Sourcing Innovation is pleased to welcome Next Level Purchasing as a lead sponsor. Next Level Purchasing is a great sponsor for Sourcing Innovation to have because it is also focussed on the continual education of today’s procurement and sourcing professional. Furthermore, even though it is a private for-profit training and certification enterprise, it understands the importance of knowledge sharing and open access in today’s ultra-connected knowledge-based world and makes a continual effort to give back to the community. In addition to maintaining the Purchasing Certification blog, Charles Dominick, the president and founder of Next Level Purchasing also produces a Purchasing and Supply Management Podcast series, which hits the wire at least six times a year, and also authors an ongoing series of Purchasing Articles, which appear every two weeks.

Today, by happenstance, also happens to be special day for Next Level Purchasing who launched the Senior Professional in Supply Management (SPSM) certification four years ago today. The SPSM is a global certification that, unlike certifications from national societies that tend not to be recognized, or pursued, outside of the country in which the society operates, has been awarded to students in over thirty (30) countries to date. It has also had students enroll from over seventy (70) countries. That’s an astounding reach for a program that’s only four (4) years old.

Why has Next Level Purchasing‘s SPSM certification been so successful? Charles would probably say it’s because of the results-based focus, but I’d say it’s because of accessibility and practicality. As a former University Professor and a former Industrial Training Professional, I can tell you that not everyone likes, or grasps, obscure academic theory, and that when a professional has a job to do, what they care about most is what they need to know to do that job well. The SPSM curriculum isn’t based on obscure academic theory, doesn’t employ obtuse pompous verbiage in an hebetudinous endeavor to induce the reader into believing that the procreator of the tome in question is significantly more intellectual than he actually is, and doesn’t skim over common situations only to focus on special cases that an average purchasing professional will never encounter. Instead, it focuses on the knowledge and skills a purchasing professional needs to succeed in his or her daily job, and presents all formulas and processes in the context of examples. In addition, to help its students learn and apply the material, Next Level Purchasing is constantly creating complementary material which include the blog posts, podcasts, and articles mentioned above as well as videocasts, the Supply Management in the Real World e-book, and the new Multimedia Study & Implementation Guide, pre-loaded onto an iPod, for students who enroll in the Enhanced Results program.

Over the past two years, I’ve had the opportunity to review five of their courses (links below) – Mastering Purchasing Fundamentals, Savings Strategy Development, 14 Purchasing Best Practices, Supply Management Contract Writing, and Expert Purchasing Management – and was quite pleased with all of them. In fact, my biggest qualm is with the title of the last course, since Charles and I have slightly different definitions of the appropriate use of the word expert. It’s definitely Advanced Purchasing Management, and after completing the certification and that course, you’d certainly be an expert when compared with the average purchasing professional today, but would you truly be an expert? Especially compared to experts that have been purchasing experts for 10 years? Probably not, but you would have the foundational knowledge and skills that you needed to become a true expert. I know it’s an irrelevant academic debate, but the point is this – if that’s the biggest qualm the doctor can find, you know the program must be solid!

So please join me in a issuing a great big welcome to Next Level Purchasing. If you are in the market for training or certification, and haven’t checked them out yet, please visit their site (through a Sourcing Innovation link) and let them know that you approve of their decision to support Sourcing Innovation – your #1 independent source for education and innovation in sourcing, procurement, and supply management.

Mastering Purchasing Fundamentals, A Review Part I
Mastering Purchasing Fundamentals, A Review Part II
Savings Strategy Development, A Review Part I
Savings Strategy Development, A Review Part II
14 Purchasing Best Practices, A Review Part I
14 Purchasing Best Practices, A Review Part II
Supply Management Contract Writing, A Review Part I
Supply Management Contract Writing, A Review Part II
Expert Purchasing Management, A Review, Part I
Expert Purchasing Management, A Review, Part II