Port Marketing and Business Development Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Port commercial managers, Business development 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-MP-015

Before you join: Participants should have at least one year of experience in ports, terminals, shipping, freight forwarding, logistics or a related commercial role.

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

Ports compete for cargo, vessel calls, logistics investments and customer loyalty while operating within fixed geography, regulated tariffs, capacity constraints and public-service obligations. Commercial teams must understand which cargoes and customers create value, why shipping lines and cargo owners select one gateway over another, and how to turn market intelligence into credible service propositions. Poorly targeted sales activity can produce low-yield volumes, strained terminal capacity and promises that operations cannot deliver.

This course develops the commercial methods used to market port, terminal and logistics services. Participants assess port markets, segment customers, analyse competitor positions, define value propositions and build account plans for shipping lines, freight forwarders, beneficial cargo owners and logistics developers. The programme covers route economics, cargo flows, hinterland analysis, pricing principles, bid management, customer relationship management and commercial performance measures. It also addresses the internal coordination required between commercial, marine, terminal, planning, finance and customer service functions.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with port cases, market-analysis tasks, commercial negotiations, group review of bid scenarios and structured application planning. Participants work with realistic situations such as winning a new container service, retaining breakbulk cargo, developing a dry-port partnership and responding to a competing gateway. They leave with a practical port marketing and business development toolkit, including a market assessment, customer segmentation model, account plan and bid evaluation framework adapted to their port or terminal context.

The course suits commercial personnel in port authorities, terminal operators, shipping agencies, logistics parks and maritime service providers. It is also relevant to operational managers who contribute to customer retention, service design and commercial commitments.

What you will be able to do

  • Analyse port markets using cargo-flow, customer and competitor data
  • Segment shipping lines, cargo owners and logistics intermediaries using commercial criteria
  • Construct differentiated port service value propositions for priority customer segments
  • Prepare key account plans using stakeholder maps, opportunity pipelines and call plans
  • Evaluate port pricing proposals using cost, market and customer-value considerations
  • Develop business cases for new services, cargo corridors and logistics investments
  • Manage tender and bid processes from qualification through commercial submission
  • Measure commercial performance using customer, revenue, volume and pipeline indicators

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Build credible commercial proposals for shipping lines and cargo owners
  • Identify higher-value cargo and customer opportunities from market data
  • Conduct better account reviews with structured stakeholder and opportunity analysis
  • Contribute confidently to tariff, incentive and service-package discussions
  • Present commercially grounded growth cases to port and terminal leadership

For your organisation

  • Improves targeting of profitable cargo segments and priority accounts
  • Strengthens retention plans for strategic shipping line and cargo-owner customers
  • Reduces poorly qualified bids and commercially weak service commitments
  • Creates clearer alignment between sales promises, terminal capacity and service delivery
  • Produces more consistent pipeline reporting and commercial decision making

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can explain how port commercial strategy connects market demand, operational capability and financial objectives.

  • Port authority, terminal operator and landlord models shaping commercial responsibilities
  • Cargo, vessel, logistics and property revenues within port business models
  • Gateway, transhipment and industrial ports compared through demand characteristics
  • Shipping line network decisions and port-call selection criteria
  • Hinterland connectivity, dwell time and reliability as commercial differentiators
  • Commercial strategy linked to capacity, service quality and investment priorities

Participants can assess market attractiveness and competitor positions using structured commercial evidence.

  • Cargo-flow mapping from origin-destination, trade and customer data
  • PESTLE analysis of regulatory, trade, energy and infrastructure drivers
  • Porter's Five Forces applied to gateway and terminal competition
  • Competitor benchmarking across tariffs, transit time, capacity and service quality
  • Trade-lane analysis identifying growth, diversion and retention opportunities
  • Market intelligence sources including AIS, customs, carrier and terminal data

Participants can prioritise port customers using segmentation, value and influence criteria.

  • STP model applied to port and logistics customer portfolios
  • Segmenting shipping lines by network role, volumes and strategic fit
  • Beneficial cargo owners assessed by cargo value, growth and routing control
  • Freight forwarders, NVOCCs and 3PLs mapped as demand influencers
  • Buying-centre analysis identifying economic buyers, users and technical gatekeepers
  • Customer profitability analysis combining revenue, service costs and retention risk

Participants can formulate evidence-based value propositions for priority port customer segments.

  • Value proposition canvas adapted for port, terminal and logistics services
  • Customer jobs, pains and gains translated into service requirements
  • Transit time, reliability and total logistics cost quantified for customers
  • Service bundles combining marine access, terminal handling and inland connections
  • Differentiation claims supported by operational evidence and customer outcomes
  • Proof points drawn from performance records, network coverage and capacity

Participants can create account plans that coordinate relationship development and revenue growth.

  • Key account selection using strategic value, revenue and growth potential
  • Account maps showing stakeholders, influence routes and decision authority
  • Account plans built around objectives, opportunities, risks and actions
  • Customer contact plans balancing executive sponsorship and operational relationships
  • Voice-of-customer methods capturing service issues, priorities and future needs
  • Retention triggers identified from volume decline, complaints and competitor activity

Participants can assess pricing and incentive options while protecting commercial and operational value.

