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Apics Cscp2014 Ecm
Apics Cscp2014 Ecm
Stock #09031-2014
APICS CSCP
Exam Content Manual
This manual is in effect from
January 1, 2014December 2014.
Visit apics.org/ecmerrata for APICS CSCP Exam Content Manual errata.
The references in this manual have been selected solely on the basis of their educational value to the APICS
CSCP certification program and on the content of the material. APICS does not endorse any services or other
materials that may be offered or recommended by the authors or publishers of books and publications listed in
this manual.
2014 APICS The Association for Operations Management
8430 West Bryn Mawr Avenue, Suite 1000
Chicago, IL 60631-3439 USA
Phone: 1-800-444-2742 or +1-773-867-1777
Fax: +1-773-639-3000
No portion of this document may be reproduced under any circumstances. CSCP is a registered trademark of
APICS.
Stock #09031-2014
Table of Contents
Letter to Candidates ....................................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2
About the APICS CSCP Examination............................................................................................................................. 2
Question Format ............................................................................................................................................... 2
Taking the Test .................................................................................................................................................. 3
Interpreting Test Scores .................................................................................................................................... 3
Studying for the APICS CSCP Exam.... 3
APICS CSCP References. 3
Terminology.... 4
Additional Resources for APICS CSCP Candidates.... 4
APICS CSCP Learning System.......................................................................................................................... 4
APICS CSCP Instructor-Led Review Courses................................................................................................... 4
APICS Educational Programs............................................................................................................................ 5
APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) Basics of Supply Chain Management
(BSCM) Review Course and Examination............................................................................................ 5
APICS CSCP Certification Maintenance: Continuing Professional Development ......................................................... 5
The Importance of Certification Maintenance.................................................................................................... 5
APICS Code of Ethics .................................................................................................................................................... 5
APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP)...................................................................................................... 7
Scope of the Subject Matter .............................................................................................................................. 7
APICS CSCP Content ....................................................................................................................................... 7
Content Outline ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Key Terminology .............................................................................................................................................. 13
Supplemental Glossary .................................................................................................................................... 15
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................... 16
Sample Questions......................................................................................................................................................... 17
Answers to Sample Questions....................................................................................................................................... 18
Letter to Candidates
Dear Candidate:
On behalf of all the members of APICS The Association
for Operations Management and the Certified Supply
Chain Professional (CSCP) Subcommittee, I want to
thank you for your interest in the APICS CSCP program.
APICS is the global leader and premier source of the
body of knowledge in operations management, including
production, inventory, supply chain, purchasing, and
logistics. Since 1957, individuals and companies have
relied on APICS for its superior training, internationally
recognized certifications, comprehensive resources, and
worldwide network of accomplished industry
professionals.
The APICS CSCP program is primarily intended for
professionals in supply chain management and is
designed to test the candidates knowledge of and ability
to apply the supply chain management body of
knowledge. It is the most widely recognized educational
program for operations and supply chain management
professionals around the globe. By earning the APICS
CSCP credential, candidates have demonstrated their
mastery of supply chain management best practices and
have distinguished themselves as an industry expert
with specialized, high-level knowledge and skills.
The APICS CSCP program will help you advance your
career while giving you validated foundational
knowledge to assist in improving your companys
competitive position and profitability. The program takes
a broad view of the field, extending beyond internal
operations to encompass all the steps throughout the
supply chainfrom the supplier; to the company; to the
end consumer and the reverse flow of products and
materials for the purpose of managing returns,
refurbishing, or recycling. The program provides you with
the knowledge to effectively manage the integration of
these activities to maximize a companys value chain.
Introduction
This exam content manual provides guidance for
individuals preparing for the certification examination.
The objective of this manual is to outline the APICS
CSCP tested body of knowledge.
The main section of this manual begins with a statement
about the scope of the subject matter, followed by a
descriptive outline of the content. Key terminology and a
bibliography of references are provided. The section
concludes with sample questions similar to those that
appear on the examination, the correct answers for the
sample questions, and brief explanations of why they are
correct.
The recommended procedure for mastering the subject
matter is to
review the content outline, which defines the scope
of the material
study each topic, using the suggested references.
At the end of each major section is a list of the
references that apply to the topics in that section. The
first number indicates the sequence number for the
reference in the bibliography section, and the numbers in
parentheses indicate the chapters within that reference.
