WMU and APICS to offer supply chain management lunch workshops
The workshops will be held at WMU's Fetzer Center.
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Organizations of all sizes and industries will receive much-needed operational help thanks to two leaders in supply chain management who will join forces to offer focused, best-practice training in a series of lunch and learn workshops.
Western Michigan University's Center for Integrated Supply Management and the APICS Southwest Michigan Chapter will offer a series of supply chain workshops that target supply chain management topics such as operations management, demand forecasting, inventory management, sales and operations planning, warehousing, logistics and many other related topics.
The coursework will provide organizations with an opportunity to enhance the expertise of their supply chain professionals, specifically, and improve overall supply chain performance in the process. The courses will provide practical knowledge and take-away tools that will enable participants to implement supply chain best practices immediately.
About the workshops
The three-hour workshops will take place every other Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., starting May 21 and will continue throughout the year. All workshops will be held at WMU's Fetzer Center. Affordably priced at $99 per participant, each workshop includes instruction, course materials and lunch. These workshops will count toward three hours of continuing education for APICS certifications as well as many other industry certifications.
The courses are being taught by Ken Jones, director of executive education and instructor of integrated supply management at WMU's Haworth College of Business, and Mike Manchester, vice president of education for APICS Southwest Michigan Chapter and supply chain manager at Pfizer. Together, they have more than 45 years of supply chain leadership experience with such companies as Hewlett-Packard, Ford Motor Co., Rolls-Royce and Pfizer. Other WMU integrated supply management faculty and APICS-certified instructors, each with multiple APICS certifications and many years of experience, will teach workshops in their areas of expertise alongside Jones and Manchester.
“We are very excited to have this opportunity to work with our long-time partners at Southwest Michigan APICS and to launch this affordable and accessible suite of supply chain management workshops,” Jones says. “Both organizations see a real need in industry for continual education around operations and supply chain best practices in a format that doesn’t drain the corporate wallet or take an inordinate amount of time away from the office. We have developed the perfect blend of both with these lunch and learn workshops.”
For more information on dates and location, please contact Jones at (269) 387-4143 or visit APICS Southwest Michigan Chapter's website at apicsswmi.com/index.php.
About WMU's ISM program
Ranked No. 5 in undergraduate supply chain education by Gartner, a leading information technology research and advisory company, and No. 2 in the nation for emphasis on teaching technology, software and quantitative tools by Software Advice, WMU's ISM program has been recognized nationally by several organizations and publications for its leadership in preparing students for careers in supply chain management. WMU's curriculum combines engineering, information technology, logistics, supply chain and business education. The program also includes Bronco Force Solutions Teams, which give students experience in business consulting with companies on their supply chain challenges. The WMU Center for Integrated Supply Management was established in 2014 by the Haworth College of Business.
About APICS
APICS is a not-for-profit international educational organization respected throughout the world for its education and professional certification programs. With more than 70,000 individual and corporate members in 20,000 companies worldwide, APICS is dedicated to using education to improve the business bottom line.
About APICS Southwest Michigan Chapter
Established in 1962 as the Kalamazoo Valley Chapter of APICS, the chapter provided a forum for manufacturing professionals to learn from one another and overcome industrial challenges.
Currently, the chapter serves several hundred professionals across the nine counties in southwestern Michigan by providing monthly professional development meetings, educational courses, plant tours, employment resources, problem solving and professional networking. The local chapter also has an Affiliate Student Chapter with WMU and collaborates with Glen Oaks Community College and Southwestern Michigan College to deliver APICS education.
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