Supply Chain Certification Site

This site is a free resource for individuals looking to achieve supply chain certification through APICS. This site concentrates on the CPIM exam (not the CIRM exam). This site is modeled after my very successful project management certification study site for passing the PMP examination. So far I haven't accepted any advertising because it doesn't cost me much to host this site (about $80 / year, just moved to godaddy) and so I just put this data up for free. Note that I am always looking for comments from individuals who have already passed the CPIM exams - I add them to the success story section which is very popular with people who are trying to understand what is required to achieve certification. In general, I am trying to help people to achieve certification at the lowest cost - if you go out on the web there are many groups trying to push certification classes that can run in the thousands of dollars, and there are many recommended books that also cost hundreds of dollars. If your employer pays for your costs or if money is no object, by all means go for these certification preparation resources, but unfortunately that is not the case for most of us in the current economy. Note - recently this site must have been picked up on search engines or there is a surge of interest in this topic because I have recently been flooded with hits and emails. I appreciate the positive feedback - it has "goaded" me into updating the site!

Note - A LOT of people write me and send me emails and let me know that they followed the instructions on this site and it helped them to pass the exams and achieve CPIM certification. That makes me feel good! Their stories are under the "Success Stories" section. I don't know if this is comprehensive "proof" that this system works, but it is a good sign that many others have followed it and it worked for them, too!

I am now preparing for a certification from the supply chain group APICS. The name of the certification is CPIM, "Certified in Production and Inventory Management". This is an internationally recognized certification and is issued only by APICS.

In order to earn your CPIM, you must achieve a passing score on five separate exams. These exams include:

In general, having APICS certification shows that you have a comprehensive understanding of basic supply chain and manufacturing principles. This can be useful when dealing with potential employers or clients (I am a consultant). I am not advocating certification as a "cure all", nor exaggerating its value. However, it may be the difference when you are competing against other candidates and have similar qualifications (experience, rank and education). Any edge counts in today's economy.

Perhaps I am a little wacky but this is my third certification - I earned a CPA certification in 1990 and a PMP (Project Management Professional) certification in 2001.

In the days of unlimited training budgets (i.e. the long lamented "bubble economy"), employers did not blink when employees showed the desire to achieve certification. The cost of achieving certification, not counting the time off work, could easily exceed $5000 dollars for all 5 exams (approximately $700 for a training course, approximately $200 for materials, and $100 test fee for each of 5 exams). If your employer will pay for the classes, by all means take them, it is probably less of a hassle than self-study (which I am advocating on this site).

It currently costs me $165 / year to be an APICS member - $110 / year for membership and $55 / year for chapter dues (Chicago, IL). The costs have gone up a bit over the last few years. If you are serious about taking the exam it makes sense to become a member first because all of the prices of the study materials are reduced for members if you buy them through the APICS bookstore. Alternatively, you might want to hold off on membership dues until after you pass the first exam.

My goal is to achieve certification while paying a lot less, preferably the absolute minimum. Here are the costs to buy the materials that I am recommending using the prices at the APICS bookstore as of March, 2005 (note that these costs are approximate; the APICS price list changes periodically and you get a discount for APICS membership, so ignore small differences if you look at the price list today). Also note that I can't link to the actual documents inside the APICS bookstore - those types of links are "deep" links and I can get sued for that.

Just a note because I have received several inquiries - I sold off all of my books and CD's listed above (except for the Arnold textbook, which I kept for my own reference) through this site (in only a couple of days!) so I don't have any of the above tools to sell.

If you feel pretty certain that you ARE going to take all of the exams, you can buy some of these items in bulk for a bigger discount. You might want to buy the Datachem PIM-PREP V6.1 CD-ROM ($499 non-members, $404.10 members) which covers all 5 modules and would save you (some) money vs. the cost of buying them all individually. You can also buy CPIM Practice Questions Series - Complete Set of Practice Questions Booklet ($126 non-members, $81.90 members). If you are going to do this you should buy your membership, too, so that you can save money each time that you take an exam.

Note that for this site I do not recommend setting up a study group, which is different than the project management study site for PMP certification. I believe that you are better off either 1) joining a program that your employer will pay for or 2) doing it yourself, on your own. There are too many tests and a study group will fall apart over the time needed to pass all 5 exams.

