APICS Central Minnesota Chapter History

Central Minnesota APICS has focused on its mission of providing manufacturing educational resources and promoting professionalism in operations for over 20 years. The chapter started as a project under the Twin Cities Chapter which provided guidance and funding for the first years. After several years the local board determined project status should be dropped and we became an official APICS chapter.

The first dinner meeting exceeded initial expectations and the chapter has maintained a steady attendance record by offering topics related to traditional operations concerns and the occasional “softer” subjects like Human Relations or Finance. The chapter has earned national status by qualifying under the rigors of the chapter awards program.

Over the past couple of decades, teams of volunteer chapter members from our local companies have not only produced dinner meetings, but have offered excellent educational opportunities for certification, seminars on various topics and expert advice.

As a chapter, we do not track the progress of our members in their careers but if one quickly looks at manufacturing and service companies in the area, you will find our members in key positions using the benefits of their association with Central Minnesota APICS.

APICS
The Association for Operations Management

APICS—The Association for Operations Management is a not-for-profit international educational organization respected throughout the world for its education and professional certification programs. With more than 70,000 individual and corporate members in 20,000 companies worldwide, APICS is dedicated to using education to improve the business bottom line.

APICS is recognized globally as:

  • the source of knowledge and expertise for manufacturing and service industries across the entire supply chain in such areas as materials management, information services, purchasing and quality.
  • the leading provider of high-quality, cutting-edge educational programs that advance organizational success in a changing, competitive marketplace
  • a successful developer of three internationally recognized certification programs, Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM), Certified in Integrated Resource Management (CIRM), and Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP)
  • a distribution center for hundreds of business management publications and educational materials
  • a source of solutions, support, and networking local chapters, workshops, symposia, and the annual APICS International Conference and Exposition.

Founded in 1957 as the American Production and Inventory Control Society, APICS has since expanded its focus to include a full range of programs and materials on individual and organizational education, standards of excellence, and integrated resource management. To reflect this new direction, we are now known as APICS—The Association for Operations Management.

NOTE: Thanks to our friends at the APICS-Twin Cities chapter for the above text.