In the L4M1 exams, many students frequently encounter questions related to procurement policies, procedures, and processes. Some struggle to elaborate on their answers regarding policies because they don’t fully understand what policies are or where they originate from. In this post, I will outline a classic hierarchy (Figure 1) that shows how broad strategies are refined into actionable steps. Stage 1: Coporate strategies An organization is established with a specific mission. Its leaders begin with a broad goal and strategic…

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CIPS suggests that the buying organization has many opportunities to generate savings in the first stage of the procurement cycle. As a buyer, what should you do to add value during this phase? Define Business Needs Typically, procurement needs are triggered by an effort to solve a problem or seize an opportunity. However, not every business need is aligned with adding value to the organization. When receiving requisitions, it’s important to ask tough questions to challenge and clarify the actual…

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Hello everyone, We’re excited to announce the upcoming launch of a class for the CR module! Due to scheduling constraints, we’ll be offering classes for CR modules including L4M1, L4M8, L5M1 and L5M4. In each module, the course includes 18 revision sessions, and the fee is $70 per module. The time will be arranged according to both parties’ schedules. If you’re interested in joining, we’d love to hear which course you’re most excited to take, feel free to reach out…

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Continuous improvement is necessary to stay competitive in the market. If companies become complacent with the results, they face the risk of being overtaken by their opponents. One effective method for driving ongoing improvement is benchmarking. It is the process of comparison between your own company with other companies (such as a industry leaderor a strong competitor) to identify weaknesses and opportunities for enhancement…In fact, benchmarking is truly applied in your everyday life by observing and learning from the sucess…

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Based on my experience and insights shared by other CIPS candidates, Porter’s Five Forces are frequently featured in CIPS Level 4 exams. The questions typically focus on the characteristics of the five forces: threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry. To effectively tackle exam questions on Porter’s Five Forces, you need a deep understanding of the model. As mentioned in previous posts, using exploratory questions like “What?”, “Why?”, and…

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Before entering a partnership, it’s important to understand your partners. Otherwise, the relationship may quickly fall apart. This concept also applies to personal life, many couples break up due to conflicting mindsets. Therefore, understanding your partner’s culture is crucial. This is especially true during negotiations: when you’re aware of a supplier’s cultural background, you can anticipate their negotiation style and the authority of their representatives in the negotiation. According to Charles Handy, there are four main types of organizational culture:…

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Through our statistics, CIPS typically includes 5–6 exam questions on types of inventory costs. Many students confuse these two types of costs, and they may lose marks on such questions because they cannot accurately identify the elements of acquisition costs and holding costs. Acquisition costs refer to the total expenses incurred when purchasing goods or services. These costs cover all activities from identifying the need to making the payment to the supplier. This means that acquisition costs include more than…

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As I said in previous posts, vocabulary is very important to pass the CIPS exam. Clearly, you need a combination of various skills such as question analysis ability, time management skill and so on to achieve high exam performance. However, in this post, I just organize the new vocabulary for L4M2 that you can use for your revision. We provide CIPS practice questions with answers and detailed explanation, besides they are updated regularly to reflect the actual exam. If you…

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Power is the ability to influence others. Therefore, the bargaining power of the buyer refers to a buying organization’s ability to influence its supplier. Most people aim to maximize their power in various ways to achieve favorable outcomes in commercial negotiations. The level of bargaining power can vary depending on the specific market and the size of the companies involved. For example, consider sourcing utilities for a manufacturing company. Due to high production levels, utility costs represent a significant portion…

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You can see barcodes printed on many products around us. But have you ever wondered about the benefits of these barcodes? They are created to streamline inventory management and improve business productivity. In manufacturing, barcodes are often printed on all types of inventory, including raw materials, components, work-in-progress, and finished products. Each barcode is assigned to similar products. For example, if a company purchases a consignment of 10,000 screwdrivers, it’s not necessary to print 10,000 different barcodes. Instead, the same…

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