Online education provider gets high marks from buyers

Wayne Forrest -- Purchasing, 10/6/2005

Francis DiMotta certainly knows that the art of purchasing has changed considerably over his 20-plus years in manufacturing, serving in various procurement, warehouse supervision and materials control positions.

"Purchasing is not just getting on the phone anymore, placing an order and going with your gut feeling," says the inventory control manager for AFCO Systems, in Farmingdale, N.Y. The need to continually educate one's self on burgeoning procurement techniques and purchasing nuances is one of the reasons DiMotta began to investigate online training as a way to enhance his own skills and diversify the way he helps AFCO become more profitable.

He explored the route of becoming a certified purchasing manager (CPM), but felt that designation now is all too common among procurement professionals. So he went to the world of online training and found Next Level Purchasing (NLP), based in Pittsburgh, an online training program designed specifically for novice and seasoned purchasing people. NLP founder Charles Dominick served in purchasing positions at several companies before plunking down his initial investment of $2,000 and setting off to help educate buyers.

Online topics offered to buyers by NLP range from online reverse auctions to e-procurement to strategic sourcing and supplier performance. But it's not just the delivery medium that's new. At the end of the program, NLP offers its own senior professional in supply management (SPSM) certification, which was first offered in July 2004.

Currently, aspiring students can take as many as 10 classes online through the NLP program to reach SPSM certification. The number of full-length course attendees approached 1,000 students, as of early September. NLP also offers a free class that takes about an hour to complete and is not as comprehensive as the full class. Some 15,000 participants have taken that course.

As the number of SPSM certificate recipients increases in the U.S. and around the world, NLP hopes that its certification becomes globally recognized. "I felt that to have the SPSM be considered a high-quality certification and have it globally recognized, we needed everyone in the world to go to a single source, so everyone gets the same high-quality education," Dominick says.

The average time to complete the courses and receive SPSM certification programs is 4.5 months, as the great majority of enrollees take the course while working full-time. One diligent graduate completed the task in 59 days, devoting full-time to the program.

The SPSM program costs $1,149. Dominick says the majority of the enrollment fees are paid by either the student/employee's company or reimbursed upon successful completion of the course.

"In the end, it benefits the company and the employee, Dominick said. "The company will see measurable results in terms of savings and efficiency. It is an investment for the company, rather than an expense."

Daniel D. Sergent, an MRO buyer at U.S. Sugar in Clewiston, Fla., became SPSM-certified this past January after starting his NLP online classes in September 2004. He graduated from Ohio State University in 2001 with a degree in international business, honing his skills with Chiquita Brands in Cincinnati. While at Chiquita, Sergent helped the company centralize its global purchasing efforts in Costa Rica last year, before joining U.S. Sugar in the third quarter of 2004.

The education he received from NLP's online courses "helps with everyday purchasing, as far as processing requisitions and getting to know the industry of purchasing," Sergent says. "If I do move on, I have something that says I have certification in my industry, that I am dedicated, and I think I would have en edge over someone with a similar resume."

Identifying and understanding key elements of contracts, tracking capital projects from start to finish, and hitting targets and milestones are three of Sergent's key responsibilities. Already, U.S. Sugar has given him additional tasks because of his online continuing education and certification.

Sergent's attraction to online education was the flexibility to take the courses at his own pace and as time allowed. "I don't have the time or the resources to go to a two-year masters program, but, at the same time, I wanted to work on an individual development plan," he says. "I wanted something to show my manager that I have done other things to improve myself."

On the surface, online education may seem like a no-brainer when it comes to studying and test-taking, but Sergent stresses that self discipline is needed and, if a student doesn't do the exercises within each course subject, he or she will be lost when it is time to take the 90-minute final exam.

"After it was over, I was kicking myself that I should have studied more," he adds. "You do the exercises and the activities, but when the test comes around, you have to know [the material] with the activities that are fresh in your mind. As far as going back over what you did over the last few months, forget it. The exam is very tough."

AFCO's DiMotta concurred. Forget the thought of having an advantage with an open book or squirreling away cheat notes. "Right from the pre-test, you either know what you're talking about or you don't," he says. "There are some modules where you have to work with data, so there is no set answer. You either know the formula or you don't. If you don't do the job, you won't pass."

For DiMotta, the lure of NLP's education program and SPSM certification was, in part, financial. He estimates that earning a CPM certification would have cost approximately $7,200— $1,600 each for four courses to achieve CPM status.

One of DiMotta's goals was to learn how to accurately calculate and present cost savings to upper management and the residual effect on a company's bottom line beyond the rudimentary numbers of reduced spend.

"Even with inventory control, I am involved with the actual costing of the part," DiMotta says. "So, we are starting to look at standard lots, how we are costing our products and whether we are making a profit or not."