Another part of my preparation philosophy is to "score the absolute minimum needed to pass". I am not trying to become a CPIM fellow, rather to pass each exam with the minimum score needed which indicates that I did not study too much. My scores on the exam (using the method described on this site) were good enough to pass with a significant cushion to avoid having to take any exams more than once (which costs an extra $110 as well as delaying the time frame by 30 days, since you have to wait before you can take an exam over again).

From time to time I receive emails from people wishing to sell their materials on the site. I put their information up and if you are interested please contact them directly. The last person I put up information for sold their materials. If you are interested in selling your materials, please send me an email. This has gone pretty well recently - it seems like people who put their names up are able to sell their materials - glad to help! Right now I cleared out the old people searching, if you have something, send it to email supply chain certification.

APICS is run by engineers. That much is clear from their convoluted explanation of how scoring is done for an APICS exam. It is a "scaled" score between 265 and 330. 300 is needed to pass the exam. There is a page on the APICS web site under "certification" that kind of explains the process.

I sent APICS a question asking what percentage you need, typically, to pass an exam. They responded that it is generally between 65% and 75%. Thus I am shooting for about 80% on practice questions before taking the exam, figuring that gives me a decent "buffer" to pass the exam.

There are 75 questions on each of the four exams, except for the first exam, which has 105 questions. Not all of them count towards your score, but since you don't know which ones are real and which ones APICS isn't counting, you need to take them all seriously.

The exam is three hours long. I finished each of the first 2 exams in about an hour; maybe the last three exams will take a bit longer if there are more complicated problems but I can't see using all of the time if you have a decent grasp of the material.

I have prepared notes for studying for the CPIM exams and they are available for downloading, below. I recommend purchasing the items above as preparation (at a minimum, you may want to purchase all of the officially recommended texts at the APICS bookstore) but these notes will probably be helpful, as well. Don't rely solely on this information, that is for sure!

I prepare for the exam by going through the sample exams and reviewing the overall guide for taking the exam (CPIM Exam Content Manual). I start doing practice tests using the datachem software in groups of 25-30 questions, guessing and then seeing their explanation for the answer. If I see a term I don't recognize I look it up in the APICS dictionary and write it down. For all sample problems like the MRP grid, I do those on a sheet of scratch paper and look closely to see that I am doing the problem correctly. The CPIM Exam Content Manual has key sample problems that I get down cold; you need to hit those problems out of the park along with the simple definition questions because there are enough "wacky" out of the blue questions that you can't be certain of your answer regardless of how much you study.

I do not have materials for the other exams because they had fewer problems and I did not do much to prepare other than going through the DataChem CD and the practice exams. Also I re-read parts of the main text book on the introduction to materials management. Don't send me emails asking for more preparation materials - there is no more to be had. I did receive a nice note from someone saying that they were using the notes to prepare some of their staff on the exam and asked me if I'd prepare materials for the rest of the exams, but I don't have time to do that, sorry. If someone else has prepared notes that they want to offer up on the site, I'd be happy to post them.

I started studying on and off for the CPIM exam in early 2002. I kind of dropped it for a few months and then picked it up seriously in May, 2002, when I ran into an old colleague from KPMG Consulting (now BearingPoint) who had passed the exams. I signed up online for a test in early June 2002 and started studying seriously for the exam. I studied by 1) reviewing the practice exam 2) reviewing the APICS dictionary (they sent me a free one, thanks APICS) for the terms on the first exam, and going through the recommended text (see my free materials above).

I passed the first exam in June, 2002 with a "score" of 305. The individual running the testing center said that was a good score for passing scores she usually saw a 301 or 302. I don't know whether or not she was being truthful or nice, but I passed either way. Apparently I need some more work on demand planning, but there is another exam for that, so I am sure I will get plenty of practice. As noted above, I took about an hour to complete the exam. Looking back, I think that my score was much lower on the first exam than on the second or third exam because I did not purchase the Datachem CD with the 200 practice questions; this probably would have improved my score significantly.

