Latest Sep 07, 2025 Real L4M2 Exam Dumps Questions Valid L4M2 Dumps PDF
CIPS L4M2 Exam Dumps - PDF Questions and Testing Engine
CIPS L4M2 exam is a critical step for procurement and supply chain professionals who want to advance their career in the field. Defining Business Needs certification demonstrates the candidate's proficiency in defining business needs and developing procurement strategies that align with organizational goals. It is also a valuable asset for organizations looking to hire procurement professionals who can deliver value by identifying and defining business needs effectively. The CIPS L4M2 exam is a rigorous and challenging certification that requires extensive study and preparation, but it is also a rewarding achievement that can open up new opportunities for procurement and supply chain professionals.
NEW QUESTION # 55
Which of the following is the process for improving the value of a new product or service?
- A. Porter's Five Forces
- B. Value analysis
- C. Planning and design
- D. Value engineering
Answer: D
Explanation:
Value Engineering (VE) is concerned with new products. It is applied during product development. The focus is on reducing costs, improving function or both, by way of teamwork-based product evaluation and analysis. This takes place before any capital is invested in tooling, plant or equipment.
This is very significant, because according to many reports, up to 80% of a product's costs (throughout the rest of its life-cycle), are locked in at the design development stage. This is under-standable when you consider the design of any product determines many factors, such as tooling, plant and equipment, labour and skills, training costs, materials, shipping, installation, maintenance, as well as decommissioning and recycle costs.
Reference:
LO 3, AC 3.4
NEW QUESTION # 56
Which of the following factors are likely to be direct barriers to a new entrant in a supply market?
- A. Brand identity
- B. Threat of forward integration
- C. Availability of substitutes
- D. Cost advantages
- E. Value to price
Answer: A,D
Explanation:
There are many types of barriers to entry into a market. Some of these include:
- Economies of Scale: When manufacturing or selling at a large scale, companies are able to avail cost advantages because per unit costs of the product fall. So the more the company produces in quantity the more the benefit. When existing companies have this advantage, it can act as a barrier to entry because a new entrant will have to try to match the scale to achieve the same cost ad-vantage as the existing company. This may not be possible at the initial stage.
- A Differentiated Product: If the product being sold by the existing company or companies is highly differentiated or enjoys strong brand loyalty, then this can act as a strong barrier to entry. The new entrant will have to invest in creating a product with newer and unique features and bene-fits that surpass those offered by the old company. In addition, there will need to be strong efforts to break existing brand loyalties and shift them to a new untested company.
- High Capital Costs: If an industry requires huge capital investments at the onset, then this will act as a barrier to entry for many of the potential entrants. Only those will attempt to enter the competitive fray who have the resources to make this high initial investment.
- Other Cost Advantages: Apart from those cost benefits that come from economies of scale, there are other advantages that an existing firm may enjoy. These include access to the best suppliers, an understanding of existing materials and knowledge of their quality, possession of any necessary and important patents, and proprietary information and technological knowledge. There are also learning advantages, achieved over years of business and experience.
- Cost of Switching: The cost associated with a consumer's move from one company or product or another is called the switching cost. If there are significant switching costs, then a new entrant may not be able to create means of removing these. Or, they may have to offer significant advantage to counter these switching costs at their own expense.
- Distribution Network: Often, distribution relationships are well established and may prove to be a strong barrier to entry for a new company. A new entrant will obviously need access to these dis-tribution channels but will need to invest extra in order to engage distributors who have established relations with existing competitors.
- Suppliers: As with distributors, suppliers may be vital to the operations of a new business. Exist-ing suppliers may have contracts or loyalties with existing companies and may prove to be difficult to form relationships with.
- Legal and Government Created Barriers: Government and regulatory requirements such as permits and licenses may be a strong barrier to entry. There may also be laws governing ways to conduct business that may conflict with a company's practices in other countries.
- Barriers to Exit: Interestingly, barriers to exit may act as a deterrent to entry by new companies. If a company is unable to easily leave a competitive environment in case business does not work out, then it will have to stay and compete even if that is a detrimental business practice. In this case, the company may choose to not enter the market in the first place.
