NIGP CPPO CERTIFICATION EXAM ACTUAL EXAM 130
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH
RATIONALES
An entity issues cell phones for its employees. Initially employees could request a
make and model of their choosing. Now the entity purchases several different types
of phones to meet employees' requirements. This is causing inefficiencies. What
action can be taken to address and correct the inefficiencies?
a. Creation of proprietary specifications
b. Sole sourcing
c. Benchmarking
d. Standardization - ANSWER: d. Standardization
What is the first action a governmental entity should take to determine how to
shorten the length of time required to process purchases?
a. Ask external customers
b. Ask internal customers to make smaller
c. Initiate the problem-solving process with the involved team
d. Initiate the use of checklists dollar requisitions to expedite the ordering process -
ANSWER: c. Initiate the problem-solving process with the involved team
A buyer has been invited to join a vendor account representative for lunch to discuss
the performance of a contract. How should the buyer respond to the invitation?
a. Decline the vendor's offer and suggest a meeting in the office
b. Join the vendor for lunch, but pay for himself
c. Ask the end user to join the vendor and the
buyer for lunch and count it as a business lunch
d. Report the supplier to the supervisor - ANSWER: a. Decline the vendor's offer and
suggest a meeting in the office
A buyer has been working on a solicitation for several days. Now the end users have
requested that the buyer mail the bid only to local vendors. How should the buyer
respond to this request?
a. Add language to the bid that only local vendors can submit proposals
b. Explain that agency procedures require that all bids be electronically posted to
allow for open and fair competition.
c. Explain that he can only put "Buy America" language in bid specifications
d. State that the WTO requires the agency to support the NAFTA program -
ANSWER: b. Explain that agency procedures require that all bids be electronically
posted to allow for open and fair competition.
,A procurement professional has been asked to design a new purchase order form.
Which of the following should the buyer avoid factoring into the form design?
a. Usability testing
b. Special printing requirements
c. Needs assessment of end-users
d. Legibility - ANSWER: b. Special printing requirements
The ratio between inputs such as staff hours or salary and outputs is a way of
measuring what attribute?
a. Efficiency
b. Effectiveness
c. Contributions
d. Progress - ANSWER: a. Efficiency
Why are supplier lists developed and maintained by a governmental entity?
a. To facilitate source selection through solicitation invitations
b. To track budget encumbrances
c. To record transaction activity by purchase
d. To compare costs and perform value analyses - ANSWER: a. To facilitate source
selection through solicitation invitations
A buyer is also the System Administrator for the automated procurement system in
his agency. He is reviewing a recent printout of operating statistics and notices that
the length of time from receipt of a purchase requisition to issuance of the purchase
order has increased for the second quarter in a row. Which of the following actions
should he take prior to making a recommendation to his boss to reverse this trend?
a. Conduct a benchmarking study to determine the average length of time for
other comparable agencies
b. Talk to Human Resources about the possibility of hiring more staff
c. Review the workload-per-buyer statistics and determine the average length of
time to see if a reallocation of responsibilities is needed
d. Run the statistical analysis again to see if it was just an error - ANSWER: c. Review
the workload-per-buyer statistics and determine the average length of time for see
if a reallocation of responsibilities is needed other comparable agencies
The governmental entity has a Purchasing Policy and Procedures Manual that states
"Purchases requiring a formal bid process should be documented and kept for five
years in a contract file." What should be in the contract file?
a. Copies of quotes and copies of the Purchase Orders
b. Copy of catalog page listing pricing and a copy of Purchase Order
c. Copies of all bids and all documents pertaining to the bid from request to disposal
,d. An unsolicited Request for Proposal (RFP) - ANSWER: c. Copies of all bids and all
documents pertaining to the bid from request to disposal
The procurement department of a governmental entity wants to delineate clear
performance expectations and evaluate performance year over year. Which of the
following is the most important to evaluate performance?
a. A vision statement
b. Organizational goals
c. Benchmarking practices
d. Measurement criteria - ANSWER: d. Measurement criteria
When all mandatory requirements of a bid are met, what is the value of competitive
quotes and competitive sealed bids?
a. Drive a decision based on price
b. Used to acquire products from only one source
C. Is an attempt to project reasonable cost in a cost benefit analysis
D. Reliable indicators of a robust market - ANSWER: a. Drive a decision based on
price
What is the purpose of a Cost Analysis?
a. Compares each price quoted the entity as a result of the bid process
b. Is an attempt to project reasonable cost in a cost benefit analysis
c. Assists the buyer in determining the lowest responsible bidder
d. Is a review and evaluation of the suppliers actual or anticipated cost data. -
ANSWER: d. Is a review and evaluation of the suppliers actual or anticipated cost
data.
