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APICS THE ASSOCIATION FOR OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Certified in Integrated Resource Management (CIRM)

• Organization Directory Page
  (titles of all evaluated learning experiences, organization description, and source of official student records)
• Titles of all evaluated learning experiences in the CIRM section
• Descriptions and credit recommendations

Descriptions and credit recommendations

Current Examinations

NOTE:Credit recommendations for the following current examinations are effective from January 2002. Examination programs that have been retired and earlier versions of current examinations can be found in the next section, along with the effective dates of their credit recommendations.

Delivering Products and Services
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual’s preparation needs.
Dates: January 2002 - December 2006.*
Objectives: Discuss the market-driven activities necessary to plan and control procurement, production and inventory, and distribution; apply specific concepts and techniques in these areas to manage resources, capacity, and inventory levels to support manufacturing or conversion operations in meeting customer needs; discuss the relationship among and integration of these three areas to enhance customer satisfaction and profitability.
Instruction:Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering the planning and control aspects of procurement, production and inventory, and distribution and the interfaces among these activities. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Identification of the Delivery Strategy - components of customer satisfaction, recognition of constraints, strategic concept choices, and desired results; Execution and Assessment - resource planning, operations, and post-sales support; Continuous Improvement and Innovation - feedback; recognizing gaps between capabilities for delivering products and services and needs of customers; improvements in internal and external processes, coordination with customers and suppliers, support systems and measurements, and post-sales support; and managing dynamics.
Credit recommendation: For this examination, paired with Delivering Products and Processes, in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as Production/Operations Management, Logistics/Distribution Management, or as a specialized course in New Product Development, Product and Process Design, or Supply Chain Management in Business, Business Administration, Management, or Industrial Engineering(9/04 revalidation). NOTE: This examination and Designing Products and Processes must both be completed to receive credit. *NOTE: Please refer to the next section for earlier versions of this examination.

Designing Products and Processes
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual's preparation needs.
Dates: January 2002 - December 2006.*
Objectives: Describe the methods that companies use in designing, producing, and delivering goods and services required by customers; discuss how the manufacturing processes serve as the execution component to other activities of an integrated manufacturing system; discuss the interrelationships among industrial facilities management, process design and development, and manufacturing.
Instruction: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering the manufacturing processes in support of and consistent with customer requirements and needs. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Comprehending and Translating Requirements - enterprise strategy and mission, product and service strategy development, customer requirements and perception of value, competitive factors, and other considerations; Planning and Implementing a Design Project - organization, resources, and design activity outputs; Assessing Design ProcessPerformance - time-to-market, productivity, quality, process testing and verification; Continuing Improvement and Innovation - reengineering, concurrent engineering, continuous improvement, communication technologies, customer involvement, design simulation, rapid prototyping, environmentally sensitive engineering, mass customization, supplier involvement, and failure analysis.
Credit recommendation: For this examination, paired with Delivering Products and Services, in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as Production/Operations Management, Logistics/Distribution Management, or as a specialized course in New Product Development, Product and Process Design, or Supply Chain Management in Business, Business Administration, Management, or Industrial Engineering (9/04 revalidation). NOTE: This examination and Designing Products and Services must both be completed to receive credit. *NOTE: Please refer to the next section for earlier versions of this examination.
 
Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual's preparation needs.
Dates: January 2002 - December 2006.*
Objectives: Discuss activities that an organization undertakes that usually do not directly create product or bring revenue to the organization, but which support those departments that do; describe the services provided to organizations and why they are important to the overall success of the firm; apply concepts and techniques of total quality management, human resource management, finance and accounting, and information systems and discuss how each supports the organization's goals and contributes to an environment that enables the other areas to carry out their charters.
Instruction: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering the various activities of an organization that exist primarily to provide services to the organization. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Strategic Fundamentals - the value-driven enterprise, the nature of the enterprise, vision and mission, strategic goals and objectives, core competencies, the value-added enterprise, planning, and measurement of success; Management Concepts - organizational design factors, organizational structures, and managerial functions; Business Processes - identifying and creating demand, designing products and processes, delivering products and services; Support Functions - quality, human resources, finance and accounting, and information systems.
Credit recommendation: In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 2 semester hours as Introduction to Business or Introduction to Management in Business, Business Administration, or Management. For this examination, when paired with Integrated Enterprise Management, in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as Strategic Management, Business Policy, or Operations Strategy in Business, Business Administration, or Management (9/04 revalidation). NOTE: For the upper division credit recommendation, this examination and Integrated Enterprise Management must both be completed to receive credit. *NOTE: Please refer to the next section for earlier versions of this examination.