I passed the second exam in July, 2002 with a "score" of 314. I really think that all of the practice questions helped; not too many of the questions I saw on the exam really "threw" me. This test also took me about an hour to complete. Note that for this exam I really thought I "pushed the envelope" in terms of purchasing minimal materials (i.e. none of the recommended textbooks!) so I was interested to see that my score improved over the first exam.

I passed the third exam in August, 2002 with a "score" of 313. I studied nothing but the practice questions and the "Introduction To Materials Management" textbook, which makes more and more sense each time I read through it. I thought this exam was very difficult at the time I took it; I was also upset because the testing center made me wait over 1/2 hour while they downloaded the exam (they had only one person on staff that day who was running around like crazy trying to take care of all the students). However, I surprised myself with a pretty good score.

I passed the fourth exam in September, 2002 with a "score" of 308. This time I studied hardly at all - I went through the practice exam a couple of times and the CD a few times. The material seemed closely linked to the previous exams and felt very familiar. The "story problem" questions were fewer than for the previous exams, such as preparing the grid for planning with releases, receipts, etc... This contributed to the exam being easier than the previous versions. Of course, I didn't score as well, but it seems that I had a pretty good buffer against failure at 308.

I passed the fifth exam in September, 2002 with a "score" of 308. This exam I studied least of all, because I wanted to complete CPIM certification before starting on a new job where I felt I would be very, very busy. I also had a going away party from my former employer the night before, so even though I took the exam at 12:30pm, I was still not 100% in terms of thinking power. I completed the exam in about 40 minutes, not bothering to "mark" answers for review just kind of "blasting through" with my gut instincts. This section was easier for me because 1) it built on all the other modules that I had recently studied for 2) it was more strategic and I have a lot of experience with business strategy.

My goal was to take an exam every 1 1/2 months or so (I actually took them faster than that). I usually wait a week or so in between exams before ordering the practice materials. After I receive the practice materials I schedule an exam for 2-3 weeks out, depending on what I have coming up in terms of commitments. One advantage of taking the exams back to back is that the material often overlaps so it "builds" on each other for each exam.

As far as studying, I probably studied about 30 hours for the first exam and 20 hours for the second exam. I probably studied about 30 hours for the third exam. I don't mind the preparation materials it is kind of interesting. I was working in this area at BearingPoint and it would have been useful to have taken these exams while I was employed there.

At the other site I run, Project Management Study Group (for PMP certification), the most popular area (besides the free materials) is the "success story" area for individuals who have already passed the exam to provide insights for individuals (like me) who are still preparing for the exam. If you have your own success story, please send them to this address.

I feel great about this first success story, because Raj Singh followed the advice I listed on this site and it obviously worked out very well for him. Good for Raj, he sounds like a smart guy, smarter than I am (look at how quickly he passed the exams!).

Thanks for your great website on CPIM.

Just passed my fifth exam on 4/21/05, and have my CPIM.

Last year my company started a training session on site. Took my first
exam, Basics of Supply Chain Management on 08/19/04, passed with 309 out of
330.

Then things got busy at work, and the training program was put on hold.

For the second exam, I did all my own study with the APICS dictionary and
the practice exams from the workbook supplied by the company. Took the exam
10/26/04, Detailed Scheduling and Planning, passed with 314 out of 330.

Hated all the paper shuffling with the various texts, read your website, and
asked the company to buy the comprehensive CD from DataChem for $399 in a
year end on line sale sent to me by the Datachem site. They even sent me a
free upgrade to the 2005 edition. Awesome company, very professional.

With the DataChem CD only, I passed the next three exams:

02/08/05, Master Planning of Resources - passed with 311 out of 330
04/05/05, Execution and Control of Operations - passed with 313 out of 330
4/21/05, Strategic Management of Resources, passed with 311 out of 330

The DataChem CD and my laptop were all I needed. By using the study
sessions, looking up the APICS definitions, and taking the practice exams,
it took about 20 hours of study per exam.

Thanks again for your support and encouragement.

Les

Leslie Milne, CPIM
Cost Accountant
United Agri Products

Basics of Supply Chain Management: Followed site’s advise, only used the Practice Questions, the DataChem software and read Tony Arnold’s “Introduction to Materials Management” from front to back. Took exam June 2004 and passed with a score of 315.

