCL). Not to confuse anyone as it is also the same acronym as the designation issued by Vcare.

To add one more, I still have my Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) from ISM.

Rumor has it I might be able to get by CIPS designation which might be interesting but I am not sure that they will all fit on my business card. 🙂

I hope that this posts either helps clarify or gets you thinking.