THOUGH BEHIND THE SCENES, SCMA HAS MADE SOME TERRIFIC STRIDES FROM A GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE.
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Saying Farewell
Cheryl Farrow( Paradowski) President & CEO SCMA
By the time you receive this, I will already have moved on to my new opportunity as CEO of the Canadian Bar Association. So, I appreciate your indulgence as I reflect on my wonderful six years at the Supply Chain Management Association( SCMA). When I arrived in 2010, it was still the Purchasing Management Association of Canada; the new Supply Chain Management Professional( SCMP) designation program had just been launched; and designation reciprocity was finalized shortly afterwards with the Institute for Supply Management( ISM) for the CPSM and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply( CIPS) for the MCIPS.
Our SCMP program has grown stronger each year since, with an encouraging 280 candidates attending In-Residence Week in 2016, even in the face of some tougher economic times in Western Canada. Other major highlights related to SCMA’ s education programs have been the transition to an online program delivery option for both the SCMP and the SMT, as well as for the SCMP final examination. The last two years have also seen an extensive overhaul of the SCMP program content, in response to feedback from employers, candidates and instructors. Finally, the Memorandum of Understanding( MOU) with Athabasca that was launched in May 2016, providing SCMPs with advanced standing recognition and fast-tracking through Athabasca’ s Executive MBA program, was a crowning testament to the rigor and quality of the SCMP program.
Obviously, the amalgamation and the name change of the organization was a major initiative, kicked off in 2012 and made official on September 3, 2013. It was a great opportunity to align the organization and the designation, achieve consolidation in a fragmented market of supply chain associations and make SCMA’ s voice stronger.
Employer outreach has been a key focus and has included: my personal campaign of meeting with over 130 employers across the country in 2011; our 2013 employer survey; our targeted advertising campaigns over the years on the radio, TV and in partnership with The Globe and Mail’ s Report on Business; and our ongoing outreach to other professional associations, such as those in human resources and financial management. We also made forays into government relations, with positive responses from the Bank of Canada and Global Affairs Canada. We have developed three great white papers
THOUGH BEHIND THE SCENES, SCMA HAS MADE SOME TERRIFIC STRIDES FROM A GOVERNANCE PERSPECTIVE.
on the impact of supply chain management to the broader Canadian economy and we continue to generate awareness of those materials.
Finally, though behind the scenes, SCMA has made some terrific strides from a governance perspective. One of my first initiatives when I arrived was the creation of the Institute Advisory Council to bring all parts of the association together in a more coordinated fashion. This has evolved into the creation of the Federation Council and the signing of a new Federation agreement in 2015. In 2016, we saw the groundbreaking transition to a new competency-based governance model for the National Board, reducing the size from 17 to nine members. Based on my initial meetings with the new board, the skills and contribution that we were seeking are very much in evidence.
That brings me to my final thank yous: to your dedicated National Boards of Directors with whom I’ ve had the great privilege to work, under the respective leadership of Keith Carruthers, Mike Whelan and Jerome Ferber; to the staff team at the national office, who work so diligently to bring the board’ s and federation’ s vision to life; and to all SCMA members. It has been an amazing time to be involved with the profession and you are all so justifiably passionate about the important roles that you play in your organizations. I wish all of you – and SCMA – ongoing success and growth, and advanced congratulations on the 100-year anniversary in 2019!
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SUPPLY CHAIN CANADA • QUARTER 4 2016 • 3