CIPS L4M6 Dumps

Partnerships are characterized by joint performance measurement (e.g., shared KPIs) and transparent information sharing to build trust and alignment. Win:lose negotiations and rigid end periods are more associated with adversarial or transactional relationships.

Selection criteria focus on the supplier’s capability and experience (e.g., method statements). Award criteria are used to evaluate and compare proposals during the tender process, such as price or environmental considerations.

Explanation

Jenny should consider whole life costing. Ensuring value for money means considering a combination of price and quality throughout the lifetime of the product. See p.65 for more on ‘Achieving Value for Money’

An amicable termination approach focuses on maintaining goodwill and professionalism when ending a contract. According to CIPS guidance, it is most appropriate in situations where:

The pool of alternative suppliers is small (1): Maintaining good relations is important to preserve future sourcing options. Burning bridges could reduce available suppliers in the future.

The buyer must continue working with the supplier during the notice/termination period (2): An amicable approach ensures cooperation during transition and avoids disruption to operations.

By contrast:

Arm’s-length relationships (3) are transactional and generally require less concern about relationship preservation.

Material breaches (4) usually justify a firmer legal termination approach, rather than amicable negotiation.

Thus, the correct circumstances for an amicable style termination are 1 and 2.

For low-cost, high-volume business models, maintaining profitability depends on tightly controlled procurement costs. Price management is critical for ensuring competitive pricing while safeguarding slim margins. CIPS L4M6 highlights that effective cost management and price negotiation are essential in such scenarios.

Explanation

The correct answer is ‘A situation when the apparent output from collaboration is considerably less than expected’. This is verbatim the definition given in the study guide on p.166 A synergy is the concept that the value and performance of two companies combined will be greater than the sum of the separate individual parts.

Explanation

In a 'perfect competition' there are no barriers to entry or exit, and competition is at its highest possible level. For more information on different types of market see p.40

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

In Michael Porter's Value Chain model, primary activities are those that are directly involved in the creation and delivery of a product or service. These include:

Inbound Logistics:Activities related to receiving, storing, and distributing inputs internally.

Operations:Transforming inputs into the final product.

Outbound Logistics:Distributing the final product to customers.

Marketing and Sales:Activities that inform buyers about products and services, induce buyers to purchase them, and facilitate their purchase.

Service:Activities that maintain and enhance the product's value, such as customer support and repair services.

Firm infrastructure and technology development are considered support activities, as they assist the primary activities in helping the organization achieve its competitive advantage.

A restricted marketplace is one where barriers to entry limit the number of suppliers. In L4M6, CIPS identifies two key causes:

Heavy regulation and legislative controls (e.g. medical gases require safety, licensing, and compliance approvals)

High capital investment requirements, such as specialised equipment, infrastructure, and certification

Offering excellent services or having many suppliers does not restrict a market; these indicate competitive or mature markets.

Therefore, the correct combination is 1 and 4 only.

L4M6 Reference:

Learning Outcome 1: Understand market structures and supplier positioning

Topic: Market types and barriers to entry

CIPS L4M6 Study Guide – Restricted and monopolistic markets

Pareto Analysis is based on the 80/20 principle, which CIPS uses to help procurement professionals:

Identify the small number of items accounting for the majority of spend or value

Focus effort where it adds the most value

Key activities include:

Prioritising procurement time and resources (Statement 1 ✔)

Separating spend into critical few and trivial many (Statement 3 ✔)

Statement 2 relates to Kraljic portfolio analysis, and Statement 4 relates to supplier preferencing, not Pareto.

L4M6 Reference:

Learning Outcome 1: Understand procurement analysis and segmentation tools

Topic: Pareto (80/20) analysis

CIPS L4M6 Study Guide – Spend analysis and prioritisation

Explanation

The correct answer is both the supplier and the buyer- joint decision making is a key aspect of partnership relationships. A project steering committee decides on priorities, suggests improvements, conducts audits etc. See p.152

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Differentiation involves offering unique products or services that are valued by customers, allowing the company to charge premium prices. This strategy focuses on uniqueness and added value rather than competing solely on cost.

