APICS Approves Formation of Service SIG

The service sector — which comprises service functions, processes and organizations — now accounts for more than 70 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States. To address this growing area, the APICS Board of Directors recently approved the formation of the Service (SVC) SIG. The SVC SIG will be geared toward professionals working for companies with significant service activities, such as warehouse management and location and scheduling of employees, as well as companies that add value to manufacturing, such as wholesale distributors. The SVC SIG also will focus on other industries with significant resource manment requirements, such as health care facilities, retail operations, utilities, banks, government and professional firms.

The SVC SIG will make its official debut at APICS '97, Oct. 26-29, in Washington, D.C., where special educational sessions on service processes, industries and functions will be offered (see article on page 30). To receive information on the SVC SIG when it becomes available, call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and request item #01280.

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Certification

New CPIM Brochures Now Available

Two new brochures describing the Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) program are now available from APICS. CPIM: Your Strategic Advantage (item #09010) provides an overview of the seven CPIM modules — including the new Basics of Supply Chain Management (Basics) — as well as information about the benefits of certification, study materials and registration information.

CPIM: The Basics of Supply Chain Management (item #09027) offers details about the Basics module, which provides an overview of the supply chain, defines key terminology and introduces concepts covered in the other six CPIM modules. Basics is recommended as the first module in the CPIM program.

"Since my certification in 1994, I have been able to advance in my P&IM career, financially as well as personally. I've been able to relocate into areas where doors have been open due to my CPIM status," said Frances S. Hart, CPIM, engineering change coordinator, Daewoo Equipment Corp. "APICS and CPIM are definitely a positive force in my career development."

To order these brochures, call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344.

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In Memoriam

Longtime APICS Executive Director Dies

Henry F. Sander, CAE, the first full-time executive director of APICS, died April 3 after a long illness. Sander was appointed in 1969 and served until he retired in 1985, when he was named executive director-emeritus. He was instrumental in moving society headquarters from Chicago to the Washington area in the late 1970s, conducting the negotiations that led to the 1980 purchase of APICS' current headquarters in Falls Church. During his last year as executive director, the "Castle" in Wilmerding, Pa., was given to the APICS Educational and Research (E&R) Foundation by American Standard Inc. The Castle later became the APICS Training Center.

The Sander era was the foundation for many of APICS' programs, products and services including the Certified in Production and Inventory Management program, the APICS Professional Library and many of the national seminars and workshops. Sander also was a catalyst for study missions to Japan and two World Congresses of Production and Inventory Control.

A Chicago native, Sander was an electrical engineering graduate of Northwestern University and received an MBA degree from Michigan State. He also served with the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II. A long-time resident of McLean, Va., Sander is survived by his wife, Florence, three sons, two daughters and five grandchildren.

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E&R Foundation

E&R Foundation Workshop Features Seminar on Integrating Business Planning

The APICS Educational and Research (E&R) Foundation Summer Academic/Practitioner Workshop, scheduled for Aug. 9-11, at New Mexico State University &endash; Las Cruces, will offer a workshop focusing on sales and operations planning for senior managers and faculty. The workshop instructor is Richard C. Ling, CFPIM. Attendees will learn:

• How to integrate business planning
• How to empower a company so that decisions are made at the appropriate level
• How to improve communications and eliminate surprises along the supply chain.

The workshop also will focus on how an organization can manage change and support the marketplace while integrating new product planning.

"Sales and operations management is the integrator of business and a lot of multinational companies won't succeed without it," said Ling. "It's critical for all parts of a business operation to communicate, and my main goal in this session is to share these concepts and educate people as to what's working in industry."

For more information, call APICS Customer Service at (800) 444-2742 or (703) 237-8344 and request the E&R Foundation 1997 Summer Academic/Practitioner Workshop Information Sheet (item #04072).

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E&R Foundation Funds Service Industry Studies

Complementing the new APICS Service SIG, the APICS Educational and Research (E&R) Foundation is already involved in the service sector through its funding of healthcare industry studies. One is a partnership between the University of Connecticut School of Business Administration and the Connecticut headquarters of the American Red Cross. This study will focus on the most efficient means of scheduling, transporting and processing blood donated at Red Cross blood drives.

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APICS Online

APICS Web Site Update

Editor's Note: Following is a message from JoAnna Battin, APICS Web editor, in response to an inquiry.

Recently, someone brought to our attention that there was misinformation on the APICS Web site. After much confusion (we could not find the information this gentleman was referring to on our site), the mystery was finally solved. The information this gentleman was viewing was an old page that had been archived on the server, but is not a current page on the Web site. He had bookmarked an old Quick Index and because this was an outdated page, any subsequent links were old as well.

Last November we decided that, since our site was growing so fast, we needed to create a naming scheme to replace pages. Doing so would decrease the chance of old information being accessible. Thus, any link to the specific page would be correct and make it easier to name sections on our site. Unfortunately, as in this case, some people had bookmarked certain pages prior to this time. Consequently, these pages are out of date and any subsequent links may be out of date as well.

Therefore, if you have bookmarked certain pages on the APICS Web site, it would be worth your while to check these pages to make sure that the page you have bookmarked is, in fact, the most recent version.

If you have comments or questions, we'd be glad to address them. Just send mail to [email protected]