1. The Care and Feeding of a Small Chapter APICS Northwest Arkansas ChapterJoan Smith, CPIM, CSCP jmsmith@rocklineind.com

2. Northwest Arkansas Chapter • Chapter reinvigorated in 2008 • Chapter had been dormant for a number of years • Focus and intent was to provide a venue for education for the NWA area; provide a means of getting and maintaining certification • No real foundation; no support from the University of Arkansas faculty

3. Statistics • Membership • 2009 30* • 2010 32* • 2011 36* • 2012 41 • 2013 62 • Current 82 * Estimate • PDM Events • 2009 3 • 2010 6 • 2011 4 • 2012 3 • 2013 4 • Current 3

4. Question • As it applies to the Board, after the honeymoon period, how do you keep the momentum going? • Original board was mostly up and coming people who were looking for an opportunity to improve their resume • Those folks have mostly moved into high stress jobs, with much travel and no time for APICS • Other folks who want to participate are also focusing on finding a job or developing a business

5. Organizational Challenges • Introduction of Corporate Relationships • Relationships developed with large organizations now cannibalized by corporate • Certified trainers • Expensive to develop • Incorporation • Expensive for a small chapter • Consolidation of Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas has created logistical issues for us • Help via C-Box still not where it needs to be (broken links, still hard to navigate, time needed to hunt for information)

6. Current State • Slowdown of interest while membership increasing? • 2013-2014 Low impact • Could not get enough interest in classes this year – may hold one • Low turnout at PDM’s and Tours • Good speakers are difficult to find and most want compensation or at least to cover their expenses • Very difficult to cover expenses with low turnout! • Extremely low return on surveys

7. Discussion • How can a small chapter operate under the current rules of the organization and remain financially viable? • How can we find great topics and speakers that don’t mean big dollars? • What is “new” out there to interest people? • How do you get in the door and introduce yourself to organizations when they don’t have time (or desire) to see you?

8. How Can We Compete with Other Organizations? • CSCMP is heavily involved at U of A • Certifications now available with CSCMP, Forecasting Institute, ISM, etc. • SWOT analysis • Funds still seem very tight for education • Many employers still see this as preparing their people to leave the organization • How do you balance the cost versus value proposition? Too low = not valuable; too high = unaffordable. Where is the balance?

9. Discussion 2 • How can large chapters and the district assist smaller chapters? • Fund a speaker • Sponsor a class • Provide a speaker (from their chapter) • Mentorship • ???

10. Summary • Small chapters continue to be challenged • Looking for ways to improve attendance, increase awareness, boost our board membership