Explanation

This is a bottleneck supplier- refer to the Kraljic matrix on p.20; these types of supplier hold a monopoly in the marketplace and provide low-value items. There are lots of questions on Kraljic in the exam - do revise this topic and ensure you understand each of the four quadrants of the matrix

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

For high-value and high-risk contracts, such as facilities management services for multiple schools,competitive tenderingis the most appropriate sourcing approach. This process involves inviting multiple suppliers to submit bids, ensuring transparency, fairness, and the opportunity to assess various proposals to select the most suitable supplier. It helps in mitigating risks and achieving value for money.

Explanation

CIPS state the following reasons for the end of supplier relationships; the contract comes to a natural end, the contract is re-tendered, a material breach or the supplier becomes insolvent (p.15) In this case the only valid option is 'the contract has ended'.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Leverage products are characterized by:

High profit impact:They significantly affect the company's bottom line.

Low supply risk:They are available from multiple suppliers, making it easy to switch if necessary.

These products often have standardized quality, and the competitive supply market allows buyers to negotiate favorable terms.

Using Kraljic’s Portfolio Matrix, CIPS classifies items based on:

Financial impact

Supply risk

Engines have:

High financial value

High supply risk, as production cannot proceed without them

This places the supplier firmly in the strategic quadrant, requiring close relationship management, risk mitigation, and long-term collaboration.

L4M6 Reference:

Learning Outcome 2: Understand supply positioning and risk

Topic: Kraljic portfolio analysis

CIPS L4M6 Study Guide – Strategic items and supplier relationships

Explanation

Open Tender processes are a one-stage process which issues and ITT. It has no PQQ (selection) stage. P. 77

Price management is crucial for low-cost retailers to maintain profitability. This includes negotiating better pricing, managing costs effectively, and ensuring competitive pricing for volume sales.

Explanation

Supplier relationships can result in value for money in the reduction of waste and in innovation developed as part of collaborative projects. Remember that in CIPS waste doesn’t necessarily mean physical waste (as in stuff you don’t want any more). There are 7 types of waste including waiting, inventory, transportation etc. So when you develop a relationship with a supplier, this can reduce waste (e.g. you may be able to get deliveries quicker by integrating your ordering system with the supplier’s, or you might reduce transportation by agreeing a Consignment stock). Having a good relationship with a supplier isn’t necessarily going to get you a reduction in cost or better payment terms. See p.70 for more details on this- there’s a short list of ways in which good supplier relationships can bring value for money to a business.

Explanation

This is an example of poor-communication. The information was not passed from the person who signed the contract to the staff on site who were to do the cleaning. See p.158 on communication issues.

Explanation

Request for Information and Pre-Qualification Questionnaire can be used for short-listing suppliers. Request for Quotation is used when the only variable is price and you would like suppliers to submit a price for you. Invitation to Tender would be the next stage after RFI / PPQ- this is sent out to those suppliers who have passed selection, and details the second stage of the competition. See p.75 for more details.

Explanation

George should use a weighted award criteria – this will allow him to judge suppliers not only on cost, but also on the quality of their products and whether or not they can provide maintenance. For example George could weight the bids in this way; 40% cost, 30% durability of the panels and 30% maintenance costs. For more information on how weighted award criteria works see p.78

Explanation

Danny should issue a RFI (Request for Information). His next step would be to find out more about the products available by asking suppliers for information- this will help him put a spec together before he goes out to tender. The other options mean; RFQ - request for quotation- when you ask suppliers to submit a price. ITT- Invitation to tender – a document you send out to suppliers which details all the information about the tender (this usually involves both price and quality components of assessment). OJEU- Official Journal of the European Union- where tenders for the Public Sector are published. For more info on RFI see p.74

Profitability is impacted when product costs rise without corresponding price adjustments. Understanding cost-price relationships is key to managing profitability in procurement.

