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CERTIFICATION IN TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS |
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TESTIMONIES |
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Having
undergone professional certification from
APICS on CPIM , CIRM , CSCP , I applied the
same exhaustively in my area of work on hard
core Operations and Supply Chain Management
with encouraging results and was able to
harness the respect and awe of my seniors ….
APICS helped me a lot to get a better
perspective on business management and it
would not be to pompous to claim that APICS
does provide a distinct competitive
advantage for the Certified professionals.
In 2007 I moved to a Corporate function role
to manage India Logistics for Delphi
Automotive Systems Ltd. (My previous role
being Asia Pacific Manager for Supply Chain
) , I felt the need to understand Logistics
from a meaningful perspective rather than a
general overview which I already possessed .
ASTL for the first time in India offered the
course in CTL and was launched in early 2007
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I was however the only
professional appearing for the exams from Delhi
Area , I believe the same will change shortly
and we will have big batches of CTL aspiring
professionals appearing for the Certification .
Certification in Transportation and Logistics
equips a professional to understand the world of
International Logistics right from the evolution
of transportation, multimodal methods, costing
of transportation, operations, distribution
management, and solutions design for the
warehouse setups …. At the end of the course
you cannot help but feel a sense of
gratification on gone through the same and
immense learning associated with it ….I was
successful in applying this knowledge at Delphi
by mapping the flows into India and saving big
$’s for the Organization . Sharing the details
of the project does not fall under the preview
of these recommendations else it would have been
a great learning to share amongst the
professionals …..
India with the Logistics in the Stone Age has a
long way to go before we compare ourselves with
the best in the world …. We do have big
investments planned in Logistics and
Infrastructure by both the Public and Private
companies in near future which will take us a
step towards that vision, I strongly feel and
recommend that every Supply Chain professional
needs to equip themselves with this ocean of
Knowledge offered by CTL and explore the
possibilities of applying the same in their area
of work and making this Country a better place
to do business …..
Having sensed the big opportunity in the field
of Logistics I moved to an International
logistics Company recently to head the Contract
Logistics vertical in India …. The need for
outsourcing Logistics has never been felt so
strongly by Indian Companies as before …. We are
really becoming Global in our outlook and the
best practices of the worlds of Europe and NA
will start pouring in India shortly …. It is for
us to show the world the real talent offered by
the Indian professionals …. The question is are
we skilled enough to take up this challenge?
Alok Manaktala
CPIM , CIRM , CSCP , CTL , CPM
manaktalaalok@yahoo.co.in
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AST&L Certification - Why bother?
The other day one of my friends ask me "How
much longer are you going to work?" Since
then I have given this question much thought
and I still do not have a firm answer for
him. His question has however caused me to
reflect back on a working career of over 40
years. In doing so I now see that no matter
how much we plan out the details of our
lives, we are never in full control. Looking
back I find it is the small things (small at
the time) that determine the turning points
in our careers. Some call these points
"being in the right place at the right
time", "plain luck", or "divine
intervention". |
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As a youngster growing up in a
working class family I knew I wanted to work
with and around trucks, trains, and boats. Later
in high school I set my eyes on a career in the
transportation field and have never looked back.
First it was a BS Degree with a major in
Transportation, followed nine years later by an
MBA. During this time I also managed to work for
one truck line, three railroads and a barge
line. On a resume this is called "getting on the
job experience". By this time I had a good job
with a great company working in their
Transportation Department. But as I looked
around at the other bright young people working
in the same department, I did not have in myself
the confidence and satisfaction I wanted.
During this time the American Society of Traffic
and Transportation (later changed to American
Society of Transportation and Logistics) was
going strong so I decided to look into their
certification program. At the time the only way
to be certified was to take their exams and
write an original research paper. To my
surprise, the program was not easy and I found
myself studying for each exam. I was one happy
guy when in February 1975 I received a letter
from AST&L advising me I had "completed all of
the requirements for Certified Membership".
Being accepted as a certified member in an
association of true transportation professionals
gave me a great sense of achievement and
provided me with the confidence I needed to move
forward. I truly look back and see this as the
point in time when I became a professional
myself.
The question I often hear is "Will
certification help me get a better job? My
answer is "It sure helped me". Twenty-five
years ago I got a call from a AST&L member whom
I had known for years. He was looking to retire
and wanted to know if I would be interested in
changing jobs. The answer was "yes". Without the
certification from AST&L, I would never have
been considered for the job. With it I had both
the background and confidence needed. As they
say "the rest is history".
Today I believe certification in our field is
more important than ever. This belief was my
driving force when, in 2002 as Chairman of The
National Industrial Transportation League, I
worked for the agreement whereby AST&L became a
separate entity of NITL. AST&L's future is
bright and I advise anyone interested in the
field of transportation and logistics to invest
time in themselves and become a certified
member. It may well be one of those turning
points in your life like it was in mine.
Van Hayes, CTL
Manager of Transportation
Support
Vulcan Materials Company |
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I have had a passion throughout my career to
increase my knowledge of the transportation
industry. I wanted to be more valuable to my
employer, my customers and in the end to
myself.
The more I knew the greater the
opportunities for me to help and also
advance in my career.
AST&L has provided for me an ongoing
platform to learn about all the changes
going on on transportation and logistics.
One side benefit has been the ever growing
circle of peers and teachers and
professionals upon whom I can call for
assistance, and vice versa. |
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My
membership has been a personal and professional
blessing.
Jerry Hempstead, DLP
Vice president DHL |
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"The
object of education is to prepare the young
to educate themselves throughout their
lives." -Robert M. Hutchins
When I was asked to discuss the value of obtaining the designation
"certified in transportation and logistics"
(CTL), I found myself contemplating what
being "certified" really means. To me,
the CTL designation is an indication of how
important life long learning is to an
individual. The CTL reflects my desire
to always challenge myself to stay current
in our ever changing field. So while the
process of becoming "certified" may seem
daunting, the real value of the designation
is in the process of acquiring it. |
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Certification by the American Society of
Transportation & Logistics (AST&L) is the mark
of excellence among transportation and logistics
professionals and provides a tangible example of
how important life long learning is to you.
Michael Knemeyer, CTL
Assistant Professor, Marketing and Logistics
The Ohio State University |
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Two times
in my career I was hired because I was
certified, and the other final candidate was
not. In both instances, I learned about
a year after getting the job that the other
finalists and I had similar backgrounds,
educations, abilities, and experiences. But
the other guys had not given anything back
to their profession, and had not given
anything back to themselves. They didn't
belong to professional societies like AST&L,
they hadn't shared their knowledge with
other practitioners, and they hadn't
furthered their own educations. In the first
of these interview situations, the hiring
manager didn't know what a CTL was. When I
explained the body of knowledge it
represented, and compared it to the C.P.M.,
with which he was familiar, the interview
was essentially over - I had an offer the
next day. |
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In
the second instance, the hiring manager not only
knew what the CTL was, he had listed it as a
"preferred" qualification in the job
description. That credential, and my current
active membership in AST&L and other
organizations, gave me an advantage that carried
through the entire interview process, up to the
offer I accepted.
George Yarusavage, CTL
Manager - Transportation Procurement
Verizon Wireless
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