So I just got my results back yesterday and I'm officially a Certified Materials and Supply Manager. Honestly didn't think I'd make it after bombing the first attempt back in February. I scored a 68 and needed a 70, which was brutal. Spent the next three months reworking my whole approach.
The biggest change was ditching the textbook-only grind and actually doing timed CMSM practice test sessions every single day. I found that reading the material felt productive but didn't translate to exam performance at all. Once I switched to practicing under test conditions — 90 questions, strict timer — my weak spots became obvious fast. Inventory management and supplier evaluation were killing me.
I also leaned hard on a structured CMSM study guide that broke down the competency domains by weight. The exam tips I picked up from this community about focusing on the ISM body of knowledge first before anything else were spot-on. If anyone's prepping right now and wants to compare notes on specific domains, drop a comment — happy to share my full study schedule.