Business View Magazine - Sept 2023

223 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 10, ISSUE 9 ASSOCIAT ION FOR SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT program, either a baccalaureate or a masters.” “So our certification, our CPIM—certified planning inventory management—was a replacement for the baccalaureate degree, because these individuals needed to be recognized, and certification was one of the ways to do so. Our development of the certification really did enhance the role and the responsibility for these individuals, and more importantly, it assured that the company, when they were hiring, can be sure that this individual was a subject-matter expert in our planning and inventory management.” It was this, says Eshkenazi, that laid the foundations for the ASCM’s certifications that have since become the industry standards. The mission’s emphasis was always on the individual. It also now includes the ASCM itself, in order to ensure that it can represent supply chains to consumers and patients and to the investment community appropriately. Organizations that focus on sustainable supply chains are much more successful, he adds. “We have embraced the responsibility not only for the individual but also for the company to ensure that they are effective, efficient, and ethical in terms of their business practices,” he further explains. “We believe that we can make a better world through supply chains and that is through having competent individuals with organizations that understand sustainable supply chains are a winning formula.” Global focus Today, the ASCM is comprised of some 45,000 members around the globe. A significant portion, as you might expect, comes of course from the United States. Significant numbers elsewhere come from the European business