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.2
NEW QUESTION # 57
Which of the following is an useful tool for value engineering?
- A. SAMOA
- B. Kano model
- C. Kraljic Portfolio Matrix
- D. Star-burst method
Answer: B
Explanation:
Value Engineering (VE) is concerned with new products. It is applied during product development. The focus is on reducing costs, improving function or both, by way of teamwork-based product evaluation and analysis.
This takes place before any capital is invested in tooling, plant or equipment.
This is very significant, because according to many reports, up to 80% of a product's costs (throughout the rest of its life-cycle), are locked in at the design development stage. This is under-standable when you consider the design of any product determines many factors, such as tooling, plant and equipment, labour and skills, training costs, materials, shipping, installation, maintenance, as well as decommissioning and recycle costs.
The Kano model is a theory for product development and customer satisfaction developed in the 1980s by Professor Noriaki Kano, which classifies customer preferences into five categories. Both Kano model and Value Engineering aims at optimising new product, so they can be combined to-gether. CIPS L4M2 study guide consider Kano model is a tool of Value Engineering
Example of Kano model (source: Wikipedia)
NEW QUESTION # 58
When developing a business case for a new product, a procurement department must consider...
- A. The supply market
- B. The supplier positioning model
- C. Terms and conditions of contract
- D. Indirect costs
Answer: A
NEW QUESTION # 59
Which type of specification is less time-consuming to develop?
- A. Technical drawings
- B. Design specification
- C. Conformance specification
- D. Outcome-based specification
Answer: D
Explanation:
There are two major types of specification: conformance and performance specifications. They have the following characteristics:
Table Description automatically generated
Since performance specification is often a list of outputs or outcomes, it usually takes less time to develop than conformance specification.
NEW QUESTION # 60
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?
- A. Investment in innovation to predict future trends
- B. Adequate labour contracts in place to meet changing demand
- C. Correct product specification in place to allow variations
- D. Investment in versatile robotics to meet changing demand
Answer: D
NEW QUESTION # 61
Synergy Ltd is a fast-growing tool and hardware retailer. The company's customer services team has been using Excel worksheets to manage customer relationships. When the company is expend-ing its market presence, this way of working leads to poorer customer services as the database is scattered around in spreadsheet, leading to patchy and inconsistent conversations with customers. The company decides to purchase a CRM system. What requirement should Synergy's procurement team take into account in the specification for CRM system?
- A. The relative size of the potential suppliers to Synergy
- B. The form and reference number of the purchase order
- C. Total number of the supplier's employees
- D. The ability to import bulk data from Excel spreadsheets
Answer: D
Explanation:
The purpose of this Question:
to actionable requirements before communicating with the suppliers. The scenario suggests that Synergy Ltd's customer services team is using Excel spreadsheets, they lack a centralised customer database. This leads to problems in communications with customers.
A CRM system can solve the communication problem. But a Question: 100
will the previous data be imported? If the CRM system can support bulk import from Excel tables, it will save a lot of time.
Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.1
NEW QUESTION # 62
When analyzing direct and indirect costs of potential suppliers for negotiations and planning pur-chasing budget, the procurement manager collects reports from specialist organisations like Mintel, Gartner and Forrester. Which kind of information source is used by the procurement manager?
- A. Company annual report
- B. RFI
- C. Technical data
- D. Market data
Answer: D
Explanation:
Using Porter's value chain helps procurement professionals know what are direct and indirect costs of supplier. Information on direct and indirect costs will have been collected as part of the market analysis. Information sources that may help include the following:
- Company annual reports
- Market data
- Technical data
- Request for information
- Plan visits
- Discount lists
Market data is the information that is collected and analysed by specialist organisations like Mintel, Gartner, Forrester,...
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.3
NEW QUESTION # 63
XYZ Ltd is a large supermarket chain which operates mainly in the UK and Europe. Their custom-ers are increasingly concerned about sustainability. Therefore, procurement manager is required to source the products from suppliers who have good environmental performance. Which of the fol-lowing can be an assurance that the supplier has procedures and policies to enhance its environmental performance?
- A. ISO 14001:2015 certificate
- B. ISO 22716:2007 certificate
- C. ISO 9001:2015 certificate
- D. ISO 13485:2016 certificate
Answer: A
Explanation:
ISO 9001:2015 specifies requirements for a quality management system.
