Free CIPS L5M15 Practice Exam with Questions & Answers

The “marginal gains” philosophy is that making numerous small, continuous improvements across processes results in significant overall performance enhancement. This principle is often applied to supplier development and continuous improvement programmes.

Gain shareandbonus paymentsare positive incentives that encourage suppliers to perform beyond baseline requirements. Gain share rewards suppliers for creating mutual cost savings or innovation benefits, while bonus payments recognise exceeding service or delivery targets.

In contrast, pain share and service credits are deterrents for underperformance, not motivators.

Expert powerderives from specialised knowledge, experience, or skill. The Technical Design Head, as the specification creator, holds expert authority influencing decisions through technical competence rather than hierarchy.

High-risk or high-value negotiations require thorough preparation—understanding goals, alternatives, and stakeholder expectations—and often benefit from a cross-functional team bringing varied expertise. This improves quality of analysis and decision-making.

Assertive, decisive negotiation styles align withhigh-value, low-risksituations, typically requiring competitive behaviour to maximise value without the complexity of shared risk.

Consulting leadershipinvolves engaging team members in decision-making, valuing their input before implementing actions. It encourages ownership, trust, and collaboration—sitting between directive and participative styles.

Pull tactics engage, involve, and motivate others (e.g., inspiring with vision, inviting joint problem-solving, exploring interests). Push tactics rely on directing, arguing, or asserting with facts and logic. Thus “inspiring” and “negotiating” are pull; “rationalising” and “asserting” are push.

CIPS distinguishes betweenhonestyandopenness. Negotiators must always acthonestly(ethical integrity), butopenness—disclosing all information—can weaken your position. The key is to balance transparency with confidentiality and strategic discretion.

Sharing warehousing, distribution, or production capacity is characteristic ofoperations and logisticsalliances—aimed at cost leverage, service improvements, and risk sharing in physical operations.

Following Andrew Cox,relative powerstrongly shapes sourcing outcomes;greater buyer (or supplier) powerenables a moreproactivestance in shaping terms and managing the relationship. Power asymmetry does not automatically preclude close relationships.