Across-organisational teambrings together specialists from various departments—such as R&D, marketing, finance, and production—to collaborate on complex projects. This team structure enables diverse perspectives, innovative solutions, and efficient decision-making, which are crucial when developing and launching new products. The CIPS L4M6 guide emphasizes the importance of integrated teamwork in achieving strategic outcomes in procurement and supply chain projects.

Explanation

Pablo should use a ‘cross-functional team’. CIPS love ‘cross-functional teams’ and refer to them frequently throughout the study guide. A cross-functional team is people from different departments who come together for a purpose, such as to evaluate a tender. The benefit of using a cross-functional team is that you get people with different experiences and knowledge. So in this example a Cross-Functional team could compose of people from various departments such as procurement, logistics, manufacturing and legal. P.76

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Joint venturesandstrategic alliancesare common forms of partnerships between companies:

Joint Venture:A business arrangement where two or more parties agree to pool their resources for a specific task, creating a new entity.

Strategic Alliance:An agreement between companies to pursue objectives while remaining independent organizations.

"Sole trader," "limited company," and "public limited company" refer to business structures, not partnership arrangements.

Explanation

The logistics risk can be reduced by ‘Sharing up-to-date information’. If the Pub tells the supplier when it’s running low, they can then time the deliveries more accurately. P. 136. A lot of the questions on the ‘Partnerships’ chapters of the book are common-sense questions like this. It involves reading thequestion and using logic, rather than relying on your knowledge of procurement. If you found this question easy – that’s a good sign for the exam.

Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) is a strategic procurement approach designed to add value during the early stages of specification, design, or development. CIPS highlights that suppliers often possess specialist technical knowledge, innovation capability, and market insight that buyers may lack.

By involving suppliers early, organisations can:

Improve product or service design

Reduce lifecycle costs

Improve quality and functionality

Reduce time to market

Options A, B, and D focus on administrative convenience, budget spend, or supplier pricing power, none of which represent the strategic intent of ESI.

L4M6 Reference:

Learning Outcome 3: Understand approaches to managing supplier relationships

Topic: Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) and value creation

CIPS L4M6 Study Guide – Collaboration and innovation with suppliers

Explanation

The correct answer is ‘Sudden changes in the marketplace’ – this is a reason a buyer would be reactive. Reactive is when something happens to you and it forces you to act in a certain way. The other options would be strategic rather than reactive. P. 163

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

In the context of portfolio analysis, particularly using the Kraljic Matrix, procurement items are categorized based on their profit impact and supply risk.Strategic criticalitems are those with high profit impact and high supply risk. These items are vital to the organization's operations and often have limited suppliers, making them critical to secure.

For such items, developing apartnership relationshipis appropriate. This involves close collaboration, mutual trust, and long-term commitment between the buyer and supplier to ensure reliability, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Explanation

A PIN is a ‘prior information notice’ – it is sent out before the ITT to let suppliers know that an opportunity is coming up and they should look out for it. See p 72 “supplier identification- public sector” for more details.

Cost leadership strategy (Porter’s Generic Strategies) is often called a “no-frills” approach. The focus is on being the lowest-cost producer in the industry, allowing the organisation to serve a broad market with minimal differentiation. This approach reduces cost while widening competitive scope, enabling companies to compete on price advantage.

Explanation

The correct answer is “A mechanism for performance management where the buyer has the right to deduct money from payments owed for under performance”. A definition is provided on p.113 and states “If a supplier fails to meet the standard set in the service credits, the buyer has the right to deduct set amounts of money from payments owed to the supplier”

The stages of team development as defined by Tuckman include forming, storming, norming, and performing. These stages reflect how teams evolve and mature through collaboration and problem-solving.

Explanation

This is category 'A' spend in the ABC model - they represent a large value and a small number of purchases / suppliers. See p.17 for more information on the ABC Analysis

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Bruce Tuckman's model of team development outlines five stages:

Forming– Team members get acquainted and establish ground rules.

