CIPS L4M4 Ethical and Responsible Sourcing Exam Practice Test
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Question 1
Philip is a procurement manager at XYZ Company which imports raw materials from abroad. Sup-pliers provide quotes to Philip in their local currency. Is this the best way to reduce the risk to XYZ Company of currency fluctuations?
Answer : C
The correct answer is 'no- quoting in the supplier's currency increases the risk for the buyer'. This questions comes up in a variety of formats in the exam. Remember; if the price is in your own currency (most examples in the exam are given in ) there is less risk than if the prices are quoted in a foreign currency. This is because exchange rates fluctuate; if the price is in you always know what you're paying, if it's in another currency the price can change daily depending on if the exchange rate compared to has gone up or down.
Question 2
Which of the following is not a type of fraud that procurement professionals should be vigilant for?
Answer : A
Coercion is not a type of fraud. The other three are.
Question 3
It is important that buyers take an approach that is reasonable and fair when selecting suppliers to work with. Which of the following is a voluntary document which can help procurement professionals treat suppliers respectfully?
Answer : B
The correct answer is the CIPS Code of Conduct. This is a voluntary document about doing 'good procurement' i.e. treating suppliers with respect.
EU Procurement Directive is legislation, so isn't voluntary
ISO9001 is about quality management
ILO is an organisation rather than a document
Question 4
Added value can be objectively defined. Is this sentence TRUE?
Answer : C
The correct answer is 'no - added value may change from one company to another'.
Added value is very subjective. What one person thinks is excellent added value, another may not rate highly. For example one buyer may consider a supplier having good brand reputation as added value, but another might not care.
The other no answer is incorrect because added value can be tangible or intangible. Tangible means you can touch and see it and intangible means you can't.
Question 5
A company has actively included supporting of disadvantaged groups within their ESG commitment. Which of the following groups are considered disadvantaged?
Answer : B
Pregnant women and children are considered 'disadvantaged' by the UN. The other groups the UN call disadvantaged include; the elderly, the immunocompromised, those with disabilities and those living in poverty. This is the list given in the study guide.
A company could help disadvantaged groups in several ways. Firstly by offering employment (obviously not to the children). It could also include helping these groups as part of a Social Value out-come or community benefit scheme.
Question 6
Compared with single sourcing, what is a key advantage to dual or multiple sourcing? Select TWO
Answer : A, E
The correct answers are 'it is easy to drive down costs' (as you can pit the suppliers against each other) and 'low risk of failure to supply' (if one supplier can't provide what you need, the other supplier might be able to).
Economies of scale and supplier loyalty are advantages of single-sourcing.
There is a risk of failure to supply is a risk associated with single sourcing.
There's a useful table of advantages and disadvantages of single / multi sourcing on p.22. Types of sourcing is a key topic for the exam.
Question 7
A supplier operates in a monopolistic market where the threat of entry is low. The product that they offer is key in manufacturing certain types of submarines and there is no known substitute for the product at present. What type of sourcing relationship is a buyer likely to have with this supplier?
Answer : B
This is sole sourcing as there is only one supplier in the marketplace.
Be careful not to confuse single sourcing and sole sourcing. Single sourcing is when a buyer chooses to work with only one supplier (usually to achieve economies of scale), sole sourcing, on the other hand, is when the buyer doesn't have a choice- they work with one supplier because there is only one supplier in the market.
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