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CIPS L4M2 Exam Questions
- Topic 1: Understand how to develop a business case for requirements to be sourced from external suppliers: This section of the exam measures the skills of Procurement Analysts and focuses on understanding how business needs influence sourcing decisions. It covers identifying different types of purchases such as new, modified, and straight rebuys, and analyzing their implications on procurement strategies. Learners are expected to understand how procurement contributes to developing a strong business case by assessing costs, prices, and market data. It also includes estimating direct and indirect costs, applying whole-life asset management principles, and using financial models and budgets to control purchasing activities.
- Topic 2: Understand market management in procurement and supply: This section of the exam evaluates the expertise of Supply Chain Managers in managing and analyzing different markets. It includes understanding procurement considerations across sectors such as manufacturing, construction, retail, financial, agriculture, and services. Candidates are tested on their ability to compare competitive forces that influence markets, including supplier and buyer bargaining power, threats from substitutes, and new entrants. The section also focuses on differentiating between direct and indirect costs, identifying reliable sources of market data, and using this information to estimate costs, prepare budgets, and analyze potential cost variability.
- Topic 3: Understand the use of specifications in procurement and supply: This part of the exam assesses the capabilities of Procurement Officers and focuses on how specifications are developed and used in procurement. It involves understanding various types of specifications, such as conformance and performance specifications, and identifying key information sources including internal expertise, external standards, and sustainability factors. The section highlights the importance of structuring specifications with clear scope, definitions, testing, acceptance, and change control mechanisms, while integrating environmental, social, and governance criteria. Additionally, it covers the risks of poor specification design and how to mitigate them through monitoring, review, and improvement. Candidates are also expected to recognize opportunities for standardization, value analysis, and value engineering to enhance specification quality and support long-term procurement performance.
Free CIPS L4M2 Exam Actual Questions
Note: Premium Questions for L4M2 were last updated On May. 24, 2026 (see below)
Gaskins Caskets (GC) is a manufacturing company that wants to identify new suppliers for a number of current parts. GC no longer has technical drawings for the parts and none of the engineers currently working for them have enough knowledge of the parts to write a specification. What could GC do to get accurate pricing from suppliers for these parts to compare to the existing parts?
A CPO is making a business case for acquiring a new computer system. He has set out objective, generated options, cost and benefit of each option and implementation plan. Which of the following elements should be included in the business case?
Explanation
Before a project commences (either capital purchase or switching to a new supplier), a business case should be developed. The business case outlines the why, what, how, and who necessary to decide if it is worthwhile continuing a project.
Basically, the following criteria can be applied to the assessment of a business case:
1. Objectives
This part describes why you are doing the project. The business objective answers the following questions:
- What is your goal?
- What is needed to overcome the problem?
- How will the project support the business strategy?
2. Option identification and selection
Identify the potential solutions to the problem and describe them in enough detail for the reader to understand.
For instance, if the business case and proposed solution makes use of technology, make sure to explain how the technology is used and define the terms used in a glossary. Since most problems have multiple solutions an option appraisal is often needed. This will explore the potential solutions and recommend the best option.
When writing the initial business case the option appraisal is likely to contain a long list of options and will cover many possibilities. As the project continues a number of options will be rejected. The final business case may contain three to five options the short list that includes a do nothing or benchmark option.
3. Benefits and limitations
The benefits and limitations section describes the financial and non-financial benefits in turn. The purpose is to explain why you need a project.
For instance, to:
- Improve quality
- Save costs through efficiencies
- Reduce working capital
- Generate revenue
- Remain competitive
- Improve customer service
- Align to corporate strategy
The business case should also include any limitations since these present potential risk to the pro-ject.
4. Risk management
The risk assessment summarizes the significant project risks and opportunities and how they are managed. The risks included should cover those that could arise from your project or the organiza-tion's ability to deliver change.
This section answers the following questions:
- What risks are involved?
- What are the consequences of a risk happening?
- What opportunities may emerge?
- What plans are in place to deal with the risks?
- Every project should include a risk log.
When writing a business case, make sure this is included as it explains how risk and opportunity are managed.
5. Implementation plan
The outline plan provides a summary of the main activities and overall timescale project schedule for the project.
Ideally, the project should be divided into stages with key decisions preceding each stage. Use this section to answer the following questions:
- What is required?
- How is it done?
- Who does what?
- When will things happen?
This outline plan lists the major deliverables and includes a brief project description plus accountabilities for each activity.
In the scenario, the CPO has set out objective, generated options, cost and benefit of each option and implementation plan. In order to make the business case more compelling, he should reinforce it with risk management.
LO 1, AC 1.3
Daytona Ltd is developing a new product which is more environmental friendly. Though the objectives are set, the project team has no idea on which functions will be customers' favourites. Which of the following will help them decide the 'should-have' functions of the new product?
Explanation
The Kano model is useful in gaining a thorough understanding of a customer's needs. You can translate and transform the resulting verbatims using the voice of the customer table that, subse-quently, becomes an excellent input as the whatsin a quality function deployment (QFD) House of Quality.
The model involves two dimensions:
Achievement (the horizontal axis), which goes from the supplier didn't do it at all to the supplier did it very well.
Satisfaction (the vertical axis), which goes from total dissatisfaction with the product or service to total satisfaction with the product or service.
Dr. Noriaki Kano isolated and identified three levels of customer expectations: that is, what it takes to positively impact customer satisfaction. The figure below portrays the three levels of need: expected, normal, and exciting.
The Thomas--Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) is a conflict style inventory, which is a tool developed to measure an individual's response to conflict situations.
Genichi Taguchi, a Japanese engineer, proposed several approaches to experimental designs that are sometimes called 'Taguchi Methods.' These methods utilize two-, three-, and mixed-level fractional factorial designs. Large screening designs seem to be particularly favored by Taguchi adherents.
Six Sigma is a method that provides organizations tools to improve the capability of their business processes. This increase in performance and decrease in process variation helps lead to defect re-duction and improvement in profits, employee morale, and quality of products or services.
Source:
- CIPS study guide page 171-172
- WHAT IS THE KANO MODEL?
LO 3, AC 3.4
Why is the specification considered as the most important document in procurement?
Explanation
Specification is the most important document in procurement because it sets out the quality which supplier must provide. If there is no spec or the spec lacks clarity and details, supplier's perfor-mance may vary and possibly lower than actual requirements. This puts the buyer at risks. On the other hand, if the spec is clear and detailed, the supplier is liable to provide 'fit for purpose' products or perform the service at required level of quality. This will ensure that the buyer achieve 'Right Quality'.
- CIPS study guide page 116-130
- How fitness for purpose works - Evocurement
LO 3, AC 3.1
What would provide the best method to ensure a car manufacturer can make adjustments to vehicle production to meet future market demands, such as the inclusion of an additional battery to make a hybrid model?
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