What is logistics training? A complete guide

Managing and contributing to a supply chain can be a challenging operation. Your team has to meet customer expectations, complete their deliveries on time, and coordinate with any new changes to their day-to-day tasks.

Expand your team’s capabilities and output with logistics training. They’ll be able to work safer and more efficiently with an ever-progressing skillset. Browse this article to learn everything you need to know about logistics training.

What is logistics training? 

Logistics training focuses on teaching your team the skills they need to handle the delivery and storage of their assigned goods effectively. It offers key strategies and abilities that can help them oversee and conduct the management, storage, and distribution processes of your company.

Proper training is essential for the smooth operation of your business. This includes employees involved in sourcing, distribution, and delivery of your products and services. Common job roles that will benefit from logistics training include:

• Supply chain managers and coordinators
• Warehouse staff
• Truck drivers
• Retail managers
• Customer service representatives

The importance of training in the logistics industry 

As a high-pressure job with requirements and demands always changing, regular logistics training can help your team stay on top of their responsibilities. They’ll learn to manage the distribution and storage of several goods while adjusting to any delays, disruptions, or obstacles.

Help your team meet customer expectations, enhance daily operations, and stay safe on the job with a logistics training program. This will give them the skills and confidence they need to optimally work within the global supply chain.

Logistics training also addresses some of the persistent problems in the industry, like inconsistent communication, a lack of future planning, and compliance with government regulations. Training refines your team’s skills, boosts your company’s performance, and gives you a competitive advantage.

Through proper training, you can improve your company’s output by developing your team’s knowledge and skills. They’ll learn different ways to make fewer mistakes, solve problems, reduce workplace hazards, and avoid accidents. With a highly capable logistics team, your company can fulfill its daily operations and retain a high customer satisfaction rate.

Essential logistics skills 

Now that we’ve defined the importance of logistics training, let’s go over these five skills your team will gain, which are crucial in any logistics operation.  

Data analysis

One of the main skills used in logistics is data analysis. Your team must interpret different data to conduct operations, like estimated delivery times, cargo weights, and fuel costs. Data analysis allows them to streamline transport routes, manage inventory space, and solve other problems in the workplace.

Communication

Another key skill your logistics team uses every day is communication. It’s the foundation of an effective supply chain. Through proper coordination, delays and accidents can be prevented. They’ll also be able to properly talk to the customer to inform them of any changes to their product delivery.

Flexibility

When setbacks occur, your team should be prepared to work their way around them. Whether it's a change in customer demand or a delay in shipping, they must learn how to stay calm and find alternative ways to complete their task. This is a definitive skill for employees in the logistics industry, as anything could happen in a supply chain.

Organization

Efficiency is the heart of all logistics operations and it begins with organization. Your team should learn to balance all their tools, roles, and day-to-day assignments. Training them to develop organizational skills will help your employees navigate their daily tasks with ease.

Accountability

Each team member is responsible for a part of your logistics system. If something goes wrong in one section of your operations, your employee should take accountability for their mistake. This vital skill will help your team pinpoint weak areas, develop collaboration, and improve overall performance.

How to build an effective logistics training program

Logistics training can be a valuable investment for your company’s operations. To help you get started, follow these essential steps to make a comprehensive logistics training program. 

1. Conduct a training needs analysis

The first step in creating a logistics training program is identifying what your team needs to learn. This is done through a training needs analysis—a process where your HR department locates your team’s skill gaps. They can also interview your employees about anything they’d like to learn for their daily operations or career development. 

2. Make development goals

Now that you’re aware of your employees’ learning needs, you can create goals to help track your training program’s progress. They should be S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) so that it's actionable and realistic. 

Here are some goal-setting examples: 

• Reduce late deliveries by 30% at the end of the quarter.
• Improve customer satisfaction by gaining 20 more positive reviews.
• Lower the risk of accidents by 30% in 2 months.

3. Design or obtain logistics training courses

The next step is to find the appropriate training material for your learning goals. You can create your own or find free logistics training material online. You can even deliver an online logistics course to your team with a handy learning management system (LMS), so your teams can take their training on the go.

4. Choose appropriate training methods

While composing your course material, consider the mode of training you'll use. Along with traditional learning methods like video training, lectures and seminars, and on-the-job training, you can explore eLearning through blended learning and mobile learning strategies. Ultimately, pick what best fits your team’s preferences and schedule.

