CPIM study guide
CPIM · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
CPIM - Certified in Planning and Inventory Management - is an APICS certification administered by ASCM. It is intended for supply chain professionals who want to demonstrate planning and inventory management competence. The CPIM study guide has 9 sections and about 3,261 words.
01Supply Chains and Strategy
A supply chain strategy is not chosen in a vacuum; it must support the competitive strategy - the set of customer needs the firm has chosen to serve (price, delivery, variety, innovation, service). Strategic fit exists when chain capabilities match the uncertainty the chain must absorb.
344 words, about 2 min02Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP)
S&OP is a monthly, cross-functional decision process that balances demand and supply at the product-family level over a rolling horizon (commonly 18–36 months in monthly buckets) and keeps the operational plan consistent with the business plan. The classic five steps: data gathering, demand review, supply review, reconciliation/pre-S&OP with financial integration, and executive S&OP where decisions are made and the single set of numbers is authorized.
331 words, about 2 min03Demand
Demand management covers forecasting, communicating the plan, influencing demand, and allocating supply when it is short. A forecast decomposes into level, trend, seasonality, cyclical, and random components.
327 words, about 2 min04Internal Supply
The master production schedule states what will be built, in what quantity, and when, for end items or option families - inside the production plan and time fences. It separates forecast from actual demand and uses available-to-promise to commit output to customers.
344 words, about 2 min05External Supply and Key Support Functions
External supply covers purchasing, supplier development, contracts, inbound logistics, and the support functions - finance, engineering, HR, IT - whose constraints shape the plan. The purchasing cycle runs from need recognition through requisition, supplier selection, PO release, expediting, receipt, and settlement.
315 words, about 2 min06Inventory
Inventory exists as cycle stock (order quantity), safety stock (variability), anticipation stock (seasonal prebuild), pipeline stock (in transit), and decoupling stock (WIP between processes). Costs are carrying (capital, storage, obsolescence, insurance, handling - often 15–30% of value per year), ordering/setup, and shortage (lost sales, expediting, goodwill).
310 words, about 2 min07Detailed Schedules
Detailed scheduling assigns orders to resources in the short term. Priority rules: FCFS; SPT (minimizes average flow time and WIP but ignores due dates); EDD (minimizes maximum lateness); critical ratio = time remaining ÷ work remaining, where below 1 means behind.
326 words, about 2 min08Distribution
Distribution plans the flow of finished goods from plant to customer. DRP works backward from demand at each distribution center, netting on-hand and scheduled receipts to produce replenishment orders - the mirror image of MRP, applied to distribution rather than manufacturing.
302 words, about 2 min09Quality, Business Investments and Continuous Improvement
Quality is conformance to requirements and fitness for use. Cost of quality has four categories: prevention, appraisal, internal failure (scrap, rework before shipment), and external failure (returns, warranty, recalls - usually the most expensive).
662 words, about 3 min