Question Format
All of the questions on the CSCP examination are
intended to test one's understanding of the CSCP body
of knowledge. In addition, it is helpful to understand the
various formats of questions on the examination. The
following five examples illustrate the types of multiple
choice questions found on the examination:
For Example 1, choose the response that best
completes the statement.
Terminology
In studying for the APICS CSCP certification exam,
candidates may discover multiple terms used to denote
the same technique. An example of this is lateral
integration versus horizontal integration. APICS has
attempted to provide consistency with preferred
terminology. However, synonyms are often used by
authors in the various references used to compile the
body of knowledge. Candidates are encouraged to be
familiar with all terms and concepts listed within each
outline and key terminology section, using the APICS
Dictionary as the primary guide for definitions. The
Supplemental Glossary, included in this manual,
provides needed additional information identified by the
exam committee.
APICS CSCP
Certification
Maintenance:
Continuing
Professional
Development
The Importance of Certification
Maintenance
The growing number of individuals choosing to pursue
professional development through the APICS CSCP
program indicates a strong awareness that continuing
education and skills development are essential to
meeting the information and technological challenges in
todays rapidly evolving workplace and global
marketplace. Professional development opens doors to
individual career opportunities and organizational
success.
Main topic
Fundamentals of Supply
Chain Management
Supply Chain Strategy,
Design, and Compliance
Implementation and
Operations
Percentage
of exam
33.33%
33.33%
33.33%
Content Outline
I. Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management
This section addresses the fundamental concepts used
for effective supply chain management and will provide
the foundation for the APICS CSCP exam. It includes an
overview of supply chain management concepts and the
need to align resources with the strategy of the
organization. Management and improvement of the
supply chain are then addressed. Exam questions
covering this area will include elements related to the
following:
A. Supply chain management concepts: A thorough
understanding of the roles in a supply chain network
and the flow of value through it is required. A broad
understanding of the supply chain management
processes, objectives, integration, and benefits is
also required. Knowledge in this area encompasses:
1. Basic supply chain
a. Entities
b. Structures
c. Flows
1. Competitive advantages
2. Business capabilities and strategy
a. Organizational strategy
b. Prioritization options
c. Organizational capabilities
d. Alignment of capabilities and strategy
3. Resolving misalignment or gaps
4. Collaboration among trading partners
a. Benefits of collaboration
b. Requirements for success
C. Supply chain design and improvement
considerations: The supply chain strategy should be
designed with an understanding of the marketplace.
It also requires an understanding of supply chain
management design and continuous improvement
considerations. Knowledge in this area
encompasses:
3. Continuous improvement
a. Product considerations
b. Process improvement initiatives
c. Managing change
D. Inventory management: Inventories throughout the
supply chain must be planned and controlled for
effective supply chain management. Managing
inventories, in turn, requires an understanding of
the costs of maintaining and not maintaining
inventory. Knowledge in this area encompasses:
2. Scope of CRM
3. Elements of CRM
4. Benefits of CRM
5. Implementing CRM
5. Implications of globalization
a. Legal and regulatory considerations
b. Acceptable standards of conduct
c. Glocalization
1. Transportation
a. Transportation objectives and
considerations
b. Stakeholders in transportation decisions
c. Modes of transportation
d. Considerations in mode selection
2. Warehousing
a. Warehousing objectives and considerations
b. Warehouse capabilities
c. Automated material handling
3. Transportation and warehousing trade-offs
a. Public/private
b. Owning/leasing assets
c. Capacity constraints
E. Managing the supply chain: Managing the supply
chain requires an understanding of the dynamics of
supply and demand and the need to balance
efficiency and responsiveness in the supply chain.
It also requires a set of comprehensive measures
that are agreed upon and used by the organizations
in the supply chain. Knowledge in this area
encompasses:
1. Indicators of supply chain performance
a. Customer-focused metrics
b. Financial metrics
c. Operational metrics
d. Other key performance indicators (KPIs)
2. Responsive versus efficient supply chains
a. Attributes of an efficient supply chain
b. Attributes of a responsive supply chain
c. Supply chain fit with the organizations
market requirements
3. Sales and operations planning (S&OP)
a. Relationship to business plan (strategy and
economics)
b. Reviewing performance
c. Evaluating demand levels
d. Evaluating supply capability
e. Reconciling demand, supply, and financial
plans
F. Technology: An understanding of technologies that
enable designing, tracking, operating, and
communicating among trading partners within a
supply chain is necessary. The correct application of
appropriate technology is needed for efficient and
effective supply chain management. Knowledge in
this area encompasses:
2. Marketing
a. Market research
b. Demand generation
c. Influencing demand
3. Selling
4. Matching customer orders to supply
a. Need for matching
b. Approaches to matching
H. Customer relationship management (CRM):
Effective customer relationship management
includes understanding the underlying concepts;
enabling technologies; and requirements for
improved demand management, customer service,
and alignment of customer-facing processes and
resources. Knowledge in this area encompasses:
5. Measuring SRM
6. Challenges in implementing SRM
J.
