Careers

Logistics and forwarding manager

Coordinating a flow from a foreign supplier to an inland warehouse means holding transport, customs, inventory and budget together. The logistics and forwarding manager holds that conductor's role.

Steering a flow end to end

The week reads on a flow board: what is ordered, what is loaded, what is in customs, what is on the road inland. The manager constantly arbitrates between cost and lead time — air freight that saves a production run, groupage that saves a budget. They negotiate with providers, check clearance invoices and hold inventory levels. Each month they report: service level, average cost per container, avoided stock-outs.

Plan an import or export flow and track its progress
Negotiate with carriers, forwarders and bonded warehouses
Control clearance costs and reconcile provider invoices
Steer inventory levels and service rate by reference

Organisations that steer flows

Importers and distributors

Food, materials, spare parts: their margin depends directly on controlling clearance costs.

Mining and industrial groups

Critical parts supply, output export: high-stakes flows planned months ahead.

Logistics providers

Forwarding, warehousing, distribution: the role steers operations for several clients at once.

What the institute puts in writing

A duration, taught hours, credits and a level of responsibility: these are the four commitments the institute makes on this programme, and they are public. You will find them identical on the qualification page, in the official catalogue and on the certificate issued at the end. One figure, three surfaces, no divergence.

qualification level: 5
months of programme: 9
taught hours: 700 h
credits: 70
competency blocks: 5

The blocks that make up the framework

The framework is split into self-contained blocks, each with its own taught hours. That split serves three purposes: organising the training, organising the assessment, and letting an already experienced professional have what they already command recognised. The same structure is what makes prior-learning validation possible.

Designing the logistics chain: 190 (27 %)
Import and export operations: 190 (27 %)
Operations and steering: 180 (26 %)
Client and subcontractor relations: 100 (14 %)
Professional conduct: 40 (6 %)

Total: 700 taught hours

Designing the logistics chain · 190 h — Flows, modes, warehousing, total logistics cost
Import and export operations · 190 h — Incoterms, documents, customs, insurance, financing
Operations and steering · 180 h — Planning, shipment tracking, incidents, indicators
Client and subcontractor relations · 100 h — Quotations, contracting, disputes, service quality
Professional conduct · 40 h — Coordinating a team, working under urgency

Growing in logistics responsibility

This table sets side by side what genuinely prepares for this role. Credits and taught hours measure the gap between two options; fees relate that gap to a budget. Those are the three questions a candidate asks, and the three answers sit on a single row.

Programme	Duration	Credits	Taught hours	Fees
International Trade · Bachelor's degree	2 years	120	1200 h	5 000 000 GNF per year
Management and Project Management programme — Bac+5 level · Master's degree	2 years	120	1200 h	6 500 000 GNF per year

What comes up in guidance interviews

Does the role require English?

It uses it daily: correspondence with Asian and European suppliers, transport documents, international sale terms. The international trade programme works on it in its real professional context.

How do I progress beyond this?

The supply chain manager, at level 6, adds purchasing, demand forecasting and leading a team. The supply chain director, at level 7, carries the strategy and the whole distribution network.

Explore next

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