Storming– Members begin to communicate their feelings but still view themselves as individuals rather than part of the team.

Norming– People feel part of the team and realize that they can achieve work if they accept other viewpoints.

Performing– The team works in an open and trusting atmosphere where flexibility is the key and hierarchy is of little importance.

Adjourning– The team conducts an assessment of the year and implements a plan for transitioning roles and recognizing members' contributions.

Explanation

The correct answer is ‘They are hard to measure’ p.103

Explanation

You would expect a supplier to submit full pricing information, risk assessments and method statements. However, depending on what you’re procuring, you might not need to see risk assessments or method statements. Liquidity and Gearing may be looked at during the Pre-Qualification stage, but wouldn’t form part of a RFP. See p.76

High expenditure levels and the complexity of requirements justify partnership sourcing, as it allows for collaborative problem-solving, innovation, and cost-efficiency. CIPS emphasizes that partnerships are ideal when requirements are complex and require expertise from the supplier.

Early supplier involvement ensures the supplier understands process timelines and allows the buyer to leverage supplier capabilities. This improves product development efficiency and enhances outcomes.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

By acquiring an Australian office furniture manufacturer, COFM can:

Access the Restricted Local Market:Acquisition allows COFM to operate as a local entity, thereby overcoming barriers to entry and benefiting from any local government support available to domestic manufacturers.

Improve Knowledge of the Local Market:The acquired company brings with it an understanding of local customer preferences, regulatory requirements, and market dynamics, which is invaluable for successful operations.

However, the acquisition does not remove government support for other local manufacturers, nor does it necessarily decrease competition.

Adding value involves enhancing customer experience through excellent service, providing differentiated product features, and offering convenience. These align with procurement strategies aimed at driving customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Partnerships emphasize mutual goals such as quality improvement and long-term collaboration, contrasting with adversarial relationships that focus on cost and short-term gains.

Partnerships provide access to local market knowledge, enable shared investments, and mitigate risks associated with relocation. These advantages outweigh concerns that can be managed through strong contracts and confidentiality agreements.

Bottleneck suppliers often control critical or scarce resources. Developing relationships with these suppliers is crucial to mitigate risks and ensure continuity of supply, per procurement best practices.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) refers to the practice of involving suppliers early in the product development process to leverage their expertise and capabilities. Cross-organisational involvement entails collaboration across various departments within the organization, such as procurement, engineering, manufacturing, and R&D, to ensure the product design is feasible and efficient for production.

Explanation

The correct answer is ‘no-the contract is not of significant value’. CIPS state that competitive tenders should only be used when ‘the item or service is of significant value’ p.73. Debbie could continue using the same supplier, but she should organise a contract extension or a new contract if she does.

CIPS defines value for money (VFM) as achieving the optimal balance between cost, quality, and sustainability over the whole life of the requirement.

Public sector procurement is governed by principles of:

Transparency

Fairness

Accountability

Best use of public funds

VFM does not mean lowest price; it means best outcome for the organisation and taxpayers, which includes quality, risk, and whole-life cost.

L4M6 Reference:

Learning Outcome 1: Understand objectives of procurement and supply

Topic: Public sector procurement objectives

CIPS L4M6 Study Guide – Value for money and public accountability

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

In strategic partnerships, including a continuous improvement clause is vital. This clause commits both parties to ongoing efforts to enhance processes, reduce costs, and improve quality over time. Such a commitment ensures that the partnership remains dynamic and responsive to changes, fostering long-term collaboration and mutual benefit.

Routine suppliers typically supply low-value, low-risk items. Maintaining partnerships in such cases is inefficient since alternative suppliers are readily available. Adopting a transactional or adversarial relationship would be more appropriate.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Statement B:A strategic alliance is an agreement between two or more parties to pursue a set of agreed-upon objectives while remaining independent organizations. It is typically managed jointly by the partners to achieve mutual benefits without forming a new legal entity.Wikipedia

Statement C:In a joint venture, two or more parties create a new, separate legal entity by contributing equity, and they share in the revenues, expenses, and control of the enterprise. This new company is formed to undertake specific business activities.

