The Council of Logistics Management (CLM) Executive Committee has voted to become the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), effective January 1, 2005.
"The decision to become CSCMP was made for one reason -- to meet the changing needs of our members and our profession," said Elijah Ray, 2003-04 president. "People in our profession now have an expanded and more critical role within our companies than we did 10 or even five years ago. We interact with more people within and outside our organizations. Our roles have evolved, which is why CLM is changing to reflect what's happening in the supply chain. The organization will also become more inclusive to others that play important roles in the supply chain."
With a broader emphasis on the entire supply chain, CSCMP will provide its members with enhanced content that incorporates not only logistics, but also procurement, manufacturing operations and sales/marketing functions. The new organization will expose members to more voices and different perspectives to help them increase their value to their companies while enhancing networking opportunities and professional growth.
The association's new Web site address, as of January 1, 2005, will be www.cscmp.org.
"We took a very methodical approach to this process," explained Tom Speh, CLM past president and chair of the member committee charged with exploring the association's focus. "For a number of years, the CLM Executive Committee and staff has explored the idea of broadening our focus, but we took our time to make sure we were doing the right thing for our members and for our profession."
"Over the years, an increasing number of members asked us to provide more supply chain-based products and programming that truly reflected the changing nature of their positions," said Maria McIntyre, CLM executive vice president. "As a result, CLM first sought to establish an official definition of supply chain management, which it completed in 2003. From there, a committee of members representing the range of CLM membership was formed to explore the idea of refocusing the association, develop name ideas, and recommend programming changes. Ultimately, CLM's Executive Committee voted to adopt the new name and focus in 2004."
This is not the first time the organization has evolved. In 1985, the association underwent a similar evolution when the National Council of Physical Distribution Management (NCPDM), the name under which the association was founded in 1963, became the Council of Logistics Management. At that time, it was recognized that those involved in transportation and distribution were taking on greater responsibility, with the profession evolving into the larger field of logistics.
"The parallels between now and then are very similar," said McIntyre. "We see a similar expansion of importance and scope today as we did in the early 1980s when we became CLM."
According to Speh, great care was taken by his committee to determine the proper terminology to include in the name.
"The majority of our members are responsible for managing the supply chain within their organizations, so that was an obvious choice," said Speh. "We looked at some other terms like 'value chain' and 'demand chain,' but determined that 'supply chain' was the most widely used and had withstood the test of time. The term 'professionals' was an important addition, in that it is meant to solidify the association's status as an individual membership organization dedicated to enhancing the careers of supply chain professionals, as well as advancing the overall profession."
"We decided not do include the 'logistics' term in the name," explained Speh, "because, as defined by CLM in 2003, 'logistics management' is a large and integral part of 'supply chain management.' Of course, because of its major role within the supply chain, logistics management will continue to be a major focus of the new CSCMP."
As CSCMP, the association will continue its commitment to furthering its members' careers and will continue its support of local Roundtable organizations.
Membership dues will not increase as a result of CLM becoming CSCMP. Member access to the new CSCMP Web site will function as it currently does now and member ID numbers will remain the same.
The current CLM membership policy of accepting only individual memberships and not corporate memberships will be retained, as will the newly created anniversary date membership structure.
A new CSCMP logo will be revealed at the 2004 CLM Annual Conference, held October 3-6 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Additional details of the association's evolution will also be discussed.
"We look forward to showcasing the many ways in which CSCMP will more effectively benefit and serve our members," said Ray.
Founded in 1963, the Council of Logistics Management (CLM) provides educational, career development, and networking opportunities to its more than 10,000 members and to the entire profession.
