Designation Details
The APICS CPIM certification is the basic APICS designation of operations management professionals. In order to earn the APICS CPIM, qualified individuals must pass each of the following five tests within a 10-year period (beginning when the first test is taken):
- Basics of Supply Chain Management
- Master Planning of Resources
- Detailed Scheduling and Planning
- Execution and Control of Operations
- Strategic Management of Resources
Each exam costs $145 for APICS members (total for five exams: $580) or $175 for nonmembers (total for five exams: $875).
Candidate Qualifications
The APICS CPIM designation is ideal for professionals looking for an accreditation to aid them in growing their career. This designation is also a prerequisite for more experienced individuals who are looking to earn a higher-level designation (either the APICS CSCP or CFPIM). There is no education requirement to receive the CPIM designation, but a minimum of two years of professional experience is advised.
Real-Life CPIM Exam Experiences
Plenty of individuals who have taken APICS CPIM exams are happy to provide advice for others who are studying for their CPIM exams.
“AT” answered a plea for CPIM exam advice on Yahoo.com with the following answer:
“I took first exam after preparing 2 weeks, mostly reading Arnold & Chapman “Introduction to materials management”. After that I was busy at work. I started again after 4 months then passed rest of the exams in three weeks (self study). Now this would be very extreme and aggresive, specially if you are working. Here is my advise to pass all the exams just with self study.
– Buy APICS exam content manual. At the end of each module there is a list of related terms. I used to take this list and read all the definitions from APICs dictionary before each exam.
– Read Arnold and Chapman book for all the modules. Solve all the problems at the end of each chapter(not needed for first exam)
– Buy Datachem CPIM test CD.
– For the last exam SMR I recommend going through the study guide offered by APICS.
– Do not keep a big gap between exams. Each exam is built up on knowledge from previoius exam. You will find questions related to topics covered in previous exams. If there is a big gap you will lose all that information.
“I did not buy any other books/study material and frankly speaking sometimes going through this material was also a overkill (if your target is just to pass the exam).
Here is what Kumar D. at Toolbox.com says about studying for the exams:
“In my opinion you should consider to buy at least:
1) Introduction to material management by Tony Arnold
2) Manufacturing planning and control by Vollman , Berry,Whybark
3) Datachem software with APICS dictionary
“The above mentioned books and Datachem software will be useful throughout
CPIM course.
“For the first module Tony Arnold and Datachem software is sufficient. For
modules 2,3,4 and 5 you need to (at-least) read all the above plus the Study
Notes by Brian Willcox.”
There are several social media links on the APICS exam resources page of this site (click here) where you can connect personally with people who have passed the CPIM exams.