The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management of Nigeria (CIPSMN) has inducted new members, totaling 234 across the country.
They were inducted last weekend in Lagos, with Lagos State producing the highest number (72), followed by Kaduna (34), Osun (25), and Ondo State (22), among others.
Some were conferred with a professional graduate diploma and certificates, while others were awarded honorary fellowship of the institute. Speaking at the event, the President/Chairman in Council of the institute, Sikiru Balogun, told inductees, who are under Group A for the year, to understand that their new roles as supply chain professionals are not only multifaceted but also demanding.
According to him, as professionals, they must navigate intricate networks of suppliers, distributors, and partners and ensure their services are cost-effective and goods are delivered on time.
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He said they should understand that any decision they make in the line of their duties would have ripple effects on their activities, from inventory levels to end-users.
Balogun urged them to always remember they are not just managing products but also managing relationships, trust, and reputation and therefore should be guided by the ethics of the profession, which entails due diligence, integrity, transparency, honesty, and trust, among others.
The president also asked them to embrace continuous learning, innovation, and collaboration with relevant stakeholders, saying that is part of the ways to make a great impact in their profession and the global space.
On his part, the Registrar/CEO of the institute, Prof. Mohammed Aliyu, lamented that most African countries, including Nigeria, are economically backward largely because of their unwise spending and allocation of resources, especially in the public sector.
Speaking on the theme: “Importance of procurement and supply chain management to life, industry, good governance, and society in general,” the registrar urged the inductees to ensure they practice according to the knowledge received, exposure, and global best practices.
He said making money is not as important as spending it wisely and that only procurement and supply chain managers are the right people, both in the private and public sectors, to allocate resources effectively.
One of the inductees, Mr. Adeyinka Adeyemo, a civil servant with the Lagos State government, told the Nigerian Tribune that the training that earned him the graduate diploma fellowship of the institute would make him do his job more professionally.
He said the training, which lasted one and a half years, had really expanded his horizon, exposure, and networking.