Emergency Logistics Planning and Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Emergency Logistics Officers, Humanitarian Programme Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-LD-197

Before you join: Participants should have practical exposure to logistics, procurement, warehousing, transport, emergency response, business continuity or programme operations.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Emergency logistics failures can delay life-saving supplies, increase transport and storage costs, expose staff and beneficiaries to avoidable risks, and weaken donor confidence. Logistics teams must make decisions with incomplete information while managing disrupted infrastructure, customs restrictions, supplier shortages, security threats and changing beneficiary needs. Effective emergency logistics requires disciplined planning before an incident, clear coordination during response, and evidence-based review after delivery.

This course develops the practical methods used to plan and manage emergency supply chains from initial needs assessment through procurement, warehousing, transport, distribution and post-response review. Participants learn to build contingency plans, risk registers, demand estimates, procurement strategies, transport plans, warehouse controls and distribution accountability measures. The course also addresses coordination with authorities, humanitarian partners, military actors where relevant, suppliers, transporters and affected communities.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with sector cases, group planning tasks, logistics simulations and structured review of operational documents. Cases reflect sudden-onset disasters, protracted displacement, disease outbreaks and conflict-related access constraints. Participants work with realistic data such as commodity requirements, route constraints, supplier capacity, stock records and transport costs. They leave with an Emergency Logistics Response Plan pack containing reusable templates, decision tools and an individual workplace application plan. The five-day instructor-led course is available in classrooms in more than 50 cities or live online. Training days run from 08:30 to 16:30, providing approximately 6.5 contact hours per day, and participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is suited to professionals responsible for humanitarian, public-sector, corporate crisis-response or business-continuity logistics where speed, control, accountability and access are critical.

What you will be able to do

  • Develop an emergency logistics response plan using scenario-based assumptions and activation triggers
  • Construct an ISO 31000 logistics risk register with controls, owners and residual risk ratings
  • Estimate emergency commodity requirements using caseload, kit specifications and pipeline analysis
  • Prepare emergency procurement and supplier management actions using framework agreements and due diligence
  • Design warehouse, inventory and cold-chain controls for emergency stock movements
  • Produce transport and last-mile delivery plans using route assessments, load planning and customs documentation
  • Apply distribution accountability controls including waybills, proof-of-delivery and complaints mechanisms
  • Measure logistics performance using OTIF, stock accuracy, budget variance and corrective-action plans

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce credible emergency logistics plans for incident briefings and operational approval
  • Make faster sourcing and transport decisions using documented risk and cost criteria
  • Improve readiness for logistics roles in humanitarian, public-sector and corporate crisis operations
  • Identify stock, route, supplier and distribution-control weaknesses before response activation
  • Communicate logistics constraints and corrective actions clearly to senior managers and partners

For your organisation

  • Shorten mobilisation time through defined activation triggers, stock policies and supplier arrangements
  • Reduce stock losses, expiry exposure and diversion risk through stronger warehouse and distribution controls
  • Improve donor, auditor and management assurance through traceable procurement and delivery documentation
  • Increase service reliability through route planning, transporter controls and performance monitoring
  • Strengthen coordination with authorities, partners and common-service providers during emergency response

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define an emergency logistics strategy aligned with operational priorities, constraints and accountability requirements.

  • Humanitarian supply chains mapped from trigger to last-mile delivery
  • Sudden-onset, slow-onset and complex emergencies distinguished by logistics implications
  • Life-saving demand priorities translated into service-level and response-time targets
  • Humanitarian principles assessed against access, neutrality and impartial resource allocation
  • Stakeholder map identifies authorities, clusters, donors, suppliers and affected communities
  • Logistics strategy aligns programme objectives, constraints, capacities and operating assumptions
  • Key performance indicators link availability, timeliness, cost, quality and accountability

Participants can prepare contingency arrangements using risk analysis, scenario planning and continuity controls.

