Hi everyone,
I'm preparing to take the CPIM exam. I have bachelor's degree in psychology but have been working in supply chain for roughly about 2 years. Can anyone share their experiences with the CPIM exam and/or study tips you recommend? It would be much appreciated.
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When I took it it was 5 separate modules and 5 tests. it's been 10 years so a little hard for me to speak to the specifics of the current exam. Here's what I can recommend. if you can take an instructor led class it is worth it, or it was to me. Though self study is much better now with the learning system. Either way study a section at a time and focus on learning the concepts and definitions. If you understand a definition but not how it is applied, research that until you do. Use the exam content manual to help you understand the different formats for the questions and how to prioritize your focus, and take practice exams until you get 80% or better. Keep in mind though, it is about understanding the concepts not just memorizing definitions or the right answers. Set goals and schedule your study time to meet those goals. If you feel ready you probably are, if you don't you might still be. If your don't pass at first, don't give up and try again since you put in the work already. I also found for my CSCP that the pocket prep app was helpful for easy practice. It's not super comprehensive but if you have a few minutes here or there its good to practice key concepts and definitions. Best of Luck!
Thank you! I appreciate your response a lot!
Derrick, I successfully completed the CPIM exam in August 2023 through the self-study modules. Here's what worked for me:
I wish you all the best!
Appreciate the thoughtful response! Thank you!
How much was Pocket Prep? @John Boucard (BioReference Laboratories)โ
@Derrick Chaneyโ , Pocket Prep works as a subscription model. I think it was about $29 per quarter, but you can cancel anytime. It also comes with its own App, which makes studying that much more accessible. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Hello Derrick,
Not sure if you would find this helpful but I got my CPIM certificate in about 3 weeks ago (early March '24).
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I studied using self-study course from ASCM/ formerly known as APICS for little over 100 hours. That is about the average people spend studying for the exam; some more and some less depending on their experience level.
I chose to take the exam at a local Pearson VUE exam center instead of on-line, only because I thought it would give me better control over my bathroom breaks. ๐
About 20~30 questions into the exam, I thought I was going to fail it. There are simply so much areas to cover with just 150 questions. I personally would prefer old APICS ways of breaking modules into sections for multiple exams; this would give you more chance to see what you studied in exam. ๐
Anyway, I continued on totally expecting to take 2nd chance exam. I thought the more I knew what was on the exam, the better I would be prepared for next time. It was just my luck that things got better and I saw some questions I could handle.
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ACSM advise you to break down your time into 3 sections and not to spend too much time on any particular question, but I spent all but 20 minutes on my first go and barely had enough time to go over questions I marked for review (I highly recommend that you use this feature) which weren't too many betraying my expectation going into it. After using all time allocated for the exam, I was taking an exit survey when the screen kicked me out with the notice that I PASSED the exam. ๐ I would not announce my score, but I passed. ๐ I am so glad that it was a pass/fail exam and not scored in scale.
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Just remember that the certificate expires in 5 years and you will need to maintain it by working in the career path and never stop learning. It 's a good thing that you get 20 points for taking the exam and passing it; you only need 55 more points in 5 years and there are lots of resource available in the Supply Chain Knowledge Center. Good luck!
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Sincerely,
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John An, CPIM ๐