Announcement: Learning Opportunities From CITT:

Harvard Business Review Blog reports 75% companies are “blind-sided” by unexpected disruptions to their globalized supply chain logistics operations, 1 yet CITT calls these disruptions “predictable”, the risks “manageable” and corporate suffering “avoidable”

TORONTO, ON August 28, 2013 - “Having depth and breadth of specialized logistics knowledge is the key to predicting and manoeuvring the Great Disruptions that strike our global and domestic supply chain logistics ecosystems,” says CITT’s President Catherine Viglas, who wants to alert the business community that CITT’s fall semester of specialized, online logistics courses are open for registration only until September 2nd at midnight and observes that there’s never been more urgency for businesses to invest in professional development in logistics than there is right now.

The Unexpected Can Be Expected

“The lack of predictability is actually predictable,” says CITT’s Viglas. “Modern, global logistics is more complicated than many executives appreciate. Major disruptions happen all the time. Able logistics pros handle them. And they make it look easy. They quietly solve these kinds of big problems with their teams all the time. They’re unsung corporate heroes.”

“The key to manoeuvring the Great Disruptions reported by the companies in this research—the kinds of political upheaval, extreme weather phenomena and natural disasters that tend to happen more commonly in the far-flung regions from which many companies now source their products, components or raw materials—is in the planning, preparation and practice. And these are based on a deep understanding of the inter-connectivity of the systems and processes and range of alternatives in logistics and how they work and interrelate in the real world and as part of a complex and dynamic ecosystem,” adds Viglas.

She points out that with preparation, deep expertise and corporate support, the significant corporate suffering inflicted to the companies in this study could have been largely avoided. This underscores the importance of a comprehensive, specialized logistics education to help people develop their knowledge and abilities and enhance their on-the-job learning.

Viglas also highlights the value of the practice-oriented, case-based learning and interactive group-work that CITT’s courses and annual professional development conference use to help professionals role-play risk scenarios.

CITT integrates a wide range of scenarios to hone the skills of its professional students. CITT’s designation holders have worked through many cases by the time they’re fully certified since CITT views ‘The Case’ to be one of the best ways to sharpen real-world skills without exposing companies to the actual risks of real-world learning curves.

Respected as a leading industry authority, CITT was asked to write and adjudicate the Strategy Case used in the 2013 MBA Games, where top teams from every Canadian business school vied to bring the smartest answers to the table.

“Business schools really understand the idea that we can’t start to get proficient at contingency and risk management unless we have practice. Many companies and professionals come to CITT with that in mind as well,” says Viglas.

CITT’s Education & Certification Mission Has Never Been More Relevant Than It Is Today

“The good news is…[half of the companies in the study reported by the HBR blog said] that their firms are now adding rigor to the process of assessing supply chain resiliency,” wrote study and blog author and APQC Senior Research Fellow, Mary Driscoll.

“We’ve never had such a tough and complex business climate and had to be this good professionally. Considering the stiff competition, a crazy cyclical economy, major supply chain disruptions and our sector’s looming exodus of experienced professionals, the founding post-WW2 mission of CITT to build strong logistics expertise rapidly hasn’t been this relevant in over 50 years,” observed CITT President, Catherine Viglas.

People who work in any aspect of business that touches on supply chain logistics—shippers, carriers and 3PLs and all the ancillary logistics services—can look to CITT to help them develop the ability to master more logistics preparedness, manoeuvrability and resiliency.

CITT announces the Last Call for its fall semester of specialized logistics courses offered online across Canada to all proactive professionals who want to develop, demonstrate and deepen their mastery of the business of logistics. And reminds executives that investing in professional development of this nature can help minimize surprises and reduce corporate suffering caused by inevitable Big Disruptions to companies’ complex supply chains and logistics operations.

Learning opportunities from CITT:

UPCOMING COURSES: fall logistics courses start September 3rd
Registration options:
* Online at www.citt.ca/register (available 24/7 ‘til midnight September 2nd)
* By phone: 416.363.5696. Phone lines will be opened until Friday, August 30th at 5:00 pm EST. Registrations received by fax, email and telephone over the long weekend will be processed first thing on the morning of September 3rd

UPCOMING Professional Development Conference (Nov 3-5, 2013):
Why a fully integrated, cross-functional risk management strategy is a new imperative for companies is one of the pivotal topics of this year’s CITT’s National Conference on Supply Chain & Logistics which is being held in Toronto November 3-5 and welcomes any supply chain or logistics professional or interested management professional. Please call CITT at 416.363.5696 or visit www.citt.ca

Background on CITT
CITT is a non-profit organization created by industry to rapidly build post WW2 logistics expertise in 1958. Today CITT is industry’s most experienced and valued source of supply chain logistics courses, certification and expertise. With accessible, flexible, and affordable online learning, industry experienced course facilitators and supportive program staff, CITT has helped thousands of successful working professionals develop, demonstrate and deepen their mastery of the business of logistics and attain industry’s most valued logistics designation from CITT.

CITT’s Specialized Logistics Courses & Professional Designation (Certification)
Created for industry, by industry, CITT compresses decades of real-world experience and innumerate hours of logistics experience into professional courses that are developed, updated and facilitated by successful, proven logistics practitioners.

CITT offers industry’s most comprehensive and practical coverage of logistics topics that supply chain logistics professionals need to survive and thrive, including: courses, webinars and a premier conferences. All address the Canadian and global perspectives of supply chain logistics.

CITT’s deep-level specialized logistics courses are aimed at helping organizations build more invulnerable, sustainable and profitable supply chain logistics operations. Relevant for anyone who buys, sells or manages the flow of goods and product (or is impacted by transportation logistics), they are:

Transportation Systems
Logistics Processes
Logistics Decision Modelling
Integrated Logistics
Transportation Law
Transportation Economics

Complete FREE GUIDE

CITT’s courses lead to more sustainable, invulnerable supply chain and logistics operations.

CITT-certified professionals
Thousands of professionals have looked to CITT for professional certification and many maintain their professional designation voluntarily year-after-year. Before they can be certified, CITT’s designation holders have proven business and logistics knowledge, have amassed nearly 10,000 hours of industry experience, agree to uphold a code of conduct and make a commitment to regular professional development to ensure their abilities are up-to-date.