  • ISO 31000 risk register records threats, controls, owners and residual ratings
  • Scenario planning tests earthquake, flood, epidemic and conflict logistics disruptions
  • Likelihood-impact matrices prioritise supply, transport, facility, security and information risks
  • Business continuity plans define recovery objectives, alternate sites and activation authorities
  • Contingency stock policies set trigger levels, replenishment rules and expiry controls
  • Pre-positioning decisions compare lead times, storage cost, access and obsolescence
  • Early-warning indicators connect hazard monitoring with procurement and mobilisation actions

Participants can establish logistics coordination structures, reporting lines and information-sharing arrangements.

  • Incident Command System roles establish logistics authority, reporting and span control
  • Logistics Cluster coordination structures link national systems, partners and common services
  • Request-for-assistance workflows define validation, prioritisation, sourcing and tasking
  • Humanitarian civil-military coordination applies distinction, necessity and proportionality principles
  • Coordination meeting agendas track bottlenecks, commitments, decisions and escalation routes
  • Information-sharing protocols protect sensitive locations, movements, beneficiaries and suppliers
  • RACI matrices assign accountability for procurement, warehousing, transport and distribution

Participants can translate emergency needs data into commodity requirements, allocation plans and pipeline controls.

  • Rapid needs assessments convert population data into commodity demand estimates
  • Kit specifications use Sphere guidance, technical standards and local preferences
  • Bill-of-materials structures calculate quantities, weights, volumes and replenishment requirements
  • Pipeline analysis identifies stock-outs, excess inventory and arrival-date uncertainty
  • ABC-XYZ classification separates criticality, consumption variability and inventory control approaches
  • Demand assumptions documented with data sources, confidence ranges and approval dates
  • Allocation plans apply vulnerability criteria, caseload changes and delivery constraints

Participants can source emergency goods and services while maintaining appropriate competition, documentation and supplier controls.

  • Emergency procurement procedures balance speed, competition, documentation and donor compliance
  • Supplier market mapping assesses capacity, lead time, ethical risk and geographic coverage
  • Framework agreements set pricing, call-off terms, quality requirements and escalation clauses
  • Incoterms 2020 allocate freight, insurance, customs and risk-transfer responsibilities
  • Supplier due diligence screens sanctions, conflicts, fraud indicators and beneficial ownership
  • Expediting logs manage purchase-order milestones, shipment documents and supplier follow-up
  • Local procurement decisions assess market disruption, quality assurance and community effects

Participants can operate emergency warehouse and inventory controls that protect stock integrity, traceability and availability.

  • Warehouse layout separates receiving, quarantine, storage, picking, dispatch and returns
  • FEFO and FIFO rules control expiry, batch traceability and stock rotation
  • Goods-received inspections verify quantities, damage, specifications and supporting documents
  • Bin cards and stock ledgers reconcile physical counts with records
  • Cycle-count programmes investigate variances, adjust records and prevent recurrence
  • Cold-chain monitoring records temperature excursions, corrective actions and product disposition
  • Loss-prevention controls address theft, diversion, fire, pests and unauthorised access

Participants can plan and control emergency transport movements from source through customs clearance to last-mile handover.

  • Transport network design compares road, air, sea, rail and multimodal options
  • Route assessments document access constraints, security incidents, bridges and seasonal closures
  • Load planning calculates payload, cube utilisation, axle limits and segregation requirements
  • Transporter contracts specify service levels, liability, detention and proof-of-delivery
  • Fleet dispatch controls assign vehicles, drivers, fuel, routes and communications
  • Customs clearance files assemble permits, certificates, invoices, packing lists and exemptions
  • Last-mile delivery plans account for access, handover points and reverse logistics

Participants can plan accountable distributions that protect beneficiaries, commodities, records and feedback channels.

  • Distribution plans define targeting, entitlements, site flow and accountability controls
  • Community engagement methods communicate eligibility, schedules, complaints and safe collection
  • Segregation-of-duties controls protect beneficiary lists, commodities, vouchers and records
  • Waybills and proof-of-delivery establish custody from warehouse through final handover
  • Post-distribution monitoring tests receipt, use, satisfaction, protection and market effects
  • Complaints mechanisms record cases, referral pathways, closure and trend analysis
  • Cash, voucher and in-kind modalities compared through feasibility and risk criteria

Participants can integrate personnel security, transport safety and facility controls into emergency logistics operations.

