The ISM Mastery Model® is a comprehensive set of competency-based standards of excellence for supply management practitioners and executives worldwide. It was created by the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®), the oldest and one of the largest supply management associations in the world.
Contents
Overview
The perception of supply management and the nature of its role has shifted in recent years as greater numbers of organizations have come to realize its strategic significance and how it is critical to their overall success. In response to this evolution, ISM developed the Mastery Model in an attempt to create a common language for the field. It has identified major competencies and sub-competencies that practitioners, executives, organizations, and human resources departments can reference across sectors and industries. Launched by the association in 2015, the model’s primary function is to serve as a tool to help individuals and organizations identify skill gaps and indicate solutions to close them. The model is available for use on the association’s website where practitioners can use it at no cost to identify areas for improvement in their current position and to develop a career roadmap. Organizations can use it to establish benchmarks and goals for team building, training and development and can also use it to assist their hiring efforts. As an authority in supply management, ISM developed the model by drawing on its experience educating and certifying practitioners. It also relied on the contributions of two dozen external supply management professionals.
The Model
The ISM Mastery Model® is organized into the following 16 major competencies as they apply to the field of supply management (competencies central to procurement are noted):
It breaks these down further into 69 sub-competencies. For instance, sub-competencies of Logistics Management include:
A sub-competency's definition varies based on the individual's career level, which ISM categorizes as fundamental (emerging professional), proficient (established professional), advanced (manager or process driver), and mastery (executive leader).
Marketing
As part of its marketing effort, ISM has also taken the sub-competencies and aligned them with its educational and training products to help supply management professionals close their skill gaps. The association has determined that there are four different professional experience levels that it terms as Essentials (entry level), Experienced, Leadership, and Executive Leadership. Users can filter available learning products based on the applicable experience level in which they need to achieve mastery. For those studying for an ISM certification, such as the CPSM or CPSD, the model identifies specific locations in ISM’s examination study guides where relevant information is found.
In the Press
Beginning with its formal introduction in the second quarter of 2015, the ISM Mastery Model® has received attention from the industry trade press both in the United States and globally, including Procurious, My Purchasing Center, Inbound Logistics, Inside Supply Management, CPO Rising, Modern Materials Handling, and Spend Matters.