What's in a name?

I'm finding myself immersed in a theme of "what's in a name". This morning I received an email from The Surge Group talking about what a business is - ie it's brand, name, logo or what they sell. It was an interesting article about brand being a combination, but in reality, your business really is what people feel about it. Made me think about people understanding a business, understanding they are in good hands, understanding the need for the help, support, results they get. Surge believes a recession will be a good test of a business - businesses that operate authentically have a brand as a 'result' rather than a brand they push onto the marketplace. Intrigues me, so much so that I'll be attending their next workshop where they're discussing this topic further.

What then led me to feeling immersed in this theme was reading a discussion board on the Purchasing Management Association's member's portal. The topic was regarding the 'renaming' of the C.P.P. designation. To say people feel passionate about the topic is an understatement. In reading the posts, this same thought haunted me, what is in the name? Does it really make a difference in what the credential is named? Do people understand it? Do people feel that someone with this credential is better qualified to do their purchasing, inventory management, strategic sourcing, negotiations, etc? Strangely enough, people believe the brand is the designation, yet ignore that the brand is, in a huge way, the membership. The misunderstandings come from the huge range of skills, understanding, and acceptance of the people performing these jobs. Accountants have three separate, distinct designations for the three "types" of accountants and what "niche area" they focus on. Does "supply chain" designations need to reflect different "niche areas"?

Does the designation "name" really matter? Are purchasing, procurement and supply chain understood by the marketplace as "different" areas requiring different distinct skills? Does the marketplace even understand the designation requirements? Who's responsible for this 'confusion' in branding?