Identifying and Creating Demand
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual’s preparation needs.
Dates: January 2002 - December 2006.*
Objectives: Version 1 or 2: Discuss the manufacturing functions and tasks that relate to the design, sale, and service of a product; apply the life cycle concept to recognize a need in the marketplace, identify and satisfy customer needs, and identify demand sufficient to justify investment in product development.
Instruction:Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering product design and development as the function of creating a product that satisfies customers' needs in a manner consistent with the objectives of the enterprise. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Marketing Inputs to the Business Plan - environment, competition, customers, and business planning; Marketing Management - market analysis, setting strategy and the market plan, customer relationship management, and executing the market plan; Sales Management - sales strategy, sales forecasting, sales relationship management, and sales process; Customer Care - customer service support, order-to-payment cycle, transaction management, and collaboration; Performance Measurement - enterprise level, marketing, and sales.
Credit recommendation: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as Marketing, Marketing Management, or Sales Management in Business, Business Administration, or Management (9/04 revalidation). *NOTE: Please refer to the next section for earlier versions of this examination.

Integrated Enterprise Management
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual's preparation needs.
Dates: January 2002 - December 2006.*
Objectives: Version 1 or 2: Describe the personal and teamwork skills required to align the functions and members of the enterprise with operational and organizational goals; apply these skills when considering differing perspectives, varying enterprise and functional needs, the multiple needs of enterprise members, and external factors; examine existing strategies in the context of a global environment; identify key issues and prepare alternatives to improve operations.
Instruction: Three-hour, capstone examination, involving multiple choice items and cases covering the personal and teamwork skills required in choosing among alternatives for effective integrated enterprise management. Major content areas and related topics include: Personal Skills Necessary for the Individual to Succeed in an Integrated Enterprise - personal characteristics, communication skills, and information technology familiarity; Teamwork Skills and Making Change Happen - leadership, operation, team as an organization, accomplishing change, and project management; Functions and Their Integration within the Enterprise - understanding business processes that require interaction and integration, identifying appropriate interactions that relate to the business processes and activities, understanding of another function's perspective, and recognition of integration mechanisms; Enterprise - vision and mission, strategic goals and critical success factors, strategic decisions, issues that affect strategy, and measurement of success; Enterprise in the Environment - global, domestic, environmental, stakeholder influences, and competition; Enterprise Through Time - operation within each phase: start-up, growth, maturity, and decline; transition between phases; and demand and technology changes. (Prerequisites: Successful completion of Delivering Products and Services, Designing Products and Processes, Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals, and Identifying and Creating Demand.)
Credit recommendation: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 2 semester hours in Strategic Management or Business Policy in Business, Business Administration, or Management. For this examination, when paired with Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals, in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as Strategic Management, Business Policy, or Operations Strategy in Business, Business Administration, or Management (9/04 revalidation). NOTE: For the credit recommendation of 3 semester hours, this examination and Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals must both be completed to receive credit. *NOTE: Please refer to the next section for earlier versions of this examination.

Retired Examinations or Earlier Versions of Current Examinations

Delivering Products and Services
(Formerly Logistics) 
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual’s preparation needs.
Dates: Version 1: November 1991 - December 1997. Version 2: January 1998 - December 2001.
Objectives: Version 1 or 2: Discuss the market-driven activities necessary to plan and control procurement, production and inventory, and distribution; apply specific concepts and techniques in these areas to manage resources, capacity, and inventory levels to support manufacturing or conversion operations in meeting customer needs; discuss the relationship among and integration of these three areas to enhance customer satisfaction and profitability.
Instruction: Version 1: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering the planning and control aspects of procurement, production and inventory, and distribution and the interfaces among these activities. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Production and Inventory Control - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Procurement - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Distribution - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Relationships - between production and inventory control and distribution, between production and inventory control and procurement, between procurement and distribution, and among production and inventory control, procurement, and distribution. Version 2: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering the planning and control aspects of procurement, production and inventory, and distribution and the interfaces among these activities. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Identification of the Delivery Strategy - components of customer satisfaction, recognition of constraints, strategic implications, and desired results; Execution and Assessment - resource planning, internal resources, operations, and post-sales support; Continuous Improvement and Innovation - feedback, recognizing gaps between capabilities for delivering products and services and needs of customers, improvements in processes, support systems and measurements, and post-sales support, and managing dynamics.
Credit recommendation: Version 1 or 2: For this examination, paired with Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals (or its former title, Support Functions), in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as Inventory Management, Logistics and Distribution Management, or Materials Management in Production/Operations Management, Business Administration, or Management (6/93) (8/99 revalidation). NOTE: This examination and Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals (or its former title, Support Functions) must both be completed to receive credit.

