Pass the CIPS CIPS Level 4 Diploma in Procurement and Supply L4M6 Questions and answers with CertsForce

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 Forming, storming, norming, performing (p.91). Note; some people add on two additional stages to this; mourning and adjourning. The study guide forgets to mention this, but theexam may ask you about these additional stages. So I strongly recommend doing some further reading on this (it’s called the Tuckman Group Development Model)

Cost leadership (Porter’s generic strategy) is often referred to as a “no-frills” approach, where the organisation focuses on reducing costs and offering competitive prices across a broad scope. The aim is to become the lowest-cost producer while maintaining acceptable quality.

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

Explanation

As the component is vital to their business, ABC should seek a collaborative relationship with the supplier. There are three types of collaborative relationship (co-destiny, partnership and strategic alliance). Of these only strategic-alliance is given as an option. Remember - strategic purchase = collaborative relationship with supplier. There are many questions on the Relationship Spectrum on the exam. See p.5 for more details

Explanation

The correct answer is 'arms length'. This is a tactical purchase (as it is low value) and keeping the supplier at arms-length means that Red Manufacturing could possibly exploit them to reduce their prices (think back to the Kraljic matrix and where Blue Business would likely fall). A Partnership or Single- Source relationship requires investment into the relationship, and as the products are low value and Red Manufacturing have a lot of other suppliers, they should not be investing time in developing that relationship with Blue Business. An adversarial relationship wouldn't be advantageous as it may lower the performance of the supplier. See the relationship spectrum on p.5 - this is a hot topic for the exam

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'.

Explanation

The correct answers are; no tender process, early supplier involvement and no defined end-period. A partnership wouldn’t automatically mean lower costs, and in a partnership the KPIs are usually a joint performance measurement rather than set to the supplier. For more information on the difference between partnerships and contractual relationships see p.124-5

Explanation

The correct answer is ‘reduced product life-cycles’. In this example the reason for entering a partnership is to be able to produce new models of phones more quickly- this is likely because consumers are wanting to change mobile phones more often than they did in the past, so in order to keep up withdemand, Phone Maker Incorporated need to produce more phones, more quickly. Drivers of Partnership Sourcing is a key topic in the exam – you can revise these by looking at p.127 in the Study Guide

An amicable approach is critical when alternative suppliers are limited or when ongoing collaboration is required during the termination period. Maintaining positive relations ensures smooth operations and protects reputations in the marketplace.