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FOR RELEASE: July 22, 2010

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Join the Movement to Elevate Supply Chain Careers and Profession

Cross-industry initiative aims to develop and grow supply chain talent pool.

Tempe, Ariz. (Business Wire) — A critical need for skills-savvy supply chain professionals is fueling a coordinated effort to increase the depth of talent and promote an abundance of career paths. The Supply Chain Talent Academic Initiative (SCTAI) leverages experience and leadership from all sectors of industry and academia to enrich the supply chain talent pool. SCTAI is a global partnership that began as a call to action at the 2007 Supply Chain Council World Conference.

SCTAI members include individuals from major universities and corporations as well as leading supply management and operations management associations including Institute for Supply Management™, APICS The Association for Operations Management and Supply Chain Council. Participating consultancies and academic institutions include Gartner, Michigan State University, The Pennsylvania State University and University of Texas — Austin.

The initiative is designed to benefit the profession as a whole. Participants have embarked on research, workshops and cross-industry projects that support several goals:

  1. Identify industry competency requirements for supply chain talent, and provide forecasts of those requirements for university program planning
  2. Assist universities and other educational institutions in building programs to meet those competency requirements
  3. Market the supply chain profession as a career of choice

Founding member Jake Barr says the group seeks additional participants as well as industry funding. "We welcome fresh perspectives and ideas," says Barr, a director of manufacturing, planning and logistics for Procter & Gamble (P&G). "Companies that provide direct financial support will have direct input into the initiative's priorities and will also have access to a supply chain management grant-making simulation that is under development." Companies that have provided financial support to date include: The Boeing Company, IBM, Intel Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Whirlpool Corporation.

SCTAI participants agree to share non-competitive materials, programs and best practices. Materials that result from collaborative efforts will be available in the public domain and will include: demand forecasts, a library of industry knowledge and material for university program development, coordinated industry-to-university support, a supply chain management simulation for use in delivering grants to university students and resources designed to market the profession to high school and college students including School Counselor Information On Supply Management Careers.

Visit SCTAI online at www.supply-chain.org/groups/talent/committee. Connect with SCTAI participants via e-mail at sctai@supply-chain.org or join the LinkedIn group.


About Supply Chain Talent Academic Initiative (SCTAI)
Supply Chain Talent Academic Initiative is an independent project operating under the APICS Educational and Research (E&R) Foundation, which is a nonprofit 501c3 organization. SCTAI is self-funding in all committee operations, marketing and educational activities.

About Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM)
As the largest supply management institute in the world, the mission of Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM) is to lead supply management. By executing and extending its mission through education, research, standards of excellence, influence building and information dissemination — including the renowned monthly ISM Report On Business® — ISM continues to extend the global impact of supply management. ISM is a not-for-profit membership association serving more than 40,000 supply management professionals in 75 countries. ISM offers credentialing to professionals around the world with the Certified Professional in Supply Management® (CPSM®) qualification. ISM is a member of the International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Management (IFPSM).


Media Contact:
Institute for Supply Management™ (ISM)
Jean McHale, Public Relations Manager
(U.S.) 800.888.6276, extension 3143
(International) (+1) 480.752.6276, extension 3143
jmchale@ism.ws