Master Planning of Resources: Used Practice Questions, the DataChem software and as a back-up, I read the relevant chapters of Vollman’s book “Manufacturing Planning and Control Systems”. Took exam in July 2004 and passed with a score of 314.

Detailed Scheduling and Planning: Used Practice Questions, the DataChem software and only for this exam, I actually purchased the study notes (stock#09247). It actually helped to clear up some problems and it is ideal for reviewing old material. I had a gap between my last exam and this one due to a lengthy overseas assignment, so my total preparation time increased from an average 20 hrs to 30. Took exam in Nov 2004 and passed with a score of 312.

Execution and Control of Operations: Used Practice Questions and the DataChem software. I also read some chapters from Fogarty’s book “Production and Inventory Management”. Took exam in Jan 2005 and passed with a score of 308.

Strategic Management of Resources: Used the Practice Questions and the DataChem software. Took exam in Feb 2005 and passed with a score of 310.

Thank you so very much for your excellent website on APICS - CPIM
which helped me tremendously to get my CPIM designation.
(Will have to wait another month before it arrives here in Singapore).

I am truly indebted to your material found in your website to being able to pass it on my first attempt.

I shared your advise on methods to prepare for the CPIM with my classmates from Singapore Institute of Material Management (SIMM) and we also bought the DataChem CD to practice as well. This was the biggest contributing factor for passing the CPIM with less stress and more confidence.

My APICS no is 1543365
My scores are as follows:
1) Basics of Supply Chain Management:   305
2) Master Planning of Resources:                303
3) Detailed Scheduling and Planning:    301
4) Execution and Control of Operations: 308
5) Strategic Management of Resources:   Pass (Still waiting for APICS to sent the results to Singapore office).

A big thank you again.

Hi,

I have passed all five exams thanks to your site. Your website saved me from spending hundreds of dollars on unnecessary text books. I really only read Arnold's text and "Just in Time, Making it Happen"...those books were all I needed. Although my scores were not that impressive, I passed nonetheless. Below are my test dates and scores:

BSCM 7-16-2005 317

MRP 8-13-2005 301

DSP 8-30-2005 304

ECO 9-17-2005 301
SMR 11-12-2005 301

You are right about taking them as close together as possible. Thanks again!

Editorial comment - the point is to pass the exam without spending excessive effort, and scores right above passing are great!

Success Story Seven - Jason Dandeo

Hi,

I just attained CPIM certification and I wanted to share my own success story. I also want to thank you for maintaining such a great site! It was nice to have a place to read about others' experiences and recommendations while I prepared for my exams.

In November '05 I went ahead and purchased the DATACHEM software (all five modules), as well as the primary reference series for the Basics of Supply-Chain Management exam. I did buy a few other materials from APICS along the way, but didn't find them to be of enough value to recommend them to others here. My goal was to complete the five exams within six months, which I did. I passed with scores between 308 - 315, and studied for an average of 4.5 weeks per module (except for BCSM).

For the first exam, Basics of Supply Chain Management, I gave myself a lot of time-over eight weeks. I wanted to be very, very prepared, and I knew that after taking the first exam I would better know how to prepare for the rest without spending nearly as much time studying. I went through the DATACHEM CD several times, read the Arnold text from front to back, and took extensive notes on everything while also committing the key terminology to memory-a strategy of overkill to say the least! I highly recommend doing this for the first exam (only) because it really provides a solid understanding of where everything else fits in. Much of the material in the following modules simply expanded on what I already knew.

For the next four exams I took a more systematic approach to the material. I started by going through the DATACHEM practice questions without bothering to even guess at the answers. I read the questions but mainly just took notes on the explanations only. Next I went through my notes and looked up every term referenced in the APICS dictionary. I added notes from the APICS definitions to the notes I took from the CD explanations beforehand. I then reviewed my combined notes two or three times before going through all the DATACHEM questions again. I found that by the time I actually tried answering the DATACHEM questions I had reviewed the material enough with this routine that I not only knew many all the answers, but I could extract a lot more knowledge this way rather than trying to study the terminology and questions by themselves. I saved the practice question booklets until the end; depending on how well I did with these determined how much more I needed to study.

Here are some tips based on my own personal experience:

(1.) Only purchase the DATACHEM software (all modules), the BCSM primary reference series, and the practice question booklets for the remaining exams.

