Duration 4 Days – 28 hrs.

 

Overview

The Advanced Warehouse Management and Logistics Training Course provides participants with practical strategies, tools, and management techniques for improving warehouse productivity, inventory accuracy, material flow, order fulfillment, and logistics performance.

The course covers warehouse layout optimization, inventory control, demand and capacity planning, receiving and dispatch operations, warehouse technologies, transportation coordination, performance measurement, cost reduction, risk management, and continuous improvement. Participants will learn how to identify operational bottlenecks, reduce waste, improve service levels, and establish measurable warehouse and logistics performance standards.

Practical exercises, case studies, process-mapping activities, and operational improvement workshops may be incorporated to help participants apply the concepts to real warehouse and logistics environments.

 

Objectives

• Explain the strategic role of warehousing and logistics in the supply chain.
• Evaluate warehouse processes, capacity, layout, and resource requirements.
• Design or improve warehouse layouts for efficient material and information flow.
• Apply advanced inventory classification and control techniques.
• Improve receiving, put-away, storage, picking, packing, and dispatch operations.
• Select appropriate storage systems, material-handling equipment, and warehouse technologies.
• Improve inventory accuracy through cycle counting, audits, and transaction controls.
• Apply demand, capacity, workforce, and replenishment planning techniques.
• Develop efficient order-picking and fulfillment strategies.
• Coordinate warehouse operations with transportation and distribution activities.
• Establish relevant warehouse and logistics key performance indicators.
• Analyze operating costs and identify opportunities for productivity improvement.
• Apply safety, security, risk management, and business continuity practices.
• Use Lean and continuous improvement techniques in warehouse operations.
• Prepare an actionable warehouse and logistics improvement plan.

 

Target Audience 

• Warehouse managers and supervisors
• Logistics and distribution managers
• Supply chain professionals
• Inventory control officers and analysts
• Warehouse planners and coordinators
• Procurement and materials management personnel
• Distribution and transportation coordinators
• Operations managers and supervisors
• Manufacturing and production support personnel
• Storekeepers and senior warehouse personnel
• Business owners responsible for warehouse or logistics operations
• Professionals preparing for warehouse or logistics leadership roles

 

Prerequisites 

• Basic knowledge of warehouse, inventory, logistics, or supply chain operations
• At least six months of relevant operational or supervisory experience
• Basic understanding of purchasing, receiving, storage, and distribution processes
• Familiarity with spreadsheets and standard business reports
• Basic knowledge of inventory records or warehouse management systems
• Participants without direct warehouse experience may attend, but prior completion of a fundamentals-level warehouse, inventory, or logistics course is recommended.

 

Course Outline

 

Day 1: Strategic Warehouse Management and Operational Design

Module 1: Advanced Warehouse and Logistics Management 

• The strategic role of warehousing in the supply chain
• Modern warehouse and distribution operations
• Warehouse types, functions, and service models
• Relationships among procurement, inventory, production, warehousing, and distribution
• Customer service and order-fulfillment requirements
• Current warehouse and logistics challenges
• Balancing cost, capacity, productivity, and service levels

 Module 2: Warehouse Process Analysis and Optimization 

• End-to-end warehouse process flow
• Mapping physical, transactional, and information flows
• Identifying bottlenecks, delays, duplication, and non-value-adding activities
• Process standardization and standard operating procedures
• Capacity and throughput analysis
• Work measurement and productivity analysis
• Warehouse process improvement techniques
• Practical activity: Current-state warehouse process mapping

 Module 3: Warehouse Layout and Space Optimization 

• Principles of effective warehouse layout design
• Product flow and activity relationship analysis
• Fixed versus random storage locations
• Dedicated, shared, and dynamic storage strategies
• Slotting based on product velocity, size, weight, and handling requirements
• ABC movement analysis for warehouse layout
• Dock, staging, storage, picking, packing, and dispatch areas
• Aisle design and space-utilization considerations
• Calculating storage capacity and space utilization
• Practical exercise: Warehouse layout improvement

 Module 4: Storage Systems and Material-Handling Equipment 

• Pallet racking, shelving, bins, mezzanines, and automated storage
• Selecting suitable storage systems
• Material-handling equipment selection
• Forklifts, pallet trucks, conveyors, sortation, and automated systems
• Equipment utilization and maintenance
• Ergonomic and safety considerations
• Cost-benefit analysis of storage and handling solutions

 

 Day 2: Inventory Control and Warehouse Execution

Module 5: Advanced Inventory Management 

• Inventory categories and their operational purposes
• Inventory carrying costs and service-level trade-offs
• ABC, XYZ, FSN, VED, and HML classifications
• Combining inventory classification methods
• Economic order quantity
• Reorder points, minimum and maximum levels
• Safety stock and lead-time considerations
• Inventory turnover, days of inventory, and stock coverage
• Managing slow-moving, excess, obsolete, and non-moving inventory
• Practical exercise: Inventory classification and control policy