Explanation

The correct answer is ‘Yes- partnership sourcing can improve performance which will ultimately satisfy the end customer’. The important thing to note in this QUESTION NO: is the word ‘monopolistic’. This means that there are no alternative suppliers- so the ‘no’ options are wrong- there are no alternative suppliers and no opportunity to outsource. The other answer is incorrect as sales figures isn’t Andrew’s concern – it’s the complaints and quality of the product. Improving performance to satisfy end customers is therefore his main driver for considering a Partnership. See p. 127 for more information on Drivers of Partnership Sourcing. This comes up a lot in the exam

Explanation

The correct answer is ‘items of high value’. This links into the EU procurement principle of ‘Proportionality’ meaning that the procurement process must be proportionate to the value of the contract. Therefore, high value contracts must be procured via competition. What is considered ‘high value’ is decided by ‘thresholds’. These are amended every 2 years to account for inflation etc, but you don’t need to know what the thresholds are for this exam. P.75

An adversarial relationship is highly competitive, often win:lose, focusing on cost and negotiation power rather than collaboration. It contrasts with partnerships or strategic alliances.

Drivers for partnership include a high spend with the supplier, criticality of the product, and technical complexity. These factors encourage collaboration for cost efficiency, quality improvement, and risk management. Partnerships are less likely when there are many suppliers or the product is a commodity, as competition and standardization reduce the need for close collaboration.

Partnership arrangements promote shared responsibility and joint ownership of outcomes. CIPS highlights that partnerships typically involve:

Shared risks and rewards

Joint performance measurement

Continuous performance review

Collaborative problem resolution

Traditional contracts often place risk entirely on the supplier, rely on adversarial pricing, and use infrequent reviews. Therefore, risk sharing is a defining feature of a partnership.

L4M6 Reference:

Learning Outcome 3: Understand approaches to managing supplier relationships

Topic: Partnership characteristics and governance

CIPS L4M6 Study Guide – Risk allocation and collaboration

Buyers with a strong brand profile and adherence to ethical standards attract suppliers, as they provide market prestige and assurance of fair practices. This aligns with CIPS's emphasis on ethical procurement.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

In Porter's Five Forces framework, thethreat of substitutesrefers to the availability of products or services that can perform the same function as the industry's product. The supplier's suggestion to use a newly developed plastic component instead of the traditional brass one introduces a substitute product. This alternative can potentially change the dynamics of the market by offering different benefits, such as cost savings or improved performance, thereby affecting competition.

Explanation

A product with an ‘inelastic price’ means that consumption doesn’t really depend on how much it costs. So you could increase the price of alcohol and cigarettes and people would tend to still buy them. A product with an elastic price means that a change in price would have a large affect on the number of people who bought the item. See p.95 for more details on price elasticity.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Forward buyinginvolves purchasing goods in advance of actual need, often in larger quantities, to take advantage of favorable pricing or to hedge against anticipated price increases. This strategy is commonly used in volatile markets to stabilize costs and ensure supply continuity.

Intense rivalry occurs when suppliers are equally balanced and face high barriers to exit, leading to aggressive competition to retain market share, as described in Porter’s Five Forces model.

Explanation

The correct answer is Measurable, achievable and relevant. This is from SMART KPIs on p. 151. Smart stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound. In the exam they come up in different orders so be careful.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Succession issues pertain to the challenges associated with ensuring the uninterrupted supply of goods or services when transitioning from one supplier to another. Continuity of supplies is a primary concern, as any disruption can impact operations, customer satisfaction, and revenue. Effective succession planning involves:

Identifying Alternative Suppliers:Ensuring that backup suppliers are in place and capable of meeting requirements.

Knowledge Transfer:Facilitating the transfer of critical information and processes to new suppliers.

