Warehouse and Inventory Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Warehouse Managers, Warehouse Supervisors and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-WI-020

Before you join: Participants should have basic familiarity with purchasing, stockholding, warehousing, logistics or operations administration.

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

Warehouses must provide reliable stock availability, fast order fulfilment and accurate records while controlling space, labour, handling costs and operational risk. Weak receiving checks, unsuitable storage locations, poor replenishment rules and inaccurate transactions create stockouts, excess inventory, late dispatches and customer claims. These issues affect manufacturers, distributors, retailers, public agencies, healthcare providers and project-based operations where materials availability directly affects service delivery.

This course develops practical capability in warehouse process design, inventory control and daily operational management. Participants examine inbound receiving, putaway, storage, slotting, replenishment, picking, packing, dispatch and returns. They use ABC and XYZ analysis, reorder points, safety stock, cycle counting, warehouse KPIs, labour standards and capacity planning. Attention is also given to warehouse layout, material flow, WMS data, traceability, security, safety controls and continuous improvement.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with case analysis, group problem-solving, warehouse scenarios, calculations and process-design work. Participants assess realistic issues such as dock congestion, inventory discrepancies, slow-moving stock, pick-face stockouts and poor order accuracy. They leave with a reusable warehouse and inventory control toolkit containing process maps, stock-control calculations, KPI definitions, count plans and a 90-day improvement plan suitable for adaptation to their own operation.

The course is suited to professionals who manage, supervise or support warehouse and inventory activities and need a structured understanding of how warehouse processes, inventory policies and performance controls fit together.

What you will be able to do

  • Map end-to-end warehouse flows using SIPOC and swimlane process mapping
  • Design storage, slotting and stock-rotation rules for defined SKU profiles
  • Apply receiving, inspection, putaway and discrepancy-control procedures
  • Calculate EOQ, reorder points and safety stock from demand data
  • Create cycle-counting plans and investigate inventory record discrepancies
  • Select picking, replenishment and dispatch methods for different order profiles
  • Measure warehouse performance using operational KPIs, labour standards and capacity measures
  • Produce a prioritised warehouse improvement plan using PDCA and root-cause analysis

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Make defensible decisions on stock levels, replenishment and storage allocation
  • Diagnose causes of inventory discrepancies using transaction and process evidence
  • Improve credibility when discussing warehouse KPIs, capacity and operating costs
  • Apply recognised methods such as ABC analysis, EOQ, 5S and PDCA
  • Build a practical improvement plan for a current warehouse issue

For your organisation

  • Higher inventory record accuracy through disciplined transaction and counting controls
  • Lower travel, rehandling and congestion through improved layout and slotting
  • Fewer stockouts and excess holdings through better replenishment parameters
  • Improved order accuracy and dispatch reliability through controlled fulfilment processes
  • Clearer warehouse performance reporting for operational and management decisions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can map core warehouse processes and identify control points, handoffs and sources of waste.

  • Warehouse operating model: inbound, storage, fulfilment and returns process flows
  • Order profiles, SKU characteristics and service promises shaping warehouse design
  • Process mapping using SIPOC and swimlane diagrams to expose handoffs
  • Material flow analysis identifies travel, waiting, queues and rehandling
  • Warehouse policies linking customer requirements, controls and operating procedures
  • Roles, accountability and escalation through a RACI responsibility matrix

Participants can select storage methods and create slotting rules that support safe, efficient material flow.

  • Slotting principles match SKU velocity, dimensions, weight and handling constraints
  • Calculate storage capacity using pallet positions, cube utilisation and occupancy
  • Select racking, shelving, bins and floor stacking for product profiles
  • Apply FIFO, FEFO and LIFO rules to stock rotation decisions
  • Design pick paths using ABC zoning and travel-distance reduction
  • 5S workplace organisation supports visual control and safer aisles

Participants can control inbound goods from delivery appointment through inspection, acceptance and location assignment.

  • Appointment scheduling smooths dock demand, labour peaks and vehicle waiting
  • Inspect receipts against purchase orders, ASN data and delivery documentation
  • Apply quantity, quality and damage checks before goods acceptance
  • Record discrepancies through goods-received notes, claims and quarantine status
  • Putaway logic assigns locations by velocity, compatibility and replenishment needs
  • Cross-docking criteria distinguish direct flow from reserve storage requirements

Participants can classify stock and set practical replenishment parameters for different item categories.

  • ABC analysis segments inventory by annual consumption value and control intensity
  • XYZ analysis classifies demand variability for planning and replenishment decisions
  • Calculate economic order quantity from demand, ordering and holding costs
  • Set reorder points using lead time, demand rate and safety stock
  • Safety stock calculations address demand variation and supplier lead-time uncertainty
  • Choose periodic or perpetual review policies for different SKU classes

Participants can establish cycle-counting, reconciliation and adjustment controls that improve inventory accuracy.

  • Cycle counting plans assign frequencies using ABC classes and error history
  • Investigate stock discrepancies through transaction tracing, recounts and root-cause analysis
  • Reconcile physical counts with WMS balances and finance records
  • Control adjustments through approval limits, audit trails and reason codes
  • Apply blind counts and tolerance rules to reduce counting bias
  • Inventory record accuracy metrics identify systemic process-control failures

Participants can select and control fulfilment methods that improve order accuracy, speed and carrier handover.

