The American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) was founded in 1957 for the purpose of “building and validating knowledge in supply chain and operations management.” Today, APICS is an international organization with over 40,000 members that provides training and educational opportunities in the form of professional certifications, professional courses, workshops and resource materials for supply chain management professionals. One of the certifications offered by APICS is the CSCP, or Certified Supply Chain Professional. The certification is often required by employers for key personnel in charge of managing the production and distribution of their products.
A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technologies, activities, information and resources involved in moving materials, products and services all the way through the manufacturing process, from the original provider of materials provider to the end customer. Supply chain management is the supply and demand management of these materials, products and services within and across companies. This includes the oversight of products as they move from provider to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Some companies use the term "logistics" interchangeably with "supply chain management," while others distinguish between the two terms. The distinction is that supply chain management does not just oversee the tracking of materials or products through shipment, but spans all movement and storage of raw materials, works-in-process, finished goods and inventory from the point of origin to the point of consumption. It involves the coordination of processes and activities with and across other business operations into a cohesive and high-performing business model.
The ultimate goal of a successful supply chain management strategy is to insure that products are available when they are needed, thereby reducing the need to store large amounts of inventory. Supply chain management strategies must incorporate the distribution network configuration. Distribution networks consist of the number and location of suppliers, production facilities, distribution centers, warehouses and customers. These must be integrated with all the information systems that process the transfer of goods and materials, including forecasting, inventory and transportation.
Supply chain management oversees three primary flows. Product flow involves the movement of goods and materials through the manufacturing process from suppliers through consumers. Information flow involves the transmitting of orders and the tracking of goods and products through delivery. Financial flow consists of payment schedules, credit terms, consignments and title ownership agreements.
APICS’s Basics of Supply Chain Management is an online course that is designed to prepare you for the BSCM exam. APICS also offers several course options on supply chain management in preparation for certification. What APICS calls "Foundational Courses" are not for individuals seeking certification, but rather for those who want to develop skills and knowledge on supply chain and operations management. "Certification Review Courses" are designed for those seeking CSCP designations. Workshops are offered for continuing education. Continuing education is a requirement of maintaining CSCP certification, which must be renewed every five years. APICS also publishes several manuals that provide an overview of the curriculum, test specifications, test-taking advice, key terminology and sample questions with their answers.
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In a world of Kindles, tangible books will forever have a place in my heart. Images of art and photography are just not done justice on a screen, thanks to the limited display capacity compared to print. Top-quality art and photography coffee table books are a wonderful way to display your interests in your home, but they can often be pricey. So, it’s an exciting time when one of the world’s leading publishers has a really big sale. Taschen has stores in international cities such as New York, Paris, and Hong Kong, but you don’t have to visit one in person to score a sweet deal on a luxury book. Whether looking for gifts, adding to a library collection, or something to leave on your coffee table, the selections of Taschen books now on sale are outrageously beautiful and historic–but don’t snooze since the sale is only live for a few days until February 5.
Aside from historic artists such as Hieronymus Bosch and Frida Kahlo, you’ll find premium books featuring popular culture syllabus like Star Wars and David Bowie. Subjects from dogs to surfing are available in smaller formats as well. There’s plenty for photography and architecture enthusiasts, including the late Beijing photog Ren Hang. The books come in a variety of sizes, from pocket to XXL, and have expert commentaries and biographies accompanying the images. Some are as little as $8; scroll through to see a few of our top picks.
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The fact that it took 15 ballots for the 118th Congress to elect Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker of the House has created great uncertainty about what the new House Republican majority is likely to do on key legislation, including bills related to transportation and infrastructure.
One criticism Republicans leveled at former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was that she was effectively a dictator who managed to get results through intense party discipline. A subset of those Republicans proceeded to prove they were dead serious about that criticism by not only withholding their votes from McCarthy through multiple rounds of voting but also by insisting on serious rules changes to make this House less of a centrally controlled body — much more open to debate and amendments from all members than the one Pelosi presided over.
The rules changes could have unforeseen effects on many issues. Yet several experts the Washington Examiner consulted did not think it ultimately would make a great deal of difference on major transportation legislation. It's one area of policymaking that's traditionally been more bipartisan. "There is no such thing as Democratic or Republican roads or bridges," goes a common Washington refrain. It was a lesson drilled home by the latest joint appearance of President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), usually fierce political opponents, to talk up funding renovations for the Brent Spence Bridge, which connects Ohio and Kentucky.
Kevin Kosar, a political scientist at the American Enterprise Institute, said that while “devolving power from the speaker to committees and individual members” was a “good development,” he predicted it would “make the legislative process more messy and difficult for the speaker to direct.”