(2.) Don't worry about complex problems. I found that there were much fewer problem questions on the exams than I anticipated, and the ones that were there were a lot simpler than the detailed problems contained in the Arnold text. You will have to learn several basic formulas, as well a few that are a bit more complex, but the examples used in the DATACHEM software and the question booklets provide almost all you need to know.

(3.) Don't be surprised to find that things you studied for while preparing for one exam don't show up until a later one. This actually occurs a lot! For this reason I highly recommend taking the exams as close together as possible.

(4.) Finally, if you use the DATACHEM software as your core study material (which I too advocate) you will find that after going through the questions a couple times that you will become so familiar with them that you will quickly know the answer is "C" (for example) as soon as you look at it. If you know the answer right away it makes it hard to "think" about the question. Because of this I recommend the note-taking technique mentioned above. This, of course, does consume a lot of time and is not necessary to simply pass the exams. Honestly, looking back I think that anyone could pass all five exams with the DATACHEM software and APICS dictionary alone.

Anyway, that's my insight into the CPIM certification. Again, thanks for the site!

Jason Dandeo, CPIM

I just passed my fifth exam on 6/24/06 and I want to give a big thanks to you and your great website. It was very helpful to me in both studying for and taking the exams.

I used Arnold's Introduction to Material Management book, the Datachem software, and the APICS dictionary as my study materials. I read the book cover to cover twice and spent the rest of my time doing the Datachem cd and using the APICS dictionary as reference. All in all, I averaged about 20-25 hour of study time per exam.

I took some time off after passing my first exam for personal reasons. However, I would definitely agree that it is best to take these exams as close as possible to maintain momentum and avoid redundant studies. I was able finished off my last four exams in a span of 2.5 months by building one exam upon another. Had I allowed myself more time between exams, I would have had a much more difficult time with the whole thing.

In hindsight, the Datachem cd's was the single most useful study tool for me. Between the questions and the APICS dictionary, the cd's cover most of the subjects the appeared on exams. That is not to say the Datachem questions are anywhere the equivalent of the actual exam questions because the latter is much harder. I generally score 90-95% on the Datachem practice exams but the diagnostic on my actual exams shows I score anywhere from 70% to 85%.

Thanks for the great site! by far the most helpful advice i've found on the net. i just completed my certification today, here are my exam dates and scores:

My goal was to complete certification in the month of June. I started to burnout a bit after the middle exam, but was able to plow ahead. as you suggested, I used the Datachem software and the Arnold book as my only study materials. I would go through each study session marking the ones I've missed and looking at explanations for all questions whether I missed them or not. I'd continue until there were no marked questions left. this took about 5-7 hours for each exam. I have a masters in manufacturing and an MBA along with experience in operations, so the material wasn't new to me. the SMR module was the most difficult because many of the questions were not covered in the Arnold book.

TEST 1(BSCM): I first took the Basics test back in 1997, when I worked for Arthur Andersen. I had started to earn my Cert at the suggestion of our Partners, as at the time, we had more bench time than usual. Of course, right after I slammed the first test with a 322, but then got assigned to a project requiring about 2-1/2 hours of drive time per day, then shortly after that our son was born, then not much later I left Andersen, so I really forgot about it for a long time.

I now work as a Business Analyst in a manufacturing organization, my main function is to help people correctly use our ERP system, as well as Implement new sites we acquire into it. Only one other person here has the CPIM, our Master Scheduler. (sidebar: It shows – so many of the folks in Production really could use some APICS training…) Anyway, I re-joined APICS, got a new number, and started studying for the Basics exam in January. I purchased the MGI Home Study, the Datachem CD, and the Flashcards. I probably had a good 40 hours of study as I really wanted to make sure I did well. I was just about to schedule my exam in mid-February when I got an e-mail from APICS stating they found my old membership and was re-instating it. Much to my surprise, they also sent me the old Test record, and told me I did NOT need to re-take it. Apparently because I never finished, the score didn’t expire like the CPIM now does if you go 5 years without enough points.

