That is the question I asked myself about three years ago. My name is Mark Szabo. I am the Master Scheduler at Mid-American Electro-Cords in Middlebury, a small manufacturer of wiring products. Completing the CPIM was not a requirement of the new job I had started, or something that a peer had told me about as being a "must-have" to advance in my career. I decided to pursue the CPIM because I wanted to keep up with the latest comings and goings in Production and Inventory Control and I wanted to be able to communicate more effectively with the other people I work with.

By obtaining the CPIM, I have exceeded both of my goals. From what I could tell, the courseware for the CPIM is a set of best practices that businesspeople and educators have decided are the best way for a manufacturing business to function. I’m sure all of us want to be doing things the best way that we can. Even if we never get there, at least we want to aim for the top.

I have been in Inventory and Production Control my whole career, I haven’t worked on the manufacturing floor. In taking the Just-In-Time (JIT) course, I can now talk more intelligently with the people on the floor. I can contribute some of my ideas in manufacturing meetings. The Systems & Technology course helped me understand how a business should be set up to operate effectively. I am a mid-level manager, and this course helped me look at how the senior level managers should operate the business for long term success. Very few companies do things exactly by the book, at least the ones I’ve worked for, but I can communicate with others about what I’ve learned, and maybe help others think differently to help the company.

Studying for each exam took diligence, but not a large amount of my time. I prepared for each course by attending the review sessions, reading the material recommended by APICS, and studying the material numerous times until I felt comfortable enough to take the exam. We are all busy, but I believe we can make the time for something that we want to do. Becoming CPIM was something I wanted to do. My wife helped me out by allowing me a little quiet time to read the material at home. I also studied when we would go on longer trips, and I also would study during lunch at work. I did not miss anything important. Passing the required six courses took me a little less than a year and a half.

I remember passing the Inventory Management course. At the time I was taking the tests, we would take them at Sylvan Learning Center in South Bend. The tests were given on a computer. After the first 60 questions if I had not proven that I had demonstrated a good enough understanding of the material, but was close, I was given a chance to prove myself with 15 more questions. Well, I had to go into triple overtime, after almost three hours of sitting down and taking a hard test; I was about to answer anything just to be done with it. I finally clicked on the "finish" button, and received the message I was hoping for, "Congratulations, you’ve passed." I was so excited I wanted to hug the administrator at Sylvan; I didn’t though.

Receiving the CPIM is probably a bigger thrill for me than when I graduated from college. College is more of a broad variety of learning; CPIM is better focused on what my career path has become.

One last thing… At one of the Professional Development Meetings last year, our speaker, Rich Bremer, a recruiter from out east, said the two biggest things that employers ask him to look for are: a person with a college degree, and someone that is continuing to educate themselves. A CPIM shows that this person is doing something to continue their education