CIPS L4M4 - Ethical and Responsible Sourcing

Loss of control and loss of private information are significant risks in outsourcing. Responsible sourcing involves mitigating these risks by setting clear agreements, monitoring, and safeguarding sensitive information to maintain control over outsourced activities.

Under EU Public Procurement rules, the permissible procurement procedures include the Open Procedure and the Restricted Procedure. The Open Procedure allows any interested party to submit a tender, while the Restricted Procedure involves a two-stage process where only selected candidates are invited to submit tenders. These procedures are designed to ensure transparency, competition, and equal treatment in public procurement.

Exact Extract from Study Guide:

"The EU Public Procurement Directive outlines several procedures including Open Procedure and Restricted Procedure, which are designed to facilitate fair and transparent procurement processes."

A bill of lading serves as:

Evidence of the contract of carriage between shipper and carrier.

Explanation

economic indices and comparison websites are secondary sources of data. The other three are examples of primary sources of data.

Primary= you get the data yourself

Secondary = you find the data from somewhere else

Explanation

Open tenders should be used when the buyer expects there to be little interest / fewer bids. The opportunity is advertised widely allowing any supplier that wishes to submit a bid the opportunity.

The other options limit the number of suppliers and Ji Yuan doesn't want to do that, because he risks getting no interest and no supplier.

P.23

Where price leverage is limited, buyers should seek value-adds: extended warranties, service levels, training, spares, delivery schedules, sustainability commitments, or risk-sharing. This aligns with total value and ethical outcomes beyond headline price.

Secondary sources are data sets and publications that already exist and are not collected directly by the buyer. Examples include published economic indices (A), which provide information on inflation, commodity prices, and market trends, and financial/trade press (D), which offers insights into industries, suppliers, and economic conditions. By contrast, a buyer’s internal database and field observation studies are primary data sources, while supplier marketing materials are biased and less reliable. Responsible sourcing requires procurement professionals to use both secondary and primary sources for comprehensive market analysis, but secondary sources are especially useful for benchmarking and environmental scanning.

Responsible award decisions should consider price and total life-cycle cost (TCO) to capture acquisition, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life costs, aligning with sustainability. Other items may inform due diligence but are not, by themselves, robust award criteria without being translated into measurable value and risk outcomes.

Explanation

The correct answer is 'yes- because a low credit rating would indicate the supplier is financially un-stable'.

The two options beginning with no should automatically be discounted. The other option is incor-rect because credit ratings are private and would therefore not affect reputation.