1. Inventory planning
a. Locations of inventory
b. Levels of inventory
2. Inventory control
a. Determining order quantities
b. Ordering systems
c. Safety stock and safety lead time
d. Organization of storage locations
e. Methods of tracking inventory
f. Methods for assessing inventory accuracy
Order-status reporting
3. Measuring performance
a. Operational measures
b. Financial measures
C. Managing supply from external sources: Managing
supply from external sources requires an
understanding of the basic purchasing processes,
selecting suppliers, and evaluating suppliers.
Knowledge in this area encompasses:
3. Sustainability tools
a. Life cycle assessment
b. ISO 14001
c. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
d. Sustainability scorecards
References: 1; 2 (11-16); 3 (911, 1415);
5 (2, 4, 7, 12); 7; 8, 9, 11
Key Terminology
An understanding of the following list of terms is
recommended. The list is intended to be thorough but
not exhaustive. The candidate is also expected to be
familiar with the definitions of terms identified in the
content outline. Definitions of these terms can be found
in the APICS Dictionary, 14th edition.
A
active tag
advanced planning and scheduling (APS)
agent
alliance development
anticipation inventories
assemble-to-order
automatic identification and data capture (AIDC)
available-to-promise (ATP)
B
balanced scorecard
blanket purchase order
buffer
business intelligence
business-to-business commerce (B2B)
business-to-consumer sales (B2C)
CSCP Exam Content Manual 13
H
harmonized system classification codes
horizontal marketplace
hypertext markup language (HTML)
hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)
C
capable-to-promise (CTP)
cash-to-cash cycle time
collaborative planning, forecasting, and
replenishment (CPFR)
configuration management system
consortia trade exchanges (CTX)
content management applications
continuous replenishment
cost of quality
cross-docking
cross-selling
customer relationship management (CRM)
customer service ratio
cycle time
I
incoterms
independent demand
information system architecture
interplant demand
intranet
inventory optimization software
inventory valuation
inventory velocity
inventory visibility
ISO 14000environmental management systems
ISO 26000guidance for social responsibility
ISO 31000risk management principles and
guidelines
D
database management system (DBMS)
data cleansing
data dictionary
data normalization
data warehouse
define, measure, analyze, improve, control
(DMAIC) process
demand forecasting
demand management
demand planning
demand pull
demand shaping
design for the supply chain
distribution inventory
distribution requirements planning (DRP)
J
joint replenishment system
joint venture
K
kaizen
kaizen event
kanban
keiretsu
key performance indicator (KPI)
L
landed cost
legacy systems
level of service
level strategy
life-cycle analysis
line haul costs
E
electronic commerce (e-commerce)
electronic data interchange (EDI)
electronic document
electronic product codes (EPCs)
end-of-life management
enterprise resources planning (ERP)
environmentally responsible business
environmentally responsible manufacturing
environmentally sensitive engineering
extensible markup language (XML)
extranet
F
feedback
file transfer protocol (FTP)
fill rate
G
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
global strategy
glocalization
14 2014 APICS The Association for Operations Management
make-to-order
make-to-stock
market demand
market research
market share
master production schedule (MPS)
middleware
mix forecast
modular design strategy
modular system
multicountry strategy
multisourcing
T
ordering cost
order losers
order qualifiers
order winners
outsourcing
tactical buying
tariff
third-party logistics (3PL)
total cost of ownership (TCO)
trade bloc
trading bloc
transportation management system (TMS)
P
Pareto analysis
partnership
passive tag
pipeline inventory
planning horizon
portal
private trading exchange (PTX)
product differentiation
product family
product life cycle
pull system
push system
Q
U
universality
V
value-added
value-added network (VAN)
value chain
value stream
value stream mapping
vendor-managed inventory (VMI)
virtual trading exchange
W
R
radio frequency identification (RFID)
rapid replenishment
return on assets (ROA)
return on investment (ROI)
reverse auction
reverse logistics
reverse supply chain
risk pooling
S
seasonality
semipassive tag
service industry
service-oriented architecture (SOA)
single-source supplier
software-as-a-service (SaaS)
sole-source supplier
sourcing
spend management
stockkeeping unit (SKU)
strategic alliance
strategic planning
strategic sourcing
subcontracting
supplier certification
supply chain event management (SCEM)
supply chain management (SCM)
supply chain risk
supply chain visibility
X
XML (extensible markup language)
Bibliography
All test candidates should familiarize themselves with the
following references for this examination. The
recommended references pertaining to the diagnostic
area are listed at the end of each section of the content
outline. All of these references are available from the
APICS Bookstore.