Which is a true statement about Life Cycle Costing?
a. Done correctly, will result in a lower acquisition price
b. Is synonymous with the total cost of ownership
c. Includes operating and maintenance costs but does not reflect disposal costs
d. Focuses on maintenance costs - ANSWER: b. Is synonymous with the total cost of
ownership
A governmental entity is deciding whether to purchase or lease road grading
equipment. Which of the following is the most commonly recognized benefit of
leasing equipment?
a. An increase in the pride of ownership of the equipment
b. Regulated maintenance requirements
c. Lessor imposed conditions of use
d. Fixed annual expenditure - ANSWER: d. Fixed annual expenditure
, How are the results of market research used?
a. As a baseline data source and should only be conducted once for each solicited
product
b. To add detail to the vendor database
c. To arrive at the most suitable approach to acquiring, distributing and supporting
supplies and services
d. To apprise vendors and potential proposers of future plans and intentions of the
entity. - ANSWER: c. To arrive at the most suitable approach to acquiring, distributing
and supporting supplies and services
When speaking about competition, the supplier marketplace can be divided into
several major competition categories. The competition category that reflects
artificial restrictions through the use of preference policies and restraint of trade by
designated supplier territories is generally considered to be what type of
competition category?
a. Administrative competition
b. Imperfect competition
c. Monolithic competition
d. 80/20 rule competition - ANSWER: b. Imperfect competition
The procurement professional, along with the user department. recently developed
a specification for the purchase of a new sewer vacuum truck. Emphasis was placed
on the required operational characteristics of the unit such as the amount of leafy
material that can
be effectively extracted within a one hour timeframe. What type of specification is
this?
a. Design Specification
b. Qualified Product List
c. Performance Specification
d. Life Cycle Cost - ANSWER: c. Performance Specification
What is the impact of an inadequate and ineffective specification?
a. Adds risk to the solicitation by not communicating minimum requirements
b. Ensures that a "best value" determination will be made
c. Encourages alternate offers in a bid solicitation
d. Separates responsible and responsive bidders - ANSWER: a. Adds risk to the
solicitation by not communicating minimum requirements
A procurement professional is working on a specification which involves the use of
agency provided blueprints. Which of the following specification types best describe
this scenario?
a. Performance specificatron
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS WITH
RATIONALES
An entity issues cell phones for its employees. Initially employees could request a
make and model of their choosing. Now the entity purchases several different types
of phones to meet employees' requirements. This is causing inefficiencies. What
action can be taken to address and correct the inefficiencies?
a. Creation of proprietary specifications
b. Sole sourcing
c. Benchmarking
d. Standardization - ANSWER: d. Standardization
What is the first action a governmental entity should take to determine how to
shorten the length of time required to process purchases?
a. Ask external customers
b. Ask internal customers to make smaller
c. Initiate the problem-solving process with the involved team
d. Initiate the use of checklists dollar requisitions to expedite the ordering process -
ANSWER: c. Initiate the problem-solving process with the involved team
A buyer has been invited to join a vendor account representative for lunch to discuss
the performance of a contract. How should the buyer respond to the invitation?
a. Decline the vendor's offer and suggest a meeting in the office
b. Join the vendor for lunch, but pay for himself
c. Ask the end user to join the vendor and the
buyer for lunch and count it as a business lunch
d. Report the supplier to the supervisor - ANSWER: a. Decline the vendor's offer and
suggest a meeting in the office
A buyer has been working on a solicitation for several days. Now the end users have
requested that the buyer mail the bid only to local vendors. How should the buyer
respond to this request?
a. Add language to the bid that only local vendors can submit proposals
b. Explain that agency procedures require that all bids be electronically posted to
allow for open and fair competition.
c. Explain that he can only put "Buy America" language in bid specifications
d. State that the WTO requires the agency to support the NAFTA program -
ANSWER: b. Explain that agency procedures require that all bids be electronically
posted to allow for open and fair competition.
,A procurement professional has been asked to design a new purchase order form.
