Practitioners name top supply chain schools, certifications

Which university and certification programs reliably turn out strong supply chain talent? A list released by SCM World, a U.K.-based organization for supply chain practitioners, includes some familiar names as well as a few surprises.

The rankings are based on responses from 331 participants in the group's 2013 Chief Supply Chain Officer survey. Respondents were asked to name the three professional certifications they deem "most valuable" as markers of supply chain talent, as well as the three universities and business schools they believe are "most valuable" for turning out supply chain talent. To prevent any bias, the question was open-ended, with no list for respondents to choose from.

Respondents' picks included well-known U.S. and European supply chain degree programs, such as those at Michigan State, Penn State, Cranfield, the University of Tennessee, and Georgia Tech. It also included schools like Harvard and Stanford, which do not award supply chain degrees—but do turn out highly sought-after M.B.A.s.

The top professional certification programs included those offered by APICS, the Supply Chain Council, the Institute for Supply Management, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. The surprises in that category: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), a certification most often associated with perishable product quality control, and Certified Management Accountant (CMA), awarded by the Institute of Management Accountants.

One takeaway from this varied list, said Kevin O'Marah, SCM World's chief content officer, is that "business wants cross-functional supply chain knowledge rather than narrow technical skills."

The complete list is available here.