Designing Products and Processes
(Formerly Manufacturing Processes)
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual's preparation needs.
Dates: Version 1: March 1992 - December 1997. Version 2: January 1998 - December 2001.
Objectives: Version 1 or 2: Describe the methods that companies use in designing, producing, and delivering goods and services required by customers; discuss how the manufacturing processes serve as the execution component to other activities of an integrated manufacturing system; discuss the interrelationships among industrial facilities management, process design and development, and manufacturing.
Instruction: Version 1: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering the manufacturing processes in support of and consistent with customer requirements and needs. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Industrial Facilities Management - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Process Design and Development - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Manufacturing (production) - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Relationships - between industrial facilities management and process design and development, between process design and development and manufacturing, between industrial facilities management and manufacturing, and among industrial facilities management, process design and development, and manufacturing. Version 2: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering the manufacturing processes in support of and consistent with customer requirements and needs. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Comprehension and Translation of Requirements -enterprise strategy and mission, product and service strategy, customer requirements and perception of value, competitive factors, and external considerations; Work Structure - Planning and Implementing a Design Project -organization, resources, and design activity outputs; Performance Assessment of the Design Process -measurement issues, measurement criteria, measurement data, process testing and verification; Continuous Improvement and Innovation -reengineering, concurrent engineering, continuous improvement, communication technologies, customer involvement, design simulation, rapid prototyping, environmentally sensitive engineering, and mass customization.
Credit recommendation: Version 1 or 2: For this examination, paired with Identifying and Creating Demand (or its former title, Customers and Products), in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as Product and Process Design, Manufacturing Processes, or Systems Analysis and Operations Management in Production/Operations Management, Business Administration, or Management (6/93) (8/99 revalidation). NOTE: This examination and Identifying and Creating Demand (or its former title, Customers and Products) must both be completed to receive credit.
 
Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals
(Formerly Support Functions)
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual's preparation needs.
Dates: Version 1: March 1992 - December 1997. Version 2: January 1998 - December 2001.
Objectives: Version 1 or 2: Discuss activities that an organization undertakes that usually do not directly create product or bring revenue to the organization, but which support those departments that do; describe the services provided to organizations and why they are important to the overall success of the firm; apply concepts and techniques of total quality management, human resource management, finance and accounting, and information systems and discuss how each supports the organization's goals and contributes to an environment that enables the other areas to carry out their charters.
Instruction: Version 1: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering the various activities of an organization that exist primarily to provide services to the organization. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Total Quality Management - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Human Resources - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Finance and Accounting - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Information Systems - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Relationships - between quality management and human resources, between quality management and accounting and finance, between information systems and human resources, between information systems and accounting and finance, between human resources and accounting and finance, between quality management and information systems, and among accounting and finance, human resources, and information systems. Version 2: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering the various activities of an organization that exist primarily to provide services to the organization. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Strategic Fundamentals - the value-driven enterprise, the nature of the enterprise, vision and mission, strategic goals and objectives, core competencies, the value-added enterprise, planning, and measurement of success; Management Concepts - organizational design factors, organizational structures, and managerial functions; Business Processes - identifying and creating demand, designing products and processes, delivering products and services; Support Functions - quality, human resources, finance and accounting, and information systems.
Credit recommendation: Version 1 or 2: For this examination, paired with Delivering Products and Services (or its former title, Logistics), in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as Inventory Management, Logistics and Distribution Management, or Materials Management in Production/Operations Management, Business Administration, or Management (6/93) (8/99 revalidation). NOTE: This examination and Delivering Products and Services (or its former title, Logistics) must both be completed to receive credit.

