New academic programs for purchasing
By Staff -- Purchasing, 5/6/1999
Take a look at business programs at universities across the country and you'll find very few that offer more than a course or two that's focused on purchasing. And any courses that involve purchasing typically are scattered among logistics, finance, and marketing courses."There has never been consideration placed on purchasing" at most academic institutions, says Dr. Eberard Scheuing, National Association of Purchasing Management (napm) Professor of Purchasing and Supply Leadership. "Most people move into purchasing without an academic background."
But with the growing realization among business leaders that purchasing is of strategic, long-term critical importance to company success, some institutions of higher learning appear to be increasing their focus on supply management.
St. John's University in New York City is one such example. Pending approval from the New York State Board of Education, a complete Master's of Science degree program will be offered at the university in Purchasing and Supply Leadership in the fall and/or spring.
"The course is for practicing professionals," says Dr. Scheuing, who helped design the course. "There has long been a need to give academic framework to people with experience.
"This is the only program of its kind in the Northeast," says Scheuing of the St. John's program. He adds that the St. John's program differs from others in that it is a Master's of Science program, not a Master's of Business, as most purchasing programs have tended to be.
The University of Maryland has long offered a Master's of Science in purchasing similar to the proposed St. John's program, which Scheuing calls a "vertical degree, very specialized. This is a state-of-the-art program."
Many buyers have no training
The lack of educational programs in the purchasing profession also has been noticed by Kenneth Rowe, president of Rowe Associates, Inc., a company specializing in the development of courses for purchasing and supply chain management. Rowe points out that this lack of degree programs results in a good deal of industrial buying being done by people with little or no training in professional purchasing. "A report published by the Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies (caps) found that 59% of purchasing was being handled through non-purchasing people," he says.
"This has long been a clerically driven profession," says Rowe, who began designing and offering courses intended to have purchasing executives take a more proactive approach to their jobs. Courses offered at Northeastern University, Louisville University, and the University of Houston are aimed at expanding the responsibilities and potential for a purchasing executive. Attendees to the courses also earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) toward Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) certification or recertification.
Whereas the master's degree course at St. John's is being offered exclusively to current purchasing executives, the Rowe courses are offered to anyone remotely connected to purchasing, from engineering to marketing, and everyone within the purchasing chain from new to senior executives.
Many courses are designed with the C.P.M. exam in mind and are tailored for people to prepare for the exam. For instance, courses offered through Rowe prepare people for the exam and are altered as requirements in the purchasing position change.
Rowe adds that the courses do not go in full depth of recent changes and technologies in purchasing, however. "We try not to focus too much on computerized trends since computerized purchasing is unique for each company. We may mention it, to make people aware, but we won't focus on it," says Rowe. Instead the courses focus on negotiating and the blending of technical skills with personal skills.
New DCAT course
A new one-week course for purchasing executives in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry is scheduled to begin this month. Run by the Drug, Chemical & Allied Trades Association (dcat), in conjunction with Penn State University, the course will focus on changes and practices in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. "There is a need for a purchasing program to run the gamut of practices in the industry," says John Pashko from pharmaceutical maker Merck. Pashko helped develop the course. "We also intend to hone the negotiating skills of people in the course."
The dcat course is available to individuals who are new to the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, or new to purchasing. Attendees earn 10 CEUs toward C.P.M. certification.
Much of the dcat course is conducted in a teamlike environment. Representatives from various companies break off into six teams of five or six people and practice negotiating skills with and against other executives.
Even with these new purchasing programs there still exists a serious lack of educational training directed specifically toward procurement. Master's programs have long been offered at Arizona State, Michigan State, Maryland, and some other universities. And seminars and workshops are available from various companies and universities. But the lack of degreed programs is something that should concern U.S. business leaders and all purchasing professionals, and may present a major opportunity for colleges and universities that can create superior programs in purchasing and supply management. m
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