TEST 2 (MPR): I acquired all 4 remaining MGI Home Study courses, all 4 remaining Datachem Question CDs, and all 4 Flashcards sets. Next module was Master Planning of Resources. I did the entire Home Study course, plus ran through the flash cards, and did the Datachem CD at least 3 times, getting it to a 96% correct. I probably had close to 100 hours in. I found out after the first test, this was mondo overkill. I took the test on March 16, got a 314, but what I noticed was that while the MGI course helped you learn good principles, it really didn’t match the test well at all. Not only that, the datachem CD was helpful, but I bet not 30% of the questions were really familiar. What saved me is I have an MBA from Carnegie-Mellon, and I focused on Production Management. A lot of stuff just came back to me in the Test. I had expected that if I could memorize the CDs, I would kill the test. Not so! After I spoke with my Director who wasn’t certified, but did have the APICS spiral-bound Study Guide, I realized THAT was the missing piece as the terminology and relationships of things mentioned on the Test were outlined quite well. Armed with this, I bought all 3 remaining Study Guides.

TEST 3: (DSP): I read the APICS Study Guide for Detailed Scheduling & Planning cover to cover. I also went through the Datachem CD twice, getting about an 82 first time and a 90 second time. Did the flashcards once. I did still work through the MGI Course and did all but the last two sections, figuring the extra time would pay off. Probably only had 60 hours in. I took this test on April 19, barely 4 weeks later. Surprisingly, I got another 314. The testing proctors (same ones I had before – it’s a small center) said I was really doing well, they don’t often see people crack 310 with such a short turnaround. Definitely the Study Guide was the biggest help, but the Datachem CD seemed to be more relevant, I picked up many questions that were dead ringers. So 3 down, and over the hump.

TEST 4(ECO): Did the same deal for Execution & Control of Operations – APICS Study Guide cover to cover, and I read through the MGI course, but didn’t do any of the exercises. Went through the Datachem CD once by printing it, and back through ONLY those questions I’d missed. Scored an 86 first time, and got about the same right on the missed ones second time. Somewhere in between 40 and 50 hours, no more. Took the test again 4 weeks later, May 16, got a 315. One Proctor’s comment was “you really know your stuff!” In the home stretch now…

TEST 5(SMR): We had vacation planned starting June 7 when my Son got out of school, so I scheduled my test for June 6 – about 3 weeks to prep. As I realized this was mostly general business strategy, I skipped the MGI course entirely, did again read the APICS Study Guide, did the flashcards & the Datachem routine like ECO – hit around 80 first time. A lot of the Datachem questions in this module had bad grammar or were poorly worded, and in this discipline, that really threw me off. Maybe had 40 hours at most. Took the test June 6, another 315. Definitely consistent! I’m awaiting my Certificate. I may have set a record for longest time to Certification: 1997-2006 – about 9 years in the making!

What was ironic was I planned to go do the CIRM, had already ordered all the APICS reprints and the Datachem with all 5 modules on it. Came back from vacation, and found out on June 6, same day as my last test, APICS announced they’re decommissioning it! While I have 2 years, I figure it’s probably not worth the trouble, though after reviewing the first module, I may just try to take the tests based on my experience and old MBA knowledge. My employer said I was free to try and they’d pay for it even if I didn’t pass. I suppose they figure the Certified Supply Chain Professional is more useful (and sellable) than the CIRM, so I am definitely onto that, as it only ONE test! I‘m targeting December, as I figure I might as well get it before they decide to break it into more test and/or make it harder. I wonder what the success rate was for their first set of testers?

First of all, I'd like to thank you for putting up a useful website for those aspiring for CPIM. I must say that without it, I would've spent alot more time and money on this endeavor. Below is my own 2 cents worth of experience in getting my CPIM. I'd have to say its a pretty interesting one. Read on to find out! :D

I have always wanted to get the CPIM certification since 2004 while working for a multi-national manufacturing company, but didnt really have the time or the opportunity to do so. What's more, since I am located outside the US and Canada, the CPIM exams are only offered roughly 4 times a year (once per quarter), and I still had to fly to Singapore in order to take the exam! This meant that at the least, it would take me close to a year to finish all the exams--which is something I didn't really want to do.

An opportunity came up in November, 2005 when I was told that the whole family will be going to the US and Canada for my sister's graduation. Since the CPIM exams are offered more frequently there, i took this as an opportunity to finish all 5 exams in the least amount of time while I was there.

