The Board of Directors for the Institute for Supply Management™, approved the granting of the Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) designation to individuals who have earned the Certified Professional Purchaser (C.P.P.) designation through the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC) — as long as they qualify for the work experience portion of the C.P.M. program. Current C.P.P.s who earned the C.P.P. prior to December 31, 2009 do NOT need to take the C.P.M. Exam in order to earn their C.P.M.

The last day to apply for the C.P.M. designation is December 31, 2013, but only for those who earned the C.P.P. prior to December 31, 2009. Anyone who earned the C.P.P. after December 31, 2009 is not eligible.

Application Process

Each C.P.P. who wishes to obtain the C.P.M. complete this application: http://www.ism.ws/files/certification/CPMOrigLifeApp.pdf.

Each candidate will be required to submit proof of having current C.P.P. accreditation (a copy of C.P.P. certificate or signed letter from PMAC) along with the appropriate ISM/CISM member or non-member application fee.

Applicants do not need to fill out the section (on page 3) labeled "C.P.M. Examination" since taking the C.P.M. Exam is not required.

Documentation of the following work experience is required:
Five years of full time professional (non-clerical; non-support) supply management experience OR three years of full time professional supply management experience and a four year degree from an accredited institution (see below for details).

Work Experience

C.P.M. experience must be full-time and requires decision making and independent judgment (rather than clerical) to be eligible. A majority of the applicant’s job responsibilities must be in purchasing and supply management.

Supply management experience is defined as a person working in, or in charge of, a purchasing department, or a related department, essentially concerned with purchasing or procurement or supply management in all of their phases.

Other eligible areas include purchasing research and education, value analysis, supply management, inventory control, materials management, quality, legal staff, marketing, engineering, or any other activity or function which is related to the purchasing, materials, and supply processes. A member of such a department or organization will have responsibility for research, value analysis, inventory control, supply management, or other activity or function which is directly related to purchasing and supply management.

ISM also considers those who have supply management professionals reporting to them even if they themselves do not have supply management as their primary job function.

A teacher, research specialist, department head, director, or dean of a college, university, or other academic institution, who is concerned with purchasing management, supply management, or other related fields or subjects as part of his or her regular assignment may also qualify for the C.P.M.

A consultant whose job includes major "hands-on" emphasis in purchasing and supply management would be eligible as well.

Documentation of Work Experience

We ask for documentation in ONE of the following ways:

1. A letter from your supervisor. The supervisor does not have to be currently employed with the company where you both worked. He or she just needs to have been your supervisor at the time of your employment.
2. Signed job description from the company (usually from the Human Resources department).
3. A letter from a co-worker. This person does not have to be currently employed with the company where you both worked. He or she just needs to have been your co-worker at the time of your employment.
4. A letter from a supplier with whom you worked.
5. Your most recent employer can verify all your past work experience however, ISM would need to know how they verified that experience.

All documentation needs to have the following:
Your name, dates of employment, job title(s), job description for each job title, signature of supervisor or company representative, their job title, and their contact phone number.

For samples of work experience letters, try this link: http://www.ism.ws/files/certification/CertExperience.pdf

Resumes and business cards are not accepted by ISM as proof of employment.

CISM Membership

If you wish to learn about ISM/CISM membership, the following webpage lists the benefits: http://www.ism.ws/membership/content.cfm?ItemNumber=5605

Here is where you can join: https://www.ism-canada.org/Membership/