ISO 14001:2015 specifies the requirements for an environmental management system that an or-ganization can use to enhance its environmental performance. ISO 14001:2015 is intended for use by an organization seeking to manage its environmental responsibilities in a systematic manner that contributes to the environmental pillar of sustainability.
ISO 22716:2007 gives guidelines for the production, control, storage and shipment of cosmetic products.
These guidelines cover the quality aspects of the product, but as a whole do not cover safety aspects for the personnel engaged in the plant, nor do they cover aspects of protection of the environment.
ISO 13485:2016 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organization needs to demonstrate its ability to provide medical devices and related services that consistently meet customer and applicable regulatory requirements.
NEW QUESTION # 64
Which of the following always impact negatively on a company's cash flow? Select TWO that ap-ply
- A. More inventory
- B. Depreciation of fixed asset
- C. Supplier shortens their payment period
- D. Increasing revenue
- E. Customers agree to pay immediately
Answer: A,C
Explanation:
To answer this question, candidates are required to remember the cash flow cycle and cost entries as well as the impact of their timing on a business.
Source: https://cfoperspective.com/free-your-cash-trapped-in-the-cash-conversion-cycle/ Shorter payment term and more inventory are likely to have negative impact on the cash flow be-cause the buyer has to pay sooner and greater.
"Customers agree to pay immediately" will increase the organisation's bank account sooner.
Depreciation has no impact on cash flow as it is only listed in Profit and Loss statement.
Increasing revenue may have negative or positive impact on cash flow, depending on the real situation.
Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.4
NEW QUESTION # 65
A "modified re-buy" means ...
- A. Both the specification and the market should be reviewed to manage the new circumstances
- B. The existing supplier should be asked to supply the requirement because it is a modified re-buy of the same item
- C. The existing specifications should be reviewed but not the supply market, as this type of purchase is complex
- D. The specification should not be considered for future treatment as a stock item because of the modification
Answer: A
NEW QUESTION # 66
Which of the following technology is likely to be an innovation in financial sector?
- A. E-auction
- B. E-commerce
- C. Blockchain
- D. Robotics
Answer: C
Explanation:
Traditional financial systems operate with a centralised database, usually with a single point of authority.
Blockchain technology, on the other hand, allows for a distributed database that holds a growing number of records. Instead of existing in one place, the ledger is continually updated and synchronised across multiple computers in a network. Therefore, any participant in the network with the proper authorisation can view the entire ledger - without relying on an intermediary or any one authority.
Another key feature of blockchain technology is a "smart contract," which is a self-executing protocol that enforces a previously agreed arrangement. For example, a smart contract could trigger an automatic refund under certain conditions or the automatic payment of an agreed commission after a sale. These smart contracts can eliminate delays in traditional Finance processes, while increasing transparency and reducing reliance on middlemen to follow through on their commitments. Moreover, like other parts of a blockchain, smart contracts are immutable, so they can enhance accuracy in the financial statements.
LO 2, AC 2.1
NEW QUESTION # 67
Which of the following can cause overhead variance? Select TWO that apply:
- A. Spike in material price
- B. Decreasing packaging costs
- C. Spike in monthly leasing fee
- D. Rising production worker's wage rate per hour
- E. Decrease in production volume
Answer: C,E
Explanation:
Overhead variances arise when the actual overhead costs incurred differ from the expected amounts.
Managers want to understand the reasons for these differences, and so should consider computing one or more of the overhead variances described below. Each of these variances applies to a different aspect of overhead expenditures. It is not necessary to calculate these variances when a manager cannot influence their outcome.
Fixed Overhead Spending Variance
The fixed overhead spending variance is the difference between the actual fixed overhead expense incurred and the budgeted fixed overhead expense. An unfavorable variance means that actual fixed overhead expenses were greater than anticipated. The formula for this variance is:
Actual fixed overhead - Budgeted fixed overhead = Fixed overhead spending variance The amount of expense related to fixed overhead should (as the name implies) be relatively fixed, and so the fixed overhead spending variance should not theoretically vary much from the budget.
