17 January 2017 12:00 am
The Institute of Supply and Materials Management (ISMM) is to conduct its 25 landmark convocation on January 22 at the BMICH.
Commenting on the 25 convocation, Noel Wickramasinghe, President ISMM said it was a landmark for ISMM and as pioneers of supply chain education they had come along way and done justice to students by giving quality education when compared with other competitors.
As a nonprofit organization ISMM was performing in the best interest of the country to develop supply chain professionals and groom them as ethically sound personnel to go ahead with their profession to develop the country, he said.
The diploma of ISMM Corporate Membership with three years experience in executive capacity in a reputed organization is recognized by the Department of Public Administration to be as equivalent to a first or second class degree of any university in Sri Lanka Wickramasinghe asserted in the sidelines of its preparations for the 25 convention. P G Kumarasinghe , Chairman Sri Lanka Telecom will attend as the Chief Guest and Mahinda Saranapala, CEO, Director Kelani Cables will grace the 25 ISMM Convocation as the guest of honour.
ISMM has also obtained ISO Quality Standard for training, and 35 to 50 students pass out annually. Some years the institute had to initiate two diploma courses during the year due to the high demand and this year 35 students will receive their graduate diploma at this year’s convocation, Wickramasinghe said. The course directors of the 25 convocation passing out batch are Sajith Edirisuriya and Jayantha Wijesinghe. A total of 714 diploma holders have passed out so far the ISMM.
Elaborating on the ‘graduate diploma’ the ISMM President said the renaming took place three years ago after adding a project and thesis to the diploma. Supply Chain Management was very important for any organization because when organizations earn money, supply chain professionals should be there to manage the cost during the purchasing process and proving services. They give the fullest contribution to make the highest profit for the organization. When purchasing capital items, buildings or providing various other services, supply chain professionals were essential to manage each and every point to give cost effective solutions to the organization, the ISMM President said.
Wickramasinghe said the third batch of ISMM graduate diploma holders will pass out on January 22 and these diploma holders could pursue their post graduate studies for their MBA at the Open University as the ISMM has signed a MoU with the Open University.
The Supply and Materials Management section of any organization does hold themselves responsible to approximately 60 percent of an establishment’s expenditure budget. Some even go up to about 65-80 percent if involved in trading or manufacturing.
The ISMM also provides regional training on supply chain management in in Galle and Kurunegala and the President was optimistic that the number of students in outstations will increase this year.
ISMM is internationally affiliated with International Federation of Purchasing and Supply Chain UK (IFPSM) and the World Trade Centre (WTC) in Geneva.