  • Wave planning groups orders by carrier cutoff, zone and priority
  • Batch, cluster and zone picking matched to order profiles
  • Replenishment triggers protect forward pick faces from stockouts
  • Verify picks using check digits, barcode scans and weight checks
  • Packing standards select cartons, dunnage, labels and shipping documentation
  • Dispatch controls confirm carrier handover, load sequencing and proof-of-delivery

Participants can identify operational risks and apply practical controls for people, stock, facilities and traceability.

  • Risk assessments address manual handling, vehicle movements, fire and pedestrian segregation
  • Safe systems of work govern forklifts, racking inspections and dock operations
  • Segregate damaged, hazardous, temperature-sensitive and returned goods using defined status controls
  • Food, pharmaceutical and regulated stock require traceability and quarantine discipline
  • Security controls protect high-value inventory through access, seals and CCTV
  • Incident reporting, corrective action and near-miss review strengthen warehouse controls

Participants can define accurate warehouse master data and use KPIs to manage service, productivity and inventory control.

  • WMS master data defines item dimensions, locations, units and handling rules
  • Barcode, RFID and GS1 identifiers support accurate transaction capture
  • Configure location naming conventions for logical storage and directed putaway
  • Track OTIF, pick accuracy, dock-to-stock time and inventory accuracy
  • Dashboard design separates leading indicators from outcome measures and targets
  • Data-cleaning checks prevent duplicate SKUs, invalid units and inactive locations

Participants can estimate warehouse resource needs and monitor the cost and capacity drivers of operations.

  • Labour standards estimate staffing from order lines, touches and standard times
  • Capacity plans balance docks, storage, equipment and labour constraints
  • Calculate warehouse cost per order, line, pallet and cubic metre
  • Daily management boards expose plan-versus-actual performance and operational constraints
  • Plan peak-season contingencies using volume forecasts, overtime and temporary labour
  • Carrier schedules and cutoffs align outbound workload with transport capacity

Participants can prioritise warehouse improvements and prepare a structured action plan with measurable controls.

  • Value-stream mapping identifies waste across receiving, storage, picking and dispatch
  • Apply PDCA cycles to test warehouse process improvements and controls
  • Root-cause analysis uses five whys and fishbone diagrams for recurring errors
  • Prioritise improvements using impact-effort matrices, risk ratings and ownership
  • Standard work documents stabilise revised processes, checks and escalation points
  • 90-day action plans sequence quick wins, measures and review dates

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

What you take back to work

  1. Warehouse process mapping template
  2. ABC-XYZ inventory classification model
  3. Reorder point and safety stock calculation sheet
  4. Cycle-counting and discrepancy investigation checklist
  5. Warehouse KPI dashboard specification
  6. 90-day warehouse improvement plan

Who should attend

  • Warehouse Managers — responsible for service, cost, safety and inventory accuracy
  • Warehouse Supervisors — need consistent methods for controlling daily warehouse operations
  • Inventory Controllers — manage stock records, counts, adjustments and replenishment parameters
  • Supply Chain Coordinators — connect warehouse activity with purchasing, planning and customer demand
  • Logistics Officers — oversee receiving, storage, dispatch and transport handovers
  • Procurement and Operations Professionals — need stronger control of stocked materials and warehouse performance

Skills and tools covered

Warehouse process designInventory controlStorage and slottingReceiving and putawayOrder fulfilmentWarehouse performance management

Tools and standards

ABC analysis, Economic order quantity (EOQ), 5S, PDCA cycle

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce warehouse methods, controls and calculations, followed by case work and facilitated group analysis. Participants work with receiving records, SKU data, warehouse layouts, stock discrepancies, order profiles and performance measures. Simulations examine the effects of changing demand, lead times, storage constraints and picking methods. Group exercises apply process mapping, ABC analysis, count planning and root-cause analysis. Each participant develops application priorities for improving warehouse and inventory control in their own setting.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic familiarity with purchasing, stockholding, warehousing, logistics or operations administration. Experience using stock records, spreadsheets, ERP transactions or warehouse documents is helpful, but specialist system knowledge is not assumed. Participants should be comfortable working with simple calculations involving quantities, lead times, costs and percentages. No prior formal qualification in supply chain management is required. Programming skills, advanced data analysis, warehouse equipment licences and prior experience managing a warehouse are not required.

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 understand basic stock, purchasing, warehousing or logistics terms and be comfortable with simple numerical calculations. Prior warehouse management experience is useful but not essential.

Bring a laptop if possible, along with examples of non-confidential warehouse reports, stock issues or process documents you want to improve. Course materials and calculation worksheets are provided.

The course is designed for warehouse managers, supervisors, inventory controllers, logistics officers and supply chain coordinators. It also suits procurement and operations staff responsible for stocked materials or warehouse performance.

Procurement training focuses on sourcing, supplier management and contracting, while transport training focuses on freight movement and carrier management. This course concentrates on physical stock control and warehouse processes between receipt and dispatch.

Participants can use the templates and methods to review warehouse flows, classify inventory, strengthen count controls and define practical KPIs. The final application plan helps convert identified priorities into assigned actions and review dates.

Training runs from 08:30 to 16:30 each day, providing about 6.5 contact hours daily. The programme moves from warehouse design and inbound control through inventory planning, fulfilment, performance management and improvement 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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