To achieve the professional designation of APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional from the APICS, candidates must clear the CSCP Exam with the minimum cut-off score. For those who wish to pass the APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional certification exam with good percentage, please take a look at the following reference document detailing what should be included in APICS CSCP Exam preparation.
The APICS CSCP Exam Summary, Body of Knowledge (BOK), Sample Question Bank and Practice Exam provide the basis for the real APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) exam. We have designed these resources to help you get ready to take APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) exam. If you have made the decision to become a certified professional, we suggest you take authorized training and prepare with our online premium APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional Practice Exam to achieve the best result.
APICS CSCP Exam Summary:
| Exam Name | APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional |
| Exam Code | CSCP |
| Exam Fee | USD $1390 |
| Exam Duration | 210 Minutes |
| Number of Questions | 150 |
| Passing Score | 300 / 350 |
| Format | Multiple Choice Questions |
| Books / Trainings | APICS 2024 CSCP Self-Study Exam Prep |
| Schedule Exam | Pearson VUE |
| Sample Questions | APICS CSCP Exam Sample Questions and Answers |
| Practice Exam | APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) Practice Test |
APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional Syllabus Topics:
| Topic | Details |
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Forecast and Manage Demand - 10% |
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One of the first activities in supply chain management is to assemble and evaluate the various types of demand for products and services, including historical information and future predictions. This information is used to determine a forecast for future needs, and the necessary balancing of supply and demand.
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| Collect and Analyze Historical and Environmental Demand Data |
- Perform historical analysis
- Perform environmental scan and market analysis
- Perform product assessment |
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Influence Demand Through Marketing Activities
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- Apply the Four Ps (product, price, place, and promotion)
- Analyze product life cycles |
| Build the Forecast |
- Select appropriate forecasting methods
- Measure forecast accuracy
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| Align Supply with Demand |
- Execute sales and operations planning (S&OP) process
- Manage inputs and outputs - Perform reconciliation and analysis |
Manage the Global Supply Chain Network and Information - 10% |
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The design of the supply chain network involves decision-making to build a structure that will support the business strategy and allow room for growth. It is also necessary to determine and maintain the data necessary to manage the supply chain, as well as the appropriate measuring and reporting techniques.
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Define and Manage the Supply Chain Network
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- Design the supply chain network
- Design and manage end-to-end supply chain connectivity and visibility
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Manage Customer, Supplier, Product/Item, Engineering, and Logistics Master Data
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- Create data
- Update data - Cleanse data - Retire data |
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Develop and Maintain Reports, Analytics, and Metrics
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- Define financial metrics and reports
- Define operational metrics and reports - Utilize dashboards and balanced scorecards - Incorporate Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) metrics |
Source Products and Services - 17% |
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The procurement process is critical to the management of the supply chain. This process includes determining applicable sourcing strategies for the various types of products and services, as well as supplier evaluation and selection and the management of purchasing contracts.
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| Align Sourcing Activities to Demand |
- Perform make-or-buy analysis
- Define sourcing requirements and timing
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Manage Categories for Sourcing of
Products and Services
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- Create segmented sourcing strategy
- Conduct supply base analysis - Identify savings opportunities - Rationalize or right-size supply base - Influence product designs (for manufacturability, sustainability, transportation, or warehousing) |
| Evaluate and Select Suppliers |
- Manage initial supplier qualifications/evaluation (examples include financial stability and management of policies and performance)
- Develop contracts
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| Manage Purchase Orders |
- Place orders (standard, blanket, and e-procurement)
- Track, expedite/de-expedite, and process changes - Reconcile and approve invoice for payment - Analyze sourcing processes for automation |
Manage Internal Operations and Inventory - 19% |
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In order to succeed in balancing supply and demand, operations and inventory techniques must be utilized and managed to fulfill business objectives. Performance against defined metrics must be evaluated and current methods for continuous improvement applied.