Inventory Management:Maintaining adequate stock levels during the transition period.

Other options listed, such as processing penalties, deletion of old specifications, and payment of old invoices, are administrative tasks that, while important, do not directly relate to succession planning.

Explanation

This is 'cost focus' - Kinky Boots is both focusing on being a cost leaser (by providing the cheapest products) and focusing on a niche market (drag queens). When these two strategies are combined it is called 'cost focus'. There's a couple of questions on Porter's Generic Strategies in the exam- there's a useful diagram of this on P.13

Explanation

The housekeeping team have low power and high interest. According to Mendelow’s stakeholder matrix, this puts them in the bottom right corner which is ‘keep informed’. See p.81 for more information

Explanation

The correct answer is ‘The CEO is a key player- so it is important he is involved early in the process’. The CEO has high power and high interest which puts him in the top right-hand corner of Mendelow’s Stakeholder Matrix (p.81). CIPS says Key Players should be involved early in the procurement process (p.82).

Explanation

The correct answer is ‘An unexpected incident has occurred beyond anyone’s control’. A good example of this would be the Covid-19 pandemic- neither the buyer nor supplier could have predicted this, and if this means that the contract can’t be completed – then the contract can be terminated (in the UK at least). A way to avoid this would be to include a Force Majeur clause listing possible circumstances that could occur. When there’s a Force Majeur clause, these eventualities are now classed as foreseen rather than unforeseen. See p.108

Strategic suppliers are those that are critical to business continuity and risk management. CIPS states that such suppliers require:

Long-term commitment

High levels of trust

Joint planning and collaboration

Given the impact on patient safety and service continuity, a partnership sourcing relationship is appropriate, enabling shared responsibility, performance management, and continuous improvement.

Transactional or competitive sourcing would not provide the stability required.

L4M6 Reference:

Learning Outcome 3: Understand supplier relationship strategies

Topic: Strategic suppliers and partnerships

CIPS L4M6 Study Guide – Supplier segmentation and SRM

Partnerships are built on trust and transparency, with shared benefits such as cost reductions and improved processes. Adversarial relationships, in contrast, focus on price and contractual obligations.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Effective contract termination involves addressing any breaches through agreed-upon remedies and compensation. This ensures that both parties are treated fairly and that any disputes are resolved in accordance with the contract terms.

Arranging a meeting to clarify roles and setting performance targets provides clear expectations and encourages accountability. This aligns with CIPS guidelines on managing conflicts through constructive engagement.

Explanation

Fred should hold a competition as this is a ‘key way of achieving value for money’ p.67. Fred shouldn’t put a business case together to make the product in-house without doing a make vs buy analysis, and that analysis showing make is the way to go. As the firm buy in 100s of components, it’s very unlikely that making the component in-house would bring ‘value for money’. He should also be careful of only looking at current suppliers or known suppliers- the best supplier of this new component might be unknown to the engineering firm at present.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

When a buyer selects a single supplier for a specific period, such as a one-year contract, and excludes other suppliers during this time, this is referred to as asingle sourcedrelationship. This approach is often used to consolidate purchases, achieve economies of scale, and build a more streamlined procurement process for specific goods or services.

Partnerships require careful planning, including alignment of goals, stakeholder involvement, and clear expectations. Poor planning leads to unmet objectives and lack of value generation, as highlighted by CIPS.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Effective cost modelling is a process that helps in understanding the cost structure of a product or service. It involves:

Data gathering:Collecting relevant data related to materials, labor, overheads, and other cost drivers.

Analysis of facts:Evaluating the collected data to understand cost behaviors and identify areas for cost reduction.

Supplier negotiation and issuing a request for quotation are subsequent steps that may utilize the insights gained from cost modelling but are not part of the modelling process itself.

Explanation

Carter's 10 Cs are a way to qualify (aka shortlist) a supplier. See p.11 for more details on this and p.10 for the stages of the relationship cycle.