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APICS The Association for Operations Management, is a not-for-profit international education organization, offering certification programs, training tools and networking opportunities to increase workplace performance. It was founded in 1957 as the American Production and Inventory Control Society, and currently has about 77,000 individual and corporate members in over 25,000 affiliates worldwide. As of April 2008, the organization is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

APICS defines operations management as "the field of study that focuses on the effective planning, scheduling, use and control of a manufacturing or service organization through the study of concepts from design engineering, industrial engineering, management information systems, quality management, production management, inventory management, accounting, and other functions as they affect the organization" (APICS Dictionary, 11th edition). The main thrust of APICS' knowledge is how to improve corporate profits by removing hidden costs.

APICS is also considered an authority on business management systems such as MRP and ERP, Just In Time, and Zero Defects.

APICS awards three professional designations: APICS CPIM (Certified in Production and Inventory Management), APICS CIRM (Certified in Integrated Resource Management) and APICS CSCP (Certified Supply Chain Professional). The CFPIM (Certified Fellow in Production and Inventory Management) has only been achieved by about 1200 masters of the APICS CPIM body of knowledge. The CIRM program will be discontinued in 2008 although the CIRM certification will continue to be recognized by APICS.

External links

• APICS website