Which of the following should the buyer avoid factoring into the form design?
a. Usability testing
b. Special printing requirements
c. Needs assessment of end-users
d. Legibility - ANSWER: b. Special printing requirements
The ratio between inputs such as staff hours or salary and outputs is a way of
measuring what attribute?
a. Efficiency
b. Effectiveness
c. Contributions
d. Progress - ANSWER: a. Efficiency
Why are supplier lists developed and maintained by a governmental entity?
a. To facilitate source selection through solicitation invitations
b. To track budget encumbrances
c. To record transaction activity by purchase
d. To compare costs and perform value analyses - ANSWER: a. To facilitate source
selection through solicitation invitations
A buyer is also the System Administrator for the automated procurement system in
his agency. He is reviewing a recent printout of operating statistics and notices that
the length of time from receipt of a purchase requisition to issuance of the purchase
order has increased for the second quarter in a row. Which of the following actions
should he take prior to making a recommendation to his boss to reverse this trend?
a. Conduct a benchmarking study to determine the average length of time for
other comparable agencies
b. Talk to Human Resources about the possibility of hiring more staff
c. Review the workload-per-buyer statistics and determine the average length of
time to see if a reallocation of responsibilities is needed
d. Run the statistical analysis again to see if it was just an error - ANSWER: c. Review
the workload-per-buyer statistics and determine the average length of time for see
if a reallocation of responsibilities is needed other comparable agencies
The governmental entity has a Purchasing Policy and Procedures Manual that states
"Purchases requiring a formal bid process should be documented and kept for five
years in a contract file." What should be in the contract file?
a. Copies of quotes and copies of the Purchase Orders
b. Copy of catalog page listing pricing and a copy of Purchase Order
c. Copies of all bids and all documents pertaining to the bid from request to disposal
,d. An unsolicited Request for Proposal (RFP) - ANSWER: c. Copies of all bids and all
documents pertaining to the bid from request to disposal
The procurement department of a governmental entity wants to delineate clear
performance expectations and evaluate performance year over year. Which of the
following is the most important to evaluate performance?
a. A vision statement
b. Organizational goals
c. Benchmarking practices
d. Measurement criteria - ANSWER: d. Measurement criteria
When all mandatory requirements of a bid are met, what is the value of competitive
quotes and competitive sealed bids?
a. Drive a decision based on price
b. Used to acquire products from only one source
C. Is an attempt to project reasonable cost in a cost benefit analysis
D. Reliable indicators of a robust market - ANSWER: a. Drive a decision based on
price
What is the purpose of a Cost Analysis?
a. Compares each price quoted the entity as a result of the bid process
b. Is an attempt to project reasonable cost in a cost benefit analysis
c. Assists the buyer in determining the lowest responsible bidder
d. Is a review and evaluation of the suppliers actual or anticipated cost data. -
ANSWER: d. Is a review and evaluation of the suppliers actual or anticipated cost
data.
Which is a true statement about Life Cycle Costing?
a. Done correctly, will result in a lower acquisition price
b. Is synonymous with the total cost of ownership
c. Includes operating and maintenance costs but does not reflect disposal costs
d. Focuses on maintenance costs - ANSWER: b. Is synonymous with the total cost of
ownership
A governmental entity is deciding whether to purchase or lease road grading
equipment. Which of the following is the most commonly recognized benefit of
leasing equipment?
a. An increase in the pride of ownership of the equipment
b. Regulated maintenance requirements
c. Lessor imposed conditions of use
d. Fixed annual expenditure - ANSWER: d. Fixed annual expenditure
, How are the results of market research used?
a. As a baseline data source and should only be conducted once for each solicited
product
b. To add detail to the vendor database
c. To arrive at the most suitable approach to acquiring, distributing and supporting
supplies and services
d. To apprise vendors and potential proposers of future plans and intentions of the
entity. - ANSWER: c. To arrive at the most suitable approach to acquiring, distributing
and supporting supplies and services
When speaking about competition, the supplier marketplace can be divided into
several major competition categories. The competition category that reflects
artificial restrictions through the use of preference policies and restraint of trade by
designated supplier territories is generally considered to be what type of
competition category?
a. Administrative competition
b. Imperfect competition
c. Monolithic competition
d. 80/20 rule competition - ANSWER: b. Imperfect competition
The procurement professional, along with the user department. recently developed
a specification for the purchase of a new sewer vacuum truck. Emphasis was placed
on the required operational characteristics of the unit such as the amount of leafy
material that can
be effectively extracted within a one hour timeframe. What type of specification is
this?
a. Design Specification
b. Qualified Product List
c. Performance Specification
d. Life Cycle Cost - ANSWER: c. Performance Specification
What is the impact of an inadequate and ineffective specification?
a. Adds risk to the solicitation by not communicating minimum requirements
b. Ensures that a "best value" determination will be made
c. Encourages alternate offers in a bid solicitation
d. Separates responsible and responsive bidders - ANSWER: a. Adds risk to the
solicitation by not communicating minimum requirements
A procurement professional is working on a specification which involves the use of
agency provided blueprints. Which of the following specification types best describe
this scenario?
a. Performance specificatron
