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Institute of Advanced Technological and Commercial Studies

Careers

Supply chain manager

Forecasting demand, buying at the right moment, holding inventory at the right level and delivering on time: the supply chain manager steers an entire chain. A function that has become central wherever product availability makes the sale.

Steering a chain, not a step

Forecasting opens the cycle: reading history, factoring in seasons and known events, agreeing a plan with sales. Purchasing follows, with the constant trade-off between the price of a large lot and the cost of holding it. Inventory is steered by reference, separating what must always be available from what can wait. Transport and providers close the loop, measured on service commitments held over time.

  • Build a demand forecast and agree it with sales
  • Define an inventory policy and a reorder point per reference
  • Select and steer providers on service commitments
  • Track the chain's total cost and arbitrate between lead time and price

The chains to steer

  • Food distribution and fast-moving consumer goods
  • Processing industry supplied internationally
  • Mining and energy sites with imported critical spares
  • Health and pharmacy, where a stock-out has an immediate cost
  • Logistics providers operating for several principals

What you know before committing

The catalogue publishes these four values for every programme, and it publishes them before any application. A candidate knows what they are buying, an employer knows what they are funding, a panel knows what it is assessing. One set of figures travels through the whole file, which makes every step predictable.

Manager and professional

qualification level
6
months of programme
12

Led by an instructor.

taught hours
800 h

1 credit = 25 h of work, 10 of them taught.

credits
80

Framework of the « Supply Chain Manager » qualification, code TP24.

competency blocks
5

The detail of the assessed skills

Assessment covers these blocks, one by one, and nothing else. Each has its taught hours, its exercise and its validation criterion. That transparency has a direct effect on preparation: you work on what will be assessed, in the proportions in which it will be, and you measure your progress block after block.

Designing the supply chain
200 (25 %)
Procurement and suppliers
190 (24 %)
Planning and flow management
210 (26 %)
International transport and customs
150 (19 %)
Managerial conduct
50 (6 %)
Total: 800 taught hours
  • Designing the supply chain · 200 h — Master plan, network, storage, cost-lead time-service trade-offs
  • Procurement and suppliers · 190 h — Sourcing, tendering, contracting, evaluation, dependency
  • Planning and flow management · 210 h — Demand forecasting, inventory, scheduling, service indicators
  • International transport and customs · 150 h — Modes, Incoterms, customs regimes, total cost, compliance
  • Managerial conduct · 50 h — Leading a team, handling stock-outs, deciding in degraded situations

Moving up to chain steering

Here are the paths open to this occupation, with their real cost and duration. A long programme installs the full base; a certificate targets a precise function and can be taken while keeping your job. Both strategies work, and the table gives what you need to choose between them.

ProgrammeDurationCreditsTaught hoursFees
International Trade · Bachelor's degree2 years1201200 h5 000 000 GNF per year
Management and Project Management programme — Bac+5 level · Master's degree2 years1201200 h6 500 000 GNF per year
Supply chain manager — Careers | IHETC — IHETC