Identifying and Creating Demand
(Formerly Customers and Products)
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual's preparation needs.
Dates: Version 1: November 1991 - December 1997. Version 2: January 1998 - December 2001.
Objectives: Version 1 or 2: Discuss the manufacturing functions and tasks that relate to the design, sale, and service of a product; apply the life cycle concept to recognize a need in the marketplace, identify and satisfy customer needs, and identify demand sufficient to justify investment in product development.
Instruction: Version 1: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering product design and development as the function of creating a product that satisfies customers' needs in a manner consistent with the objectives of the enterprise. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Marketing and Sales - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Field Service - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Product Design and Development - objectives, strategic issues, functional responsibilities, directions, performance measures, and information; Relationships - between marketing and field service, between marketing and product design and development, between field service and product design and development, and among marketing, field service, and product design and development. Version 2: Three-hour, 125-item examination, covering product design and development as the function of creating a product that satisfies customers' needs in a manner consistent with the objectives of the enterprise. Major content areas and related topics covered include: Business Planning and Customer Demand - environment, competition, customers, and business planning; Marketing - market analysis, setting strategy and the market plan, marketing organization, and executing the market plan; Sales - sales strategy, sales forecasting, sales relationship management, and sales process; Customer Ordering and Service - order entry, order status information, sales order changes, and electronic commerce; Performance Measurement - enterprise level, marketing, and sales.
Credit recommendation: Version 1 or 2: For this examination, paired with Designing Products and Processes (or its former title, Manufacturing Processes), in the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 3 semester hours as Product and Process Design, Manufacturing Processes, or Systems Analysis and Operations Management in Production/Operations Management, Business Administration, or Management (6/93) (8/99 revalidation). NOTE: This examination and Designing Products and Processes (or its former title, Manufacturing Processes) must both be completed to receive credit.

Integrated Enterprise Management
Location: Proficiency examination program administered by the national offices of APICS.
Length: Variable, depending upon the individual's preparation needs.
Dates: Version 1: March 1993 - December 1998. Version 2: January 1999 - December 2001.
Objectives: Version 1 or 2: Describe the personal and teamwork skills required to align the functions and members of the enterprise with operational and organizational goals; apply these skills when considering differing perspectives, varying enterprise and functional needs, the multiple needs of enterprise members, and external factors; examine existing strategies in the context of a global environment; identify key issues and prepare alternatives to improve operations.
Instruction: Version 1: Three-hour, capstone examination, involving multiple choice items and cases covering the personal and teamwork skills required in choosing among alternatives for effective integrated enterprise management. Major content areas and related topics include: Personal skills - personal characteristics, communication skills, and computer literacy; Teamwork skills - leadership, membership, team as an organization, and accomplishing change; Functions and their Integration within the Enterprise - understanding business processes that require interaction and integration, identification of appropriate interactions that relate to the business processes and activities, understanding of another function's perspective, and recognition of integration mechanisms; Enterprise - vision and mission, strategic goals and critical success factors, strategic decisions, issues that affect strategy, and measurement of success; Enterprise in the Environment - global, domestic, environmental, and stakeholder influences; Enterprise through Time - operation within each phase: start-up, growth, maturity, and decline, and transition between phases. (Prerequisites: Successful completion of Customers and Products, Logistics, Manufacturing Processes, and Support Functions.) Version 2: Three-hour, capstone examination, involving multiple choice items and cases covering the personal and teamwork skills required in choosing among alternatives for effective integrated enterprise management. Major content areas and related topics include: Personal Skills Necessary for the Individual to Succeed in an Integrated Enterprise - personal characteristics, communication skills, and information technology familiarity; Teamwork Skills and Making Change Happen - leadership, operation, team as an organization, accomplishing change, and project management; Functions and Their Integration within the Enterprise - understanding business processes that require interaction and integration, identifying appropriate interactions that relate to the business processes and activities, understanding of another function's perspective, and recognition of integration mechanisms; Enterprise - vision and mission, strategic goals and critical success factors, strategic decisions, issues that affect strategy, and measurement of success; Enterprise in the Environment - global, domestic, environmental, stakeholder influences, and competition; Enterprise Through Time - operation within each phase: start-up, growth, maturity, and decline, transition between phases, and demand and technology changes. (Prerequisites: Successful completion of Delivering Products and Services, Designing Products and Processes, Enterprise Concepts and Fundamentals, and Identifying and Creating Demand.)
Credit recommendation: Version 1 or 2: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 2 semester hours as Operations Strategy in Production/Operations Management, Business Administration, or Management (6/93) (8/99 revalidation).

Updated 3/9/05

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