On this last day of 2012, it is a great time to reflect on what may have been our most productive year ever\u00a0here at the Next Level Purchasing Association (NLPA). As I look back at 2012, here are the ways that we helped procurement professionals improve their workplace performance and enhance their careers:<\/p>\n
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In January, \u201cThe Procurement Game Plan:\u00a0 Winning Strategies & Techniques For Supply Management Professionals\u201d \u2013 a book that I co-wrote with my friend Dr. Soheila Lunney \u2013 was published by J. Ross Publishing.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard a lot of great feedback from readers and am happy that I could reach procurement professionals in a new format this year!<\/p>\n
In February, we further bridged the procurement and supply chain disciplines by launching our new online course, \u201cProfitable Inventory Management and Control.\u201d\u00a0 This course was designed to\u00a0give procurement and supply chain professionals like you\u00a0the skills you need to use inventory as a strategic weapon for boosting profitability and giving your organization a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n
In March, we launched our annual Purchasing &Supply Management Career & Skills Report.\u00a0 One of the big shockers of this report was that, according to a survey of over 2,500 purchasing and supply management professionals, negotiation was no longer considered the most important purchasing and supply management skill.\u00a0\u00a0 After holding the top spot for the last four years, negotiation placed second to sourcing and supplier selection.<\/p>\n
In April, we launched our \u201cAll-Access Corporate Subscription.\u201d\u00a0 This option allows qualifying organizations to pay one flat fee for all of their procurement employees to access all of our full-length online procurement courses, all of our Express Courses, and the NLPA Library, which consists of a variety of procurement templates, transcripts of interviews with procurement thought leaders, slide decks, and archived webinars.<\/p>\n
Also in April, we launched our annual Purchasing & Supply Management Salary Report.\u00a0 One of the most interesting findings of this report was that the average purchasing salary in North America had increased by 11%.<\/p>\n
On July 1st \u2013 the eighth anniversary of the SPSM\u00ae<\/sup> Certification and the third anniversary of the SPSM2\u00ae<\/sup> Certification \u2013 we launched the SPSM3TM<\/sup> Certification.\u00a0 This new certification became the highest level purchasing certification available, requiring the SPSM2\u00ae<\/sup> Certification as a prerequisite, which itself requires the SPSM\u00ae<\/sup> Certification as a prerequisite.\u00a0 All told, earning the SPSM3TM<\/sup> Certification requires 108 hours of study from the beginning of one\u2019s certification pursuits\u00a0\u2013 giving those who will earn it a designation that shows a true capability of succeeding in a rigorous program of study.<\/p>\n Also in July, we launched the Premium Membership to the NLPA, complementing the already available free basic membership.\u00a0 Premium Members get all the benefits of a basic membership, plus access to all of our Express Courses and the NLPA Library.\u00a0 At $199.00 per year, the NLPA Premium Membership represents the cost-conscious procurement professional\u2019s best choice for a procurement association membership that delivers real value, not just a membership card.<\/p>\n Also in July \u2013 wow, what a busy month! \u2013 we launched another\u00a0new full-length online course entitled \u201cImproving Quality in the Supply Chain.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Like the launch of \u201cProfitable Inventory Management and Control,\u201d the launch of this supply chain quality course demonstrates our recognition of the need among procurement professionals for more advanced learning opportunities as well as opportunities to learn how to integrate their work into other functions within their organizations.<\/p>\n In September, we began a continuing effort to boost our portfolio of online Express Courses with the launch of \u201cIncreasing Your Personal Productivity, Part I.\u201d\u00a0 This Express Course focused on aspects of improving\u00a0productivity by sharing ways to prepare for business changes, set goals effectively, and analyze one\u2019s self, among other things.<\/p>\n In October, we launched the online Express Course, \u201cIncreasing Your Personal Productivity, Part II.\u201d\u00a0 Going beyond what was covered in Part I, this course teaches how to overcome obstacles\u00a0to goal achievement, prioritizing work, and managing time,\u00a0plus more.<\/p>\n In November, we launched\u00a0yet another online Express Course, \u201cPreventing and Managing Backdoor Selling.\u201d\u00a0 This Express Course covered how salespeople disguise their backdoor selling techniques, what to do when you encounted backdoor selling in progress, and how to negotiate with a supplier who has already gotten an internal customer to commit to a purchase, and much more.<\/p>\n In December, we announced that we will be hosting our first ever procurement conference!\u00a0 The First Annual NLPA International Conference will be held in Pittsburgh on September 12 & 13, 2013.\u00a0 More information will be released in a continuing stream in 2013.<\/p>\n Also in\u00a0December,\u00a0in response to popular demand by procurement professionals\u00a0who had\u00a0liked the SPSM Certification & Enhanced Results Program and the SPSM2 Certification & Enhanced Results Program, we launched the SPSM3 Certification & Enhanced Results Program.\u00a0 This program provides all\u00a0of the elements of the SPSM3 Certification Program plus\u00a0two additional study components:\u00a0 a 30-minute telephone consultation with\u00a0our instructor and the SPSM3 Multimedia Study & Implementation Guide\u00a0\u2013 an iPad preloaded\u00a0with 40 audio and video\u00a0clips!<\/p>\n