Mentoring the next Supply Management Generation

In early February I was invited as President of ISM-Canada to present at the APICS Innovation Conference in Cambridge Ontario. This conference was aligned with the local chapter's Student Case Competition where colleges and Universities sent teams of students to analyze and do reports on Case Studies on specific Supply Management issues.

The competition was held Saturday and Sunday while the Innovation Conference was on Friday. The conference included a number of workshops and I presented a session based on an article I had written for PurchasingB2B regarding fostering and mentoring the next generation of young people entering our profession. The focus was on the reality of change in focus, technology and attitudes over the last 30-40 years in the field and how the fundamental pace of change is accelerating. New entrants to the field will be faced with these challenges and will be required to keep up to date with the changes.

ISM-Canada has long recognized the importance of attracting the best and brightest to our field. Frankly, we spend a huge chunk of a corporation's resources and we need the best minds behind those decisions that we make every day.

Student Case competitions like those at APICS, SCMA and ISM all shed a spotlight on the next wave of Supply Managers who will be responsible for corporate spending tomorrow. Having inter-group sponsorships and linkages drives home the point that we are all about the profession, not about the "turf".

Do you know someone who likes to shop? Would they like to "shop" for a career? Consider Supply Management as a career path.