Fixed Overhead Volume Variance
The fixed overhead volume variance is the difference between the amount of fixed overhead actually applied to produced goods based on production volume, and the amount that was budgeted to be applied to produced goods. For example, a company budgets for the allocation of $25,000 of fixed overhead costs to produced goods at the rate of $50 per unit produced, with the expectation that 500 units will be produced. However, the actual number of units produced is 600, so a total of $30,000 of fixed overhead costs are allocated. This creates a fixed overhead volume variance of $5,000.
Variable Overhead Efficiency Variance
The variable overhead efficiency variance is the difference between the actual and budgeted hours worked, which are then applied to the standard variable overhead rate per hour. The formula is:
Standard overhead rate x (Actual hours - Standard hours)
= Variable overhead efficiency variance
A favorable variance means that the actual hours worked were less than the budgeted hours, resulting in the application of the standard overhead rate across fewer hours, resulting in less expense being incurred.
However, a favorable variance does not necessarily mean that a company has incurred less actual overhead, it simply means that there was an improvement in the allocation base what was used to apply overhead.
Variable Overhead Spending Variance
The variable overhead spending variance is the difference between the actual and budgeted rates of spending on variable overhead. The variance is used to focus attention on those overhead costs that vary from expectations. The formula is:
Actual hours worked x (Actual overhead rate - standard overhead rate)
= Variable overhead spending variance
A favorable variance means that the actual variable overhead expenses incurred per labor hour were less than expected.
In the study guide, CIPS splits overhead variance into volume and expenditure variance. They can be understood as variable and fixed overhead variance respectively.
NEW QUESTION # 68
A procurement manager is discussing with other stakeholders about the scope and the implementation of the upcoming construction project. A stakeholder argues that the construction projects are often risky as the overall scope of the work can't be accurately estimated from the beginning. Furthermore, the project spans over a long period, the costs of materials can fluctuate widely. The procurement manager suggests that the pricing structure should be able to cover the supplier's costs plus 10% markup on total costs. This arrangement is known as...?
- A. Cost-plus fixed-fee
- B. Cost-plus award fee
- C. Cost-plus incentive fee contracts
- D. Cost-plus Fixed percentage
Answer: D
Explanation:
As you can see from the scenario, the procurement manager is suggesting to use cost plus pricing arrangement.
A cost-plus contract is an agreement to reimburse a company for expenses incurred plus a specific amount of profit, usually stated as a percentage of the contract's full price. These type of contracts are primarily used in construction where the buyer assumes some of the risk but also provides a degree of flexibility to the contractor.
Cost-plus contracts can be separated into four categories. They each allow for the reimbursement of costs as well as an additional amount for profit:
1. Cost-plus award fee contracts allow the contractor to be awarded a fee usually for good per-formance.
2. Cost-plus fixed-fee contracts cover both direct and indirect costs, in addition to a fixed fee.
3. Cost-plus incentive fee contracts happen when the contractor is given a fee if his or her perfor-mance meets or exceeds expectations.
4. Cost-plus percent-of-cost contracts allow the amount of reimbursement to rise if the contrac-tor's costs rise.
In the scenario, the procurement manager suggests a pricing structure that covers supplier's costs and adds 10% markup. This is cost-plus fixed-percentage.
Reference:
- Cost-Plus Contract Definition (investopedia.com)
- CIPS study guide page 30-36
LO 1, AC 1.2
NEW QUESTION # 69
A procurement manager consolidates the company expense on printing and office supplies into broader range of spend category. Other senior managers are concerned that it may increase company's spend. Is that concern justified?
- A. Yes, because the suppliers can't provide a broader range of products and they will fail to deliver
- B. No, because the broader range of spend category can increase the value of the contract and the buyer may get volume discount
- C. No, because the consolidation will help the supplier to shorten deliver time.
- D. Yes, because the consolidation may create a large contract that costs more than placing each purchase order
Answer: B
Explanation:
Printing and office supplies are often considered as low risk, low value items. Consolidation low value, low risk items into a broader range will dramatically increases the value of the contract and leverage of buying organisation in the negotiation.
Reference:
LO 1, AC 1.1
NEW QUESTION # 70
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