March Objective Response Results
Our students produced some outstanding results in this sitting, with a 95% pass rate across all of our Classroom, Apprentice, and Distance Learners, with many of our students achieving 80% and above.
Our students produced some outstanding results in this sitting, with a 95% pass rate across all of our Classroom, Apprentice, and Distance Learners, with many of our students achieving 80% and above.
First CIPS Exam
This was the first exam for our new Norwich and Colchester Apprenticeship cohorts after the delay of the planned January exams, and with 90% of them achieving a pass we’re very proud of them! They’ve put in a lot of hard work and had to deal with disruptions around exams and and planned classes with COVID regulations.
NEXT EXAM
Good luck to all of you awaiting your March CR exam results and to everyone sitting May exams.
July exams are booking now.
Good luck everyone!
ABA's New Management Team
As of March 2021 Lu and Evie have officially taken over as owners and directors of ABA Procurement as David has retired. Behind the scenes, we have all been working hard over the last two years to get to this point and are all very excited to move into the next phase of the company.
As of March 2021 Lu and Evie have officially taken over as owners and directors of ABA Procurement as David has retired. Behind the scenes, we have all been working hard over the last two years to get to this point and are all very excited to move into the next phase of the company.
Lu joined ABA in 2015 as an Assistant having left secondary school teaching, working her way up through the years to becoming our Operations Manager and now to take on full control of the company as Director. Evie joined a year later in 2016 from a school administration background and between the two of them they have changed and developed ABA to be a student focused CIPS training company with outstanding results year on year.
5 Reasons Why Santa is the Ultimate Procurement Professional - Procurious
5 Reasons Why Santa is the Ultimate Procurement Professional!
We’re fast approaching the end of 2020 (thank goodness) and as we start thinking about the festivities (or… you know… the sitting indoors with the tree up gazing out the window), we should be reminded that one individual is only just revving up into top gear. Their whole year is driving towards this moment, but they are as prepared as they ever are, 2020 nightmares and all.
And, while displaying all the skills we seek as a top procurement professional, they’ll deliver on all the wishes and promises that have been made. We are, of course, talking about…Santa. Father Christmas. Pére Noël. Svaty Mikolas. Kris Kringle.
Of course, there are other brilliant procurement professionals out there, but, at least in a festive setting, there’s none like Santa Claus for getting the job done. Here are my 5 reasons why:
1. Santa always has the right specification
Working tirelessly with his external (children, parents) and internal (elves, Mrs. Claus) stakeholders, he makes sure the specification is right. It can’t be a coincidence that children get exactly what they ask for, year after year. It all comes down to knowing your customers and then passing on the full specification to your manufacturing department/elves.
2. His Logistics operation is second to none
The global population is currently 7.7 billion people. Of this, an estimated 1.9 billion are children. Let’s assume then that the average household contains 4 people – this means Santa will visit 1.9 billion homes.
If there are 2 presents per child, this is a whopping 3.8 billion presents, delivered at a rate of 158.3 million per hour, 2.6 million present per minute. All of this with a team of 9 reindeer and one sleigh. Without the best logistics division and the latest technology, there’s no way all the presents are delivered to the correct child!
3. Belief, Influence, Leadership
Santa wields influence that most procurement leaders can only dream of. A following of magical, semi-magical and mortal people and creatures all follow him willingly. They work for the entire year to prepare for one day, then start again for the following year almost immediately.
Forming part of this leadership is belief. As we all know well (or at least we should) Santa’s sleigh and reindeer don’t fly without the belief in him and the Christmas spirit. And given he’s not missing deliveries to your house, it’s safe to assume this belief is still going strong!
4. Santa can always get the right price
Short of being some form of crazy, benevolent trillionaire (with superlative investments), Santa needs to be a dynamite negotiator or run the best RFQs. How else could he source all the toys or raw materials without bankrupting himself each year?
And like the best procurement professional, he doesn’t pass any cost increases on to his customers but works out the best deals to keep costs down so his end customers (the parents, of course!) don’t have to foot the bill.
5. He’s got the Nice-Naughty List on blockchain
How else do you create a fully traceable, immutable record of who has been naughty and nice in any given year? Santa needs to be able to trust the information he has on all behaviours, without the possibility that it has been compromised. Plus, it’s also handy for making sure that all the sourcing he does is ethical and sustainable…
So, if you have ambitions for a higher office in 2021, you’d do worse than looking at Santa as a good example to follow. And if all else fails, at least you’ll have a sunnier outlook on life! Ho, ho, ho!
The New Normal
2020 has changed a lot of things for a lot of people and at ABA we’re no different.
We’ve worked hard to keep a high level of education for our students while ensuring everyone is safe and happy.
2020 Changes
As is the case with every business, I am sure, ABA have had to make a fair few changes over the course of 2020. It has certainly been a challenge, and we’ve had to learn as we go, but looking back over the past 6 months we believe that this year has forced us to examine many aspects of the way we run our courses and adapt for the best.
Working from home proved to be more complex than anticipated; with difficulties relating to slow internet, child care, and even cats breaking chargers!
Online Learning
When lockdown started in March we switched to 100% online learning - something which proved challenging as we have always worked using in person classes for all modules. Our students supported this learning curve though and we soon had online classes up and running for the July exams.
This use of online learning has inspired a change in our teaching, leading us to change our format to a combination of online lectures and in person seminars instead of the standard classroom only work.
Why Lectures and Seminars?
Inspired by the format of successful universities, we have chosen to focus the initial classes of a module with online lectures; these are sessions in which students learn the content of the module during intensive Zoom sessions. These are then followed by an in class seminar session for students to build on and develop what they have learned in preparation for their exam. This method is proving very successful in not just helping students memorize information for exams but instead to help them to grow and develop as productive procurement professionals.
