CIPS L4M6 Practice Exams
Last updated on Oct 22,2026- Exam Code: L4M6
- Exam Name: Supplier Relationships
- Certification Provider: CIPS
- Latest update: Oct 22,2026
Sugar Doughnut Ltd has a jam supplier that they have used successfully for over ten years. They have made investments in the supplier’s factory to support them with capital equipment upgrades in return for cost reduction on jam. The two companies also collaborate on bids for large supermarkets when looking to supply doughnuts and work together on quality improvements. No contracts exist between the two companies.
Could this relationship be said to be a partnership relationship?
- A . No, because contracts do not exist between the two companies
- B . No, because they have only worked together for ten years
- C . Yes, because they have demonstrated close collaboration on various projects
- D . Yes, because they both operate in the food sector
C
Explanation:
The relationship qualifies as a partnership due to their collaboration, shared investments, and mutual efforts toward improvement, regardless of the absence of formal contracts. Partnerships focus on shared goals, trust, and strategic alignment rather than mere documentation.
A doctor’s surgery requires a complex database system to manage all of its patients data, which is highly sensitive. The system also needs to link to other departments of the health service such as physiotherapy and intensive care. The Manager of the surgery is considering outsourcing the management of the database to an IT company.
What is the Manager’s main motivation for doing this?
- A . The supplier is an expert in their field
- B . This will result in economies of scale
- C . This will free-up internal resources
- D . This will result in cost-savings
A
Explanation:
The reason for outsourcing in this example is that the IT firm is an expert in their field. The requirement is complex and important and this is the reason why it is not being delivered in-house. The other answers given CAN be reasons for out-sourcing, but don’t relate to this example. For a full list of reasons a company could use outsourcing see p. 4-5
A partnership relationship can be described as any relationship between a buyer and supplier where there is a good level of communication and both parties are happy with each other’s performance. Is this statement TRUE?
- A . Yes- partnerships are characterised by strong relationships
- B . Yes- partnerships are the only relationship type where both parties are happy with each other’s performance
- C . No- good levels of communication can exist in other types of relationships
- D . No- only strategic relationships involve good levels of communication.
C
Explanation:
The correct answer is ‘No- good levels of communication can exist in other types of relationships’. The study guide makes a point that not all good buyer: supplier relationships are partnerships. In fact 70% on supplier relationships will not be partnerships (according to Lambert who is quoted on p.131)
Sandra is a buyer for a large supermarket and has been increasing unhappy with the performance of a long-term supplier of bananas. Over time the deliveries have become unreliable and this has had impacts on the supermarket’s profitability.
What should Sandra do first?
- A . Obtain business approval to terminate the contract
- B . Develop an exit strategy
- C . Review the market and look for an alternative supplier
- D . Give written notice to the supplier of plans to terminate
A
Explanation:
The first step is to obtain business approval to terminate. If Senior Management don’t give approval, then the rest of the stages can’t happen and Sandra will be stuck with her current banana supplier. There’s a good diagram on p.109 detailing the steps to supplier termination.
The director of procurement for a global telecommunications firm has segmented their expenditure and has decided to focus on developing relationships with their bottleneck suppliers.
Is this the correct process?
- A . No, as there is lots of variety of goods available
- B . No, as there is vast competition
- C . Yes, as there are low costs to switching suppliers
- D . Yes, as there are little or no other options available
D
Explanation:
Bottleneck suppliers often control critical or scarce resources. Developing relationships with these suppliers is crucial to mitigate risks and ensure continuity of supply, per procurement best practices.
What are the relationship characteristics of a Partnership?
- A . Short-term focus and one-off transactions
- B . An adversarial relationship
- C . Sharing ideas and risk
- D . Focus on price competitiveness
C
Explanation:
Partnerships emphasize collaboration, shared risks, and mutual benefits. Unlike adversarial or transactional relationships, they focus on long-term goals and joint value creation.
Innovation is a key consideration when entering into a partnership. Is this statement true?
- A . Yes- joint innovation projects are often a strong motivation for entering into a partnership
- B . Yes- innovation is the only reason to enter into a partnership
- C . No- the key consideration when entering a partnership is cost reduction
- D . No- innovation is best achieved in a contractual relationship where KPIs can be monitored closely.
A
Explanation:
The correct answer is ‘Yes- joint innovation projects are often a strong motivation for entering into a partnership’. The other options are simply not true statements. A lot of the questions on the ‘Partnerships’ chapters of the book are common-sense questions like this. It involves reading the QUESTIO N N O: and using logic, rather that relying on your knowledge of procurement. If you found this QUESTIO N N O: easy C that’s a good sign for the exam.
A supermarket is struggling with sales and has done an analysis on its competitors. It has discovered that it has two major competitors; one provides groceries at a much cheaper price and another that provides only organic products. The supermarket has decided that it wants to continue providing groceries to a wide target audience but that it will compete by offering superior customer service.
What is the supermarket’s source of competitive advantage?
- A . cost leadership
- B . differentiation
- C . cost focus
- D . differentiation focus
B
Explanation:
This is differentiation as the target market is broad. Differentiation focus would be if the supermarket was targeting a niche market. There’s a couple of questions on Porter’s Generic Strategies in the exam- there’s a useful diagram of this on P.13
A buyer has a requirement to purchase 1,000 widgets for a manufacturing company. The widgets are critical for the next stage of the manufacturing process.
What would be the key selection criterion for this buyer?
- A . Ability to deliver by the deadline
- B . Ability to produce low-cost widgets
- C . Ability to meet ISO standards
- D . Ability to add value to the order
A
Explanation:
Timely delivery is essential to prevent disruptions in critical manufacturing processes. While cost and standards are important, they are secondary when urgency and dependency are high.
Which one of the following is an advantage of early supplier involvement?
- A . Supplier is responsible for all intellectual property risks
- B . Large investment in supplier communications
- C . Understanding of supplier capabilities
- D . No need for supplier non-disclosure agreements
C
Explanation:
Early supplier involvement highlights supplier strengths and capabilities, enabling collaborative development. This supports innovation and optimizes the procurement process.