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Plan Operations
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- Develop master schedule
- Determine material requirements - Evaluate capacity requirements |
| Manage Inventory |
- Align inventory requirements with demand
- Develop replenishment strategy - Manage product disposition and obsolescence - Manage product traceability and chain of custody - Define and execute physical inventory and cycle counting - Manage maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) supplies |
| Measure and Assess Performance |
- Compare operational performance against plan
- Compare financial performance against plan - Evaluate inventory accuracy - Report against key performance indicators (KPIs) and other objectives |
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Analyze and Utilize Applicable Continuous Improvement Philosophies (examples include lean principles, six sigma, total quality management (TQM), and theory of constraints (TOC))
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Manage Supply Chain Logistics - 9% |
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The delivery of supply to the sources of demand often includes the management of a network of warehouses and transportation modes. This includes the various processes within distribution, the consideration of any global requirements, and the use of technology to perform manual functions. In addition, the use of reverse logistics provides a mechanism for the reduction of waste within the supply chain.
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| Define and Manage Distribution Network |
- Develop and execute the warehousing strategy
- Develop and execute the transportation strategy - Develop and execute logistics planning and information system |
| Provide Distribution Services |
- Receive, put away, and store product
- Pick, pack, and ship product - Select mode and transport providers - Provide value-added services (examples include installation, repacking, postponement, stocking, and final assembly) |
| Evaluate Trade Considerations |
- Comply with import/export regulations
- Utilize Incoterms - Understand foreign/free trade zones/trading blocs - Provide appropriate documentation |
| Design and Manage Reverse Flow |
- Determine reverse logistics activities
- Analyze costs and benefits - Determine use of warranties and disposition - Incorporate reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover waste hierarchy |
Manage Customer and Supplier Relationships - 17% |
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Managing both customer and supplier relations will enhance the performance of the entire supply chain. This includes establishing long-term relationships, measuring performance against defined metrics, and developing improvement strategies.
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| Manage Customer Relations |
- Cultivate customer relationships
- Measure customer service, manage customer feedback, and resolve issues
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| Manage Supplier Relations |
- Cultivate supplier relationships
- Measure supplier performance and provide feedback
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Manage Supply Chain Risk - 10% |
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Businesses today understand that risk is inherent within all supply chains. It is critical to understand the principles of risk
management and be able to model, anticipate, and prevent risk events rather than merely respond when they occur.
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Identify Risks (examples include supply disruption, supplier compliance, financial, intellectual, and cyber risks)
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Assess Impact, Timing, or Probability of Risks
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| Determine Response to Mitigate Risks |
- Perform contingency planning to minimize impact
- Eliminate avoidable risks - Accept unavoidable risks |
| Execute and Evaluate Risk Response | |
Evaluate and Optimize the Supply Chain - 8% |
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Competition requires that today’s supply chains incorporate best practices, both internally and externally. This includes optimizing existing processes, as well as observing recognized initiatives, such as ethical sourcing, sustainable products and processes, and corporate responsibility and social values.
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| Optimize the Supply Chain Strategy |
- Evaluate existing supply chain strategy
- Redesign strategy for optimization |
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Optimize the Supply Chain Network and Processes
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- Evaluate existing supply chain network and processes
- Redesign network and processes for optimization |
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Embed Sustainability into the Supply Chain
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- Incorporate triple bottom line (TBL)
- Follow United Nations (UN) Global Compact guidelines - Utilize the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards - Adhere to social, environmental, safety, and quality accreditations and certifications - Develop sustainability metrics |
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Consider Emerging Trends (examples include intelligent supply chain, Internet of Things (IoT), quantum computing, control towers, and blockchain)
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- Understand various emerging trends
- Assess the impact on current practices - Incorporate changes as needed |
Both APICS and veterans who’ve earned multiple certifications maintain that the best preparation for a APICS CSCP professional certification exam is practical experience, hands-on training and practice exam. This is the most effective way to gain in-depth understanding of APICS CSCP concepts. When you understand techniques, it helps you retain APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional knowledge and recall that when needed.