  • Security risk assessments rate threats, vulnerabilities, exposure and mitigating measures
  • Journey management plans set movement approvals, check-ins, contingencies and communications
  • Driver safety procedures cover fatigue, defensive driving, vehicle checks and incidents
  • Warehouse safety inspections address racking, lifting, fire equipment and evacuation
  • Transport of dangerous goods follows UN classification, packaging and documentation rules
  • Security incident reports preserve facts, notifications, actions and lessons identified
  • Medical evacuation and relocation triggers link personnel safety to operational continuity

Participants can monitor emergency logistics performance, identify corrective actions and prioritise workplace improvements.

  • Logistics cost models separate fixed, variable, direct and shared costs
  • Budget variance analysis explains rate, volume, timing and foreign-exchange differences
  • OTIF, order-cycle time and stock-accuracy metrics drive performance reviews
  • After-action reviews capture decisions, evidence, corrective actions and named owners
  • Operational dashboards combine pipeline, transport, warehouse, distribution and risk data
  • Corrective-action plans set milestones, resources, dependencies and escalation thresholds
  • Personal application plans prioritise workplace improvements for the next ninety days

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Emergency Logistics Response Plan template
  2. ISO 31000 logistics risk register
  3. Contingency stock and pre-positioning model
  4. Emergency procurement and supplier due diligence checklist
  5. Transport, customs and last-mile delivery plan
  6. Logistics performance dashboard and corrective-action tracker

Who should attend

  • Emergency Logistics Officers — need structured methods for planning supplies, transport and distribution under pressure
  • Humanitarian Programme Managers — need to connect programme priorities with feasible logistics capacity and controls
  • Supply Chain Managers — need contingency arrangements for disrupted suppliers, routes and facilities
  • Procurement Officers — need compliant emergency sourcing, supplier due diligence and framework agreement methods
  • Warehouse and Fleet Managers — need stronger inventory, dispatch, safety and transport control procedures
  • Business Continuity and Crisis Managers — need logistics plans that support organisational incident response

Skills and tools covered

Emergency logistics planningContingency risk managementHumanitarian procurementWarehouse inventory controlTransport coordinationDistribution accountability

Tools and standards

ISO 31000, Sphere Handbook, Incident Command System, Incoterms 2020

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses concise instructor briefings to introduce emergency logistics methods, standards and decision criteria. Participants analyse realistic cases involving disrupted supply routes, urgent commodity requirements, damaged warehouses, customs delays and insecure delivery locations. Group work applies planning tools to shared scenarios, while simulations test prioritisation, coordination and escalation decisions under time pressure. Facilitated reviews examine trade-offs between speed, cost, accountability and safety. Each participant completes an application plan linking course tools to a current or anticipated workplace response requirement.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical exposure to logistics, procurement, warehousing, transport, emergency response, business continuity or programme operations. They should be comfortable reading basic stock reports, purchase orders, transport documents and simple cost information. Experience in humanitarian operations, disaster management or public-sector emergency response is helpful but not essential. The course does not require prior knowledge of the Sphere Handbook, Incident Command System, customs law, dangerous-goods certification or specialist supply chain software. It is not an entry-level introduction to general logistics terminology.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have some exposure to logistics, procurement, transport, warehousing, emergency response or programme operations. Prior humanitarian experience is useful but not required, and the course does not assume specialist software or dangerous-goods certification.

Participants should bring a laptop if possible and may bring non-confidential examples of their current emergency plans, stock reports, transport procedures or supplier issues. Course materials and planning templates are provided.

It is designed for logistics officers, supply chain managers, procurement staff, warehouse and fleet managers, programme managers and crisis-response personnel. It is also relevant to corporate teams responsible for incident logistics and business continuity.

General supply chain courses focus on planned commercial operations, forecasting and routine optimisation. This course focuses on time-critical response, disrupted infrastructure, access constraints, emergency sourcing, accountability and staff safety.

Participants leave with reusable planning tools for risk registers, contingency stocks, procurement, transport, distribution and performance monitoring. The application plan identifies priority improvements that can be introduced after the course.

The five days contain approximately 32.5 contact hours, with training from 08:30 to 16:30 each day. Time is divided among planning, procurement, warehousing, transport, distribution, safety, performance management and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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