CPIM Detailed Scheduling and Planning Practice Test

CPIM Detailed Scheduling Exam – Certified in Production and Inventory Management “Detailed Scheduling and Planning” Exam:

The CPIM Detailed Scheduling and Planning Exam is the third of five exams created by the Association for Operations Management, also known as APICS, that are administered by Promissor and are required in order for an individual to receive a Certification in Production and Inventory Management.

This certification can be extremely useful as a resume-builder for individuals in the manufacturing and warehousing industries, but in order to receive the certification, the individual must pass all five CPIM exams.

This exam consists of 75 questions, 60 of which are scored and 15 that are not scored, related to techniques and important practices in inventory management, material requirements planning (MRP), operations planning based on priorities, capacity requirements planning (CRP), and supply planning.

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The exam-taker has three hours to complete the exam and there are no official breaks scheduled during that period. The exam is scored based on a scale of 265 to 330 with 300 as the minimum score necessary to pass the exam.

To register for the exam, you must contact APICS to get a customer number and register online or by phone with APICS or Promissor to schedule a testing date. The registration fee for the exam is $110 for APICS members and $145.00 for nonmembers.

CPIM Exams

Practice Questions

1. Among the steps that could be taken to ensure a stable manufacturing process are:

1. Ensuring secure and fixed time frames
2. Inputting workloads at the top levels of capacity
3. Ensuring relaxed and temporary time frames
4. Inputting workloads at minimum required capacity levels

2. The unit cost of a product is one factor in production planning. However, the unit cost is a different concept for a merchant retailer than for a manufacturer. The unit cost for a merchant retailer is:

1. The SKU producer cost plus the cost of putting it on the shelf
2. The wage value multiplied by the time it takes for workers who get it on the shelf
3. The actual amount of money spent on making an SKU available for use
4. The price paid and the cost of putting it on the shelf

3. Define SKU, the stock keeping unit.

1. SKU refers to the cost of storing a single unit of a manufactured product
2. SKU refers to characteristics of specific manufactured products but may also refer to services
3. SKU refers to the Universal Product Code, which identifies products by bar codes
4. SKU refers to warranty or information services identified with specific manufactured products

4. The statement that best reflects the importance of SKU in detailed scheduling and planning is:

1. SKU tracks product variations
2. SKU allows inventory managers to count products with electronic scanners
3. SKU tracks production costs as they pertain to inventory management
4. SKU enables market research for future product manufacture

5. In the process of detailed scheduling and planning, managers discover that manufacturing SKU item 983742B requires an unusually high 25% of management supervisory time, compared with only 5% of supervisory time for popular SKU item 983742G.

1. Planners and schedulers should discontinue SKU item 983742B
2. Planners and schedulers should add 20% to the acquisition cost of SKU983742B
3. Planners and schedulers should fire the production supervisor
4. Planners and schedulers should streamline the process for manufacturing SKU 983742B

Answer Key

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1. A: Answer choice “a” is correct because secure and fixed time frames for manufacturing are necessary for the stability of the manufacturing process. A stable process ensures profitability and overall efficiency. Secure and fixed time frames for various phases of manufacture are at the center of detailed planning and scheduling. While a fixed system may have an in-built capacity for change, a realistic adherence to capacity requirements will prevent bottlenecks and system overload.

2. D: The correct answer is “d.” For the merchant retailer, unit cost is a relatively easy matter. The retailer (or wholesaler) pays a price to the manufacturing supplier for delivery of the product. The only thing to be added is the cost of making it available to consumers and whatever costs are associated with temporary storage. For a manufacturer, a unit cost is a more complex matter, since production costs can vary according to the efficiency and planning of the manufacturing process.

3. B: The correct answer is “b.” The SKU is different from the bar code and is used for product and product family identification. The number and alpha string of the SKU identifier will provide information regarding color, size, configuration, and other characteristics that render the product different from those that appear identical or nearly so. There is an increasing tendency to include warranty or service information coding in the SKU. Sometimes SKUs are assigned to activities rather than products.

4. C: While all of the answer choices apply, the best answer is “c.” SKU is a means of tracking productive profitability. When an SKU is assigned to a finished product, the cost of manufacture is a known factor attached to it, as is the profit margin when it is sold to retailers/wholesalers. Storage, handling, and sales costs can be tracked from that point onward to help manufacturers make decisions on future manufacturing processes. If SKU 983742B sells poorly, while 983742G sells out repeatedly, planners and schedulers can adjust manufacturing in the direction of greater profitability by making more of the more desired consumer item.

5. B: The best answer is “b.” There are many good reasons why the manufacture of one product might require more supervisory attention than that of another. Firing the supervisor for practical and necessary production expenses is not a solution. It is true that the planners might look at streamlining the process, but the cost of the product is already a fact. That cost, an extra 20%, must be added to the product acquisition (manufacturing) cost, since the main purpose of tracking SKU983742B is to ensure profitability. It may very well be that SKU983742B sells well at the high price and cost.