1. APICS Dictionary, 14th ed., 2013.
2. Bowersox, Donald, David Closs, and M. Bixby
Cooper. Supply Chain Logistics Management,
4th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2010.
3. Crandall, Richard, William Crandall, and Charlie
Chen. Principles of Supply Chain Management,
CRC Press, 2010.
4. Ross, David F. Introduction to Supply Chain
Management Technologies, 2nd ed., CRC Press,
2010.
5. Simchi-Levi, David, Philip Kaminsky, and Edith
Simchi-Levi. Designing & Managing the Supply
Chain, 3rd ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2008.
6. United Nations Global Compact: Corporate
Sustainability in the World Economy. 2011.
UN Global Compact Office.
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/news_events/
8.1/GC_brochure_FINAL.pdf
7. UN Global Compact Management Model:
Framework for Implementation. 2010. Deloitte
Touche Tohmatsu. Welcome message by Georg
Kell. Foreword by John Connolly.
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/news_events/
9.1_news_archives/2010_06_17/UN_Global_Compa
ct_Management_Model.pdf
8. The G3.1 Guidelines. Global Reporting.
http://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/G3.1Sustainability-Reporting-Guidelines.pdf
9. GRI Sustainability Report GuidelinesReference
Sheet.
http://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/G3.1Quick-Reference-Sheet.pdf
10. Security Risk Assessment for Transport Operators:
A practical guide for small to medium-sized
organisations. 2012. Department of Transport,
Planning and Local Infrastructure.
http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_fil
e/0010/67699/security-risk-assessment-guide-fortransport-operators.pdf
11. Additional reference materials that are relevant to
the CSCP body of knowledge can be found at
apics.org/cscp. Questions appearing on the exam
may be based on these additional references.
Internet links cited in the bibliographic references above
can be found in a more usable format on the APICS
website at apics.org/cscp.
Sample Questions
The following ten questions are similar in format and
content to the questions on the CSCP exam. These
questions are intended for practicethat is, to enable
you to become familiar with the way the questions are
asked. The degree of success you have in answering
these questions is not related to your potential for
success on the actual exam, and should not be
interpreted as such. Read each question, select an
answer, and check your responses with the explanations
on pages 1920.
1. Which of the following is the primary advantage of
using web-based electronic data interchange (EDI)
for communication of transactions?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Cycle stock
Transportation inventory
Safety stock
Anticipation inventory
Answers to Sample
Questions
Note: References to the content outline appear in
parentheses.
1. B (IIF1) B is the best choice because a web-based
EDI system would eliminate the cost of a private or
value-added network. A is not the best choice
because the EDI transaction formats are
independent of the network used for transmission.
C is not the best choice because the transactions
still must be translated to and from the standardized
format. D is not the best choice because the
standards are independent of the transmission
method used.
2. A (IIIE) A is the best choice because the customers
are the ultimate judges of quality and they may have
differing requirements and priorities. B is not the
best answer because the philosophies have similar
definitions of quality and address how to improve it.
C is not the best choice because the fact that it is
everyones responsibility has nothing to do with the
concept of what is quality. D is not the best choice
because targets should change once they have
been achieved.
3. A (IE2) A is the best choice because a 3PL
company is a company that manages part or all of a
companys product delivery operations and shipping
is part of the product delivery operations. B is not the
best choice because neither producing the
subassembly nor delivering it is part of the
companys product delivery operations. C is not the
best choice because payroll services are not a part
of the companys product delivery operations. D is
not the best choice because selling does not
necessarily include any delivery operations.
4. C (IIF2) C is the best choice because supply chain
event management monitors the supply chain and
notifies designated individuals when specified
events or exceptions occur or when trends are
recognized. A is not the best choice because it
enables performance reporting but does not reduce
the need for it. B is not the best choice because
supply chain event management itself does not
affect any specific application. D is not the best
choice because supply chain event management
does not directly affect the amount or cost of
communications among partners.
apics.org