Port Inventory Control Course

This course focuses on inventory control in the port environment, where physical stock, documentary stock, goods in transit, stored cargo and operating equipment must all be kept under control at once. You will look at the different types of port inventory, from containers, bulk and general cargo to reefer goods, spare parts, consumables and dangerous materials, and at the many parties involved, including the port authority, terminal, warehouse, logistics operator, shipping line, agent, customs, hauliers and customers. You will then work through receipt procedures, registration against manifests and orders, classification and the allocation of locations in yards, warehouses, reefer areas and dangerous goods zones.

What sets this course apart: it is built around the specific conditions of ports, with limited space, customs regimes and many parties sharing the same flows; it covers rotation methods such as FIFO and FEFO, cycle counts, stock audits and the reconciliation of system and physical stock, together with the handling of damage, shortages, surpluses, holds and abandoned cargo; it shows how WMS, TOS, ERP and port community systems, handheld devices, RFID, QR codes, OCR and IoT sensors provide real-time traceability; and it ends with an applied project in which you design the inventory model for a terminal, warehouse, bonded store or small port.