  • Port tariff structures for vessel, cargo, terminal and ancillary services
  • Cost-to-serve analysis distinguishing fixed, variable and activity-based costs
  • Value-based pricing for time-sensitive, specialised and reliability-critical cargoes
  • Volume rebates and loyalty incentives assessed against margin and capacity
  • Price corridors defining negotiation limits, approvals and exception controls
  • Tariff comparisons adjusted for bundled services, surcharges and payment terms

Participants can prepare commercially sound cases for new services, corridors and partnerships.

  • Opportunity qualification using market demand, strategic fit and delivery feasibility
  • Cargo corridor development linking ports, dry ports and inland operators
  • Shipping service attraction cases built from volumes, rotations and economics
  • Partnership models for logistics parks, rail services and distribution centres
  • Business case assumptions covering volume ramp-up, revenue and operating costs
  • Sensitivity analysis testing downside volumes, pricing and implementation delays

Participants can manage structured bids and negotiate port service agreements within approved boundaries.

  • Bid-no-bid decisions based on qualification criteria and resource requirements
  • Tender requirements translated into compliance matrices and responsibility assignments
  • Commercial proposals aligning scope, pricing, service levels and assumptions
  • BATNA analysis establishing negotiation alternatives and walk-away positions
  • Concession, package and trade-off techniques used in tariff negotiations
  • Contract risk review covering volumes, liabilities, performance and termination

Participants can use customer experience information to improve retention and recover service failures.

  • Customer journey mapping from booking through gate-out and cargo release
  • Service-level agreements defining measurable response, turnaround and availability commitments
  • Complaint classification separating operational failures, billing disputes and communication gaps
  • Root cause analysis using five whys and fishbone diagrams
  • Service recovery protocols assigning ownership, escalation and customer communication
  • Net Promoter Score limitations and complementary customer satisfaction measures

Participants can track commercial delivery and set a practical action plan for their priority accounts.

  • Commercial dashboards combining volumes, revenue, yield, pipeline and retention indicators
  • Sales funnel stages defined from prospect identification through contract award
  • Forecast accuracy tracked against weighted pipeline and actual cargo volumes
  • Win-loss reviews identifying pricing, service and relationship lessons
  • Cross-functional governance linking commercial commitments with operational delivery
  • Ninety-day action plans assigning account priorities, milestones and review dates

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

What you take back to work

  1. Port market intelligence assessment template
  2. Customer segmentation and prioritisation matrix
  3. Port service value proposition canvas
  4. Strategic account plan template
  5. Port pricing and incentive evaluation model
  6. Ninety-day commercial action plan

Who should attend

  • Port commercial managers — responsible for cargo growth, customer retention and revenue performance
  • Business development managers — developing new services, partnerships and logistics opportunities
  • Terminal sales managers — pursuing shipping line and cargo-owner accounts
  • Port authority marketing staff — positioning gateway services and attracting investment
  • Customer service managers — improving customer experience and service recovery
  • Operations and planning managers — aligning operational capacity with commercial commitments

Skills and tools covered

Port market analysisCustomer segmentationKey account planningPort service pricingBid managementCommercial performance management

Tools and standards

PESTLE analysis, Porter's Five Forces, STP model, Value Proposition Canvas

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses concise briefings to introduce commercial frameworks, followed by port and terminal cases drawn from container, bulk, breakbulk and logistics settings. Participants analyse cargo-flow data, compare gateway propositions, develop account strategies and assess bid choices in small groups. Facilitated simulations address customer meetings, tariff discussions and internal approval of commercial proposals. Instructor feedback links each method to participants’ own ports, terminals or logistics businesses. The final application planning process converts course outputs into defined commercial actions and review measures.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least one year of experience in ports, terminals, shipping, freight forwarding, logistics or a related commercial role. They should understand basic port services, cargo types and the relationship between vessels, terminals and inland transport. Familiarity with their organisation’s customers, tariffs or commercial data is useful. No formal marketing qualification, finance qualification or advanced statistical capability is required. Participants do not need prior experience of sales negotiation, tender management or customer relationship management systems, although these will help them apply the material faster.

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 basic familiarity with port, terminal, shipping or logistics operations and at least one year of relevant work experience. No marketing degree, advanced finance knowledge or prior sales-management experience is required.

Bring examples of your port or terminal services, customer types, tariffs, commercial targets or current opportunities where these can be shared appropriately. A laptop is useful for working with course templates, but it is not essential.

It is designed primarily for commercial, marketing, business development and customer service staff in ports and terminals. Operations, planning and finance managers also benefit when they support commercial proposals or customer commitments.

The course focuses on port selection, cargo flows, shipping line economics, terminal services, tariffs and logistics corridors. Its cases, account plans and bid methods address the buying processes and operational constraints specific to maritime infrastructure.

Participants can use the templates to assess priority markets, prepare account plans, evaluate commercial opportunities and structure customer meetings. The final action plan identifies immediate steps, accountable owners and measures for follow-through.

The programme comprises ten modules delivered in teaching order, with approximately 6.5 contact hours each day from 08:30 to 16:30. Time is shared between instructor input, case analysis, group work, simulations 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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