I registered myself as an APICS member to take advantage of the discount given to the exam testing fee. If I'm not mistaken, a regular exam costs $150 USD, but if you are an APICS member, this will just cost you $110 USD--a savings of 40 bucks per exam. I then proceeded to read the Arnold book "Introduction to Materials Management" from cover to cover as well as to go thru the complete DataChem CD as my review material.

Since I wanted to finish all 5 exams during my 3-week trip, this was how I scheduled my exams, and these were the results:

Strategic Management of Resources - Taken 11/22/2005 in Canada. FAILED 289. Re-take in Singapore on 3/11/2006. PASSED 303.

It was rather hectic for me to do this since I had to take my exams in three different places! As you can see, things didn't quite go according to my plan--at least, not for my last exam! I guess I was in a bit of a hurry to get my certification that I wasn't able to prepare too well. I had to re-take the SMR exam again in Singapore a few months after--not exactly the record breaking 3-weeks to CPIM that I was looking for. :D In the end, things worked out anyway since I was able to pass the re-take ang get my CPIM certification.

I guess being in a hurry and trying to set a 3-week record wasn't exactly a brilliant idea. Based on my above experience, it still pays to have some ample review time between exams. This should give you enough time to digest what is on the Arnold book and Datachem CD while still keeping your mind fresh from the previous topics.

I followed your advice and it worked for me as well. I have been working for a manufacturer for less than a year, so some of the knowledge required for the CPIM was new to me. However, I have been in supply chain management for several years, and I have my MBA and C.P.M., so not all of the material was new. I read the Arnold book twice, cover to cover, before my first exam. I then took the practice exam on the Datachem CD twice. After the first exam, I only used the Datachem CD, taking each practice exam twice in the week prior to the respective exam, and I selectively reviewed some material in the Arnold book. I also bought the APICS Exam Content Manual and the APICS Illustrated Dictionary, although I barely used either of them.

Your advice was right on, but what really sold me on using your plan was your inclusion of the success stories on your website. The financial and time investments required for this certification are substantial, and like you, I didn't want to spend any more than necessary. Thanks for the website and the good info!

My name is Sudhakar and I have recently completed my CPIM certification. First of all, I would like to thank you for managing such a resourceful and helpful website for CPIM certification. This site is a one stop shop to get all required information for beginners on this certification. Upon reading all the success stories, I have got not only all the required info, but also got enough 'boost' and 'confidence' to appear for the exams . Upon reading it a whole, I have got a pretty good idea and direction of how to prepare and appear for all the exams . Initially, when I inquired about CPIM exam to few of my colleagues who are also preparing for this exam , they all opened up this site from their favorite's list. Of course, later this site too finds the way in my favorites list in my IE.

BSCM (basics of Supply Chain Management ) : I have read "Introduction to Materials Management fifth edition" text by Arnold three times and went through DATACHEM CD questionnaire twice. I have cleared this exam with a score of 317 on Jan 14th 2006

MPR (Master Planning of Resources) : I have read the relevant chapters once in Arnold book and "Sales Forecasting" and "Master Scheduling" by Thomas F Wallace and Robert A Stahl. Also I went through DATACHEM questionnaire twice. I have cleared this exam with a score of 319 on Feb 2nd 2006.

DSP (Detailed Scheduling and Planning) :I have read the relevant chapters "twice" in Arnold book and went through DATA CHEM questionnaire "twice" . I have cleared this exam with a score of 313 on Feb 18th 2006.

ECO (Execution and Control of Operations) : I just went through DATACHEM questionnaire "three" times and cleared the exam with a score of 304 on march 08th 2006. For this exam, I haven't read any book , but I have got enough 'confidence' primarily thorugh the all the success stories i have read in this site.

SMR (Strategic Management of Resources). I went through DATACHEM questionnaire "three" times and cleared the exam with a score of 300 on March 17th 2006.

In few words, I heavily relied on DATACHEM questionnaire and Arnold book for all exams and successfully cleared them all in single attempts. On average, I have spent 30 hours of preparation for second thru fifth exams but nearly spent 50 hours for first exam.

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