However, he didn’t foresee a lot of bumps in the road for transportation.
“Being speaker means assembling majorities to pass bills,” Kosar explained. “Now, doing that on noncontroversial bills, legislation that addresses nonpolarized syllabus or boring issues, the speaker is going to get bills through, and those bills will have bipartisan support.”
He added, “Even during the craziest days of the Trump years when knives were out, Congress nonetheless passed bills that became laws.”
For all nonboring legislation, he said, “the sledding will be tough. Why? Because the House GOP has a very narrow majority, which makes the speaker’s job tough. He cannot count on support from Democrats, so he needs to wrangle nearly all his caucus,” and that group of lawmakers has just shown itself to be exceptionally hard to wrangle.
James Wallner, a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, was blunter.
“Most lawmakers support infrastructure,” Wallner told the Washington Examiner. “If leadership puts an infrastructure bill on the floor and lets lawmakers debate and amend it, it will pass.”
So far, the transition on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has been as noneventful as the speaker change was fraught with drama. As expected, Rep. Sam Graves (MO), the former ranking Republican member, was elected chairman by his GOP colleagues.
“America cannot prosper without a safe and efficient transportation network that meets the economic needs of our diverse states and communities,” Graves said in his first news release as chairman.
That statement contained no surprises whatsoever for people who have been following legislative transportation issues.
“T&I will have a full agenda over the next two years, including oversight of the Administration, its implementation of the massive $1.2 trillion infrastructure law, and its policies that have exacerbated many of the economic crises facing our Nation,” Graves said.
The new chairman promised to look at how to “alleviate ongoing energy and supply chain problems” and announced that one of his “highest priorities” would be a “bipartisan, long-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration and aviation programs.” He also looked forward to “a pipeline safety bill, a Coast Guard bill, and the next Water Resources Development Act.”
Graves’s approach to these issues is likely to differ significantly from how his Democratic predecessors would have legislated. But the differences are highly predictable ones. That could be good in one sense: The smart money for passing legislation in this new House with a very thin Republican majority is on non-headline-grabbing legislation.
Still, that approach will leave some folks wanting bold action, especially when it comes to taking on Biden administration bureaucracy.
“While lawmakers will clearly focus on FAA and pipeline safety reauthorization, railroads believe lawmakers can act on a bipartisan basis to provide proper oversight of the Federal Railroad Administration,” Association of American Railroads spokesman Ted Greener told the Washington Examiner. “The agency has shown a repeated reluctance to embrace technology that improves safety, sometimes in stark contrast to the stated goals of the full U.S. Department of Transportation.”
Operating System
Windows 11
Windows 11
Windows 11
Windows 11
Processor
Intel 13th Gen Core i7
Intel 13th Gen Core i7
Intel 13th Gen Core i7
Intel 13th Gen Core i9
Graphics
Iris XE graphics
Iris XE graphics
Iris XE graphics
RTX graphics card
Memory
16GB LPDDR5 RAM
16GB LPDDR5 RAM
32GB LPDDR5 RAM
32GB LPDDR5 RAM
Internal Storage
512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD PCIe Gen4
512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD PCIe Gen4
512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD PCIe Gen4
512GB or 1TB NVMe SSD PCIe Gen4
Display
14 to16-inch AMOLED 3K display
16:10 aspect ratio
13.3 to 15.6-inch AMOLED 3K display
16:10 aspect ratio
16-inch AMOLED 3K display
120Hz refresh rate
16:10 aspect ratio
16-inch AMOLED 3K display
120Hz refresh rate
16:10 aspect ratio
Webcam
Full HD
Full HD
Full HD
Full HD
Audio
AKG quad speakers
Dolby Atmos support
Dual speakers
Dolby Atmos support
AKG quad speakers
Dolby Atmos support
AKG quad speakers
Dolby Atmos support
Input
Thunderbolt, USB-A, HDMI and MicroSD ports
3.5mm jack
Connectivity
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
Instant hotspot for Galaxy phones
Battery Life & Power
76Wh Li-Ion battery
63Wh Li-Ion battery
76Wh Li-Ion battery
76Wh Li-Ion battery
136W compact fast-charging adapter
Battery Recharge Time
55% charge in 30 minutes
Weight and Dimensions
3.53lbs
13mm thick
2.65lbs
11mm thick
3.53lbs
13mm thick
3.97lbs
17mm thick
Color
Beige, Graphite, and Silver
Beige, Graphite, and Silver
Beige, Graphite, and Silver
Beige, Graphite, and Silver
Price
$1,449.99
$1,299.99
$1,699.99
$2,199.99
Accessories
S Pen compatible
S Pen with reduced latency
S Pen with reduced latency