5. Establish a success metric

Before launching your logistics certificate program, you must create a rubric for your team’s post-learning performance. This can help you measure your team’s progress on the goals you’ve set and chart the direct impact your course material will have. 

The insights you’ll gain with your success metric can also enrich your training program. Incorporating your employees’ feedback can greatly boost the impact and efficiency of your onboarding, upskilling, and compliance training. It’s a crucial stepping stone to building a workplace culture of self-improvement and learning.

Key logistics training topics & recommended courses

To help kickstart your training program, here are five logistics training courses that cover the essential topics and skills of working in the supply chain.

General safety 

Recommended Courses: New Hire Safety Orientation, Safety in the Workplace, Driver Safety by SC Training (formerly EdApp)

Cultivating a “safety first” mindset is the main skill set for any logistics worker. A general safety course offers a wide range of useful topics for the job. From exploring personal protective equipment to safe lifting and road conditions, your team will learn how to carry out their tasks safely and effectively.

Your team will learn these important topics:

• Personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Slips, trips, and falls
• Vehicle maintenance

Heavy vehicle training

Recommended Courses: Defensive Driving for Heavy Vehicles, Vehicle Awareness, Driver Safety for Gig Workers by SC Training

In this fast-paced industry, your teams must meet tight deadlines. But this should never be an excuse to drive recklessly. To avoid this practice, you can enroll them in a driver safety program. Learning to drive defensively is the cornerstone of safe and efficient transport operations. This style of driving focuses on staying alert and predicting the actions of other drivers.

Your truck drivers will learn these important topics:

• Blind spots
• Lane changes
• Vehicle inspections

Order picking

Recommended Courses: Load Securing for Land Transportation, Courier Delivery Operations by SC Training

Another important truck driver training topic is load securing. Any heavy load or hazardous chemical placed on a truck must be fastened and secured in its bed. Without spill response training or load securement techniques, the contents will be damaged and may fall out of the vehicle. This is essential for any transport company that delivers large amounts of cargo.

Your logistics crew will learn these important topics:

• Vehicle maneuvering in the warehouse
• Using tie-downs and other load securement methods
• Pre-trip and post-trip safety inspections

Forklift safety 

Recommended Courses: Forklift Operation Safety, Powered Industrial Trucks (US) by SC Training

While forklifts save your workers from hours of manual labor, they can cause serious accidents if operated poorly. It earned the fifth spot on the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s list of most violated standards in 2023. Fortunately, with proper forklift training, your crew can avoid common hazards like collision, overturning, and load instability.

Your warehouse workers will learn these forklift practices:

• Pre-operation checks
• Load handling
• Vehicle inspection and maintenance

Hazardous materials handling

Recommended Courses: HAZMAT Transportation Training (US), Hazard Communication in General Industry (US) by SC Training

Your fleet team may be assigned to transport hazardous materials or HAZMAT. If your company has these operations, your drivers must be trained to handle these dangerous chemicals properly. Through hazmat transportation training, they’ll learn how to comply with the practices, standards, and packaging requirements for their assigned chemical set by regulatory bodies.

Your fleet team will learn these safety practices:

• Reading chemical labels
• Proper packaging for each chemical
• Using the emergency response guidebook

Create a comprehensive logistics training program with SC Training

Developing a training program can be a costly investment without the right tools. At SC Training, we have all the training tools you need with one powerful learning platform. You can deliver high-quality transport safety courses straight to your team’s phones with these top features:

• Microlearning: With courses that can be completed in under five minutes, your team doesn’t need to be in a classroom to start learning. Complex topics are broken down into easy-to-follow instructions for enhanced engagement and knowledge retention.
• Practical Assessments: Say goodbye to manual checklists with the platform’s in-person assessment tool. You can easily verify your team’s skills on the job—straight from your mobile device. Simply scan each member’s QR code to track and update their digital training data.
• Editable course library: Choose from a wide range of logistics courses to enhance your team’s skills and stay compliant with the latest regulations. Each course can be edited however you like, so feel free to add more information to the lessons. 
• Group training: Seamlessly track your team’s in-person attendance in one place with this online tool. You can switch on this feature in the course settings, so it’s easy to record who’s present during the session.

We’re here to help you stay on top of your supply chain operations. Remember, to gain customer loyalty and stay ahead of your competitors, it’s important to be consistent in your delivery of goods and services. Join brands like Amazon and DHL in exploring our solutions to enhance your organization’s operational efficiency.

Elevate your supply chain processes with logistics training. Sign up for SC Training now!