The ABA Office
We are now back in the office on Mondays and Tuesdays but remain working from home the rest of the week; this is allowing us to ensure we are all on the same page during the week without spending more time than is necessary in a busy building.
July 2020 Exam Results
CIPS Exam Results for July 2020; as we adapt to online learning we’ve seen some great results from students who have worked incredibly hard during this difficult period.
Blended Learning
Our Blended Learning students did brilliantly on this exam, with such a large gap between exams this year due to the coronovirus pandemic (March-July!)
We’d particularly like to say a well done to our students sitting L4M8 as these students studied this new, and difficult, module entirely online for the first time.
Distance Learning Students
Our Distance students also did very well on these exams, with a 98% pass rate! A very big well done to all of you for maintaining your study and your focus during this difficult time.
Well done everyone!
NEXT EXAM
Good luck to all of you awaiting your September exam results.
Remember: OR results released early October | CR results released mid November.
Good luck everyone!
Coronavirus Update
Coronavirus Update; changes being made in line with government guidance.
Following the latest updates on COVID-19, ABA Procurement are making a few adjustments to our usual running.
Classes
All classes until May 31st are postponed, along with the May exams.
Once CIPS confirm their position, we will be contacting all students with an individual learning plan and additional learning resources to use during this break.
Exams
March - As of 18/03, CIPS have announced that there will be no further exams run in the March series.
May - There has not yet been an announcement from CIPS regarding the May exam series. We expect an announcement W/C 30/03.
Office
The ABA Procurement office will be closed to public and students as of 19/03 until we deem it appropriate to return. We will switch to home working and continue to be available via email and phone during this time.
Season's Greetings
ABA will be shut over the holiday period, with CIPS classes resuming in the new year.
The team at ABA Procurement would like to wish you all a holiday season filled with joy and laughter. We wish you prosperity in the coming year and look forward to working with you all again soon.
The office will be closed from 19th December and reopening on January 2nd for another year of CIPS Courses!
September Exam Results
CIPS Exam results for the first set of new style exams have seen some outstanding results.
Blended Learning
Our Blended Learning students did brilliantly on this exam, with the majority of them taking their first Objective Response exam, and we’re delighted to announce that those students obtained a 100% pass rate!
We are aware that there were lots of nerves going into an entirely new type of exam and are extremely proud of the work put in by everyone.
Distance Learning Students
Our Distance students also did very well on these exams, with a 90% pass rate, and this being the first exam of a new level for the majority of the group.
Well done everyone!
NEXT EXAM
Good luck to all of you awaiting your November exam results.
Remember: OR results released early December | CR results released mid January.
Good luck everyone!
New Qualification Transfers
CIPS Courses new style modules transfer arrangements.
The new CIPS qualifications have now started, and understandably some of you are still rather confused!
Below is the table of old and new module equivalents, so if you need to take any resit exams you are able to figure out which ones you need!
Diploma - you require 60 credits total
D1 (12 credits) >> L4M1 (12 credits)
D2 (12 credits) >> L4M2 (6 credits) and L4M7 (6 credits)
D3 (12 credits) >>L4M4 (6 credits) and L4M6 (6 credits)
D4 (12 credits) >> L4M3 (6 credits) and L4M5 (6 credits)
D5 (12 credits) >>L4M8 (12 credits)
Advanced Diploma - you require 60 credits total
AD1 (12 credits) >> L5M1 (12 credits)
AD2 (12 credits) >>L5M2 (6 credits) and L5M3 (6 credits)
AD3 (12 credits) >> L5M4 (e) (12 credits)
AD4 (e) (12 credits) >>L5M6 (e) (6 credits) and L5M8 (e) (6 credits)
AD5 (e) (12 credits) >> L5M5 (e) (6 credits) and L5M7 (e) (6 credits)
AD6 (e) (12 credits) >>L5M9 (e) (6 credits) and L5M10 (e) (6 credits)
Professional Diploma - you require 60 credits total
PD1 (12 credits) >> L4M1 (12 credits)
PD2 (12 credits) >> L6M2 (12 credits)
PD3 (12 credits) >> L6M3 (12 credits)
PD4 (e) (12 credits) >> L6M9 (e) (6 credits) and L6M10 (e) (6 credits)
PD5 (e) (12 credits) >> L6M5 (e) (6 credits) and L6M8 (e) (6 credits)
PD6 (e) (12 credits) >> L6M4 (e) (6 credits) and L6M7 (e) (6 credits)
(e) = elective
Please see our previous blog post for more information about the new types of exams.
March Exam Results
CIPS Results were once again strong across the board, especially in our Norwich groups who achieved a 100% pass rate!
Blended Learning
All of our Blended Learning students did a great job, with every single member of the Diploma course across all of our UK centres passing their March exams! This means this is two consecutive exam sittings with a 100% pass rate for our Norwich groups!
It was great to see lots of improvement in these exams, with most students obtaining a merit or above.
Distance Learning Students
Congratulations to our Distance Learning students for achieving an excellent 100% pass rate for the March exam series.
It’s great to see that the hard work and consistent use of our Open Tutorial hours, and it’s great to see that it has all paid off.
A special congratulations to one of our students for achieving an outstanding 84% for their D4 exam, this is their 4th distinction in a row!
NEXT EXAM
Good luck to all of you awaiting your May exam results, which will be released in August.
And good luck to anyone sitting an exam in July, please remember that these are part of the new syllabus, so ensure you double check your exam time and location before attending.