 Module 6: Receiving and Put-Away Optimization 

• Inbound scheduling and dock management
• Supplier documentation and advance shipment information
• Receiving inspection and quantity verification
• Handling discrepancies, damage, and rejected deliveries
• Cross-docking opportunities
• Put-away rules and location assignment
• System-directed versus manual put-away
• Reducing dock-to-stock cycle time
• Receiving and put-away performance indicators

 Module 7: Storage, Replenishment, and Stock Rotation 

• Storage-location management
• Location coding and bin-management systems
• FIFO, FEFO, LIFO, and batch or lot control
• Expiry-date and shelf-life management
• Stock replenishment methods
• Forward-picking and reserve-storage concepts
• Handling hazardous, fragile, high-value, and temperature-sensitive products
• Housekeeping and the 5S approach
• Maintaining stock integrity and traceability

 Module 8: Inventory Accuracy and Cycle Counting 

• Causes and consequences of inventory discrepancies
• Perpetual inventory systems
• Physical inventory versus cycle counting
• Designing a risk-based cycle-counting program
• Blind counting and recount procedures
• Transaction controls and inventory adjustments
• Root-cause analysis of variances
• Inventory accuracy and record-integrity indicators
• Practical activity: Cycle-counting and variance investigation

  

Day 3: Order Fulfillment, Logistics and Technology

Module 9: Order Picking, Packing, and Dispatch 

• Order-fulfillment process and service standards
• Discrete, batch, zone, cluster, and wave picking
• Pick-to-order versus pick-to-stock
• Selecting an appropriate picking strategy
• Pick-path and travel-time optimization
• Packing standards and quality verification
• Staging, loading, and dispatch controls
• Proof of delivery and shipment documentation
• Reducing picking errors and order cycle time
• Practical exercise: Comparing picking strategies

 Module 10: Transportation and Distribution Management 

• Role of transportation in logistics performance
• Inbound and outbound transportation planning
• Fleet ownership versus third-party logistics providers
• Carrier and logistics service-provider selection
• Vehicle capacity and load utilization
• Route and delivery scheduling
• Delivery documentation and tracking
• Freight-cost components and cost-control strategies
• Managing failed deliveries, returns, and claims
• Transportation performance indicators

 Module 11: Warehouse Management Systems and Technology 

• Warehouse Management System functions
• Integration with ERP, inventory, purchasing, and transportation systems
• Barcodes, QR codes, RFID, scanners, and mobile devices
• Warehouse automation and robotics
• Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems
• Pick-to-light, put-to-light, and voice-picking technologies
• Internet of Things sensors and real-time monitoring
• Data analytics and warehouse dashboards
• Technology-selection and implementation considerations
• Data accuracy and user-adoption requirements

 Module 12: Reverse Logistics and Returns Management 

• Understanding reverse logistics
• Product-return authorization and receiving
• Inspection, segregation, and disposition
• Return-to-stock, repair, refurbishment, recycling, and disposal
• Managing damaged and defective products
• Root-cause analysis of returns
• Reducing the cost and operational impact of returns
• Returns-management performance indicators

  

Day 4: Performance, Risk and Continuous Improvement

Module 13: Warehouse and Logistics Performance Management 

• Developing meaningful warehouse and logistics KPIs
• Receiving accuracy and dock-to-stock time
• Inventory accuracy and turnover
• Space and storage utilization
• Picking productivity and picking accuracy
• Order cycle time and perfect-order rate
• On-time dispatch and delivery performance
• Labor and equipment utilization
• Cost per order, line, unit, or shipment
• Dashboard design and performance review
• Practical activity: Developing a warehouse KPI dashboard

 Module 14: Warehouse Cost and Productivity Management 

• Understanding warehouse cost structures
• Fixed, variable, direct, and indirect costs
• Labor, space, equipment, inventory, and transportation costs
• Activity-based costing concepts
• Budget preparation and cost monitoring
• Workforce and shift planning
• Outsourcing and third-party logistics considerations
• Productivity improvement without compromising safety or quality
• Evaluating the return on warehouse improvement projects

 Module 15: Safety, Security and Operational Risk Management 

• Warehouse safety responsibilities
• Hazard identification and risk assessment
• Safe storage and material-handling practices
• Forklift and pedestrian traffic management
• Fire prevention and emergency preparedness
• Product, inventory, facility, and information security
• Theft, fraud, damage, and loss prevention
• Incident reporting and corrective action
• Business continuity and warehouse disruption planning
• Regulatory and environmental considerations

 Module 16: Lean Warehousing and Continuous Improvement 

• Lean principles applied to warehouse operations
• Identifying the eight types of waste
• 5S workplace organization
• Kaizen and continuous improvement
• Root-cause analysis using the Five Whys
• Cause-and-effect analysis
• Pareto analysis and problem prioritization
• PDCA and structured improvement cycles
• Creating and sustaining standard work
• Managing operational change

 Module 17: Warehouse Improvement Action Planning 

• Identifying priority warehouse and logistics issues
• Establishing improvement objectives and targets
• Selecting appropriate solutions and performance measures
• Defining responsibilities, timelines, and resource requirements
• Managing implementation risks
• Developing a warehouse and logistics improvement action plan
• Group presentation and facilitator feedback