Wichita Chapter represented at Winter Region 5 Meeting in Des Moines

Ron Lunsford and I attended the Region 5 Winter meeting on February 22 in Des Moines along with over 30 other chapter officers. Since Presidents' Day was earlier in the week, the morning started with a leadership eye opener with questions related to past presidents.  Mrs. Tammy Williams, CPIM, new Region 5 Vice President, covered the present and future structure of our new APICS organization.  The APICS board of directors is working under the leadership of President Bob Collins, CPIM, CIRM, to refocus on Production and Inventory Control. The minutes and presentation are at the national website {see below}.  She made several points and presented a new mini-region meeting schedule this summer, replacing the Chapter Presidents' meeting.  Wichita is slated to host one on August 16, 2003. Denny Larsen, CPIM presented a workshop on strategic planning with a group exercise on APICS strengths and weaknesses. Then Chapter Presidents' reported on how chapters are making their PDM's fun in light of decreased attendance at most chapters. SE Kansas reported 50% attendance for their PDMs. Ione Dykstra, CPIM, introduced a new membership program, Member-Get-a-Member.   The meeting closed after a question and answer session on the state of APICS at the Society level. If you have any questions or concerns about issues at the national, regional, or chapter level, please do not hesitate to contact us or watch one of the webinars coming up that are posted at www.apics.org.

Notes from the January 10-12th APICS Society Board meeting in Alexandria, VA:

APICS Mission

APICS is the global leader and premier provider of information and services
in production and inventory management and related areas to enable members, enterprises, and individuals to add value to their business performance. 

• In 2002, total customer contacts decreased by 5 percent from 2001, calls received decreased by 11 percent from 2001, but e-mails increased by 39 percent from 2001.  The increase in e-mail traffic has affected service levels as e-mail generally takes twice the time to complete than telephone inquiries.
• Delivery service levels at the distribution operation continue to remain high, with 99% of orders shipped within 24 hours and 78% of orders shipped same day as received.
• As of December 31, 2002, 1,288 applications for CPIM recertification were received by APICS.  The CIRM committee is undertaking a thorough evaluation of the CIRM certification program.  In no way has a decision been made to abandon the program, but the committee is researching all of the options available, including partnering with another organization.

·         Although the aprket remains depressed, APICS continues to pursue a sublet tenant through the services of one of the leading commercial real estate brokerage firms.

• 2003 President Bob Collins announced that the American Society for Association Executive’s Foundation is recognizing the APICS executive director, Jeffry Raynes, with their highest honor for his vision and partnership in the association community.  The award will be presented at their annual event on April 19.
• For more information, please read the APICS - The Performance Advantage or visit the Strategic Directives Web page in the APICS Members-Only section.