APICS Updated CPIM-8.0 Exam Questions and Answers by alfie-james

Finite loading is a capacity planning approach that takes into account the available capacity of the resources and does not allow overloading. It considers adjustments to plans based on planned capacity utilization, which means that it can change the start or end dates of the operations to avoid exceeding the capacity limits. This way, finite loading ensures that the production schedule is realistic and feasible. Other capacity planning approaches, such as infinite loading, do not consider adjustments to plans based on planned capacity utilization. Infinite loading ignores the capacity constraints and schedules the operations based on the due dates and the lead times, regardless of the resource availability. This may result in overloading the resources and causing delays or disruptions in the production process. Therefore, the fundamental difference between finite loading and other capacity planning approaches is that finite loading considers adjustments to plans based on planned capacity utilization, while other approaches do not. References:

• CPIM Part 2 Exam Content Manual, p. 48
• The Difference Between Finite Capacity Scheduling and Infinite Capacity Loading
• FINITE LOADING

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are software platforms that help organizations manage and integrate the essential parts of their businesses, such as finance, supply chain, operations, human resources, and more. ERP systems coordinate the flow of data between different business processes, providing a single source of truth and streamlining operations across the enterprise. ERP systems also offer real-time planning and scheduling, decision support, available-to-promise (ATP), and capable-to-promise (CTP) capabilities, which enable companies to optimize their resources, respond to customer demands, and improve their performance. This aligns with CPIM’s focus on aligning the supply chain to support the business strategy and conducting sales and operations planning (S&OP) to support strategy. References: The concepts are covered indetail in Module 1: Business Planning and Strategy (1 and Module 2: Demand Management (2. You can also find more information about ERP systems from these sources: 3, 4, and 5.

The tracking signal is a measurement that indicates there may be bias in the forecast model. The tracking signal is the ratio of the cumulative forecast error to the mean absolute deviation (MAD). It measures how well the forecast is tracking the actual demand over time. A tracking signal of zero means that the forecast is perfectly accurate. A tracking signal within the range of -4 to +4 is considered acceptable. A tracking signal outside this range indicates that the forecast is consistently overestimating or underestimating the demand, which implies that there is bias in the forecast model. Bias is the tendency of a forecast to be consistently higher or lower than the actual demand. Bias can be caused by factors such as inaccurate data, inappropriate forecasting methods, or changes in demand patterns. References:

• Managing Supply Chain Operations, Chapter 5: Demand Management and Forecasting, Section 5.2: Forecasting Methods, Subsection 5.2.3: Forecast Accuracy and Control
• CPIM Exam Content Manual, Module 3: Demand, Section 3.2: Forecasting, Subsection 3.2.2: Forecasting Methods, Subsubsection 3.2.2.3: Forecast Accuracy and Control