Integrated Logistics Planning for Supply Chain Success Training Course

Course overview

Integrated logistics planning is the discipline that turns a demand signal into a coordinated set of inventory, transportation, and distribution decisions before the first pallet moves. This course treats planning as a craft in its own right: the forecast that seeds a replenishment plan, the inventory position that sets a service ceiling, the transportation schedule that protects or erodes margin, and the sales-and-operations (S&OP) planning cycle that reconciles all of them into one agreed number. Instead of chasing reactive fixes, participants learn to build a rolling plan that anticipates variability and commits capacity deliberately. Even a decision as ordinary as safety stock draws on the rigor covered in Inventory Planning & Optimization for Supply Chains.

The course walks through the integrated planning cycle as practitioners run it: choosing forecasting models, setting inventory targets by segment, designing transport networks, wiring plans into ERP and analytics platforms, and stress-testing for resilience. Each stage is framed around the trade-off planners live with daily, holding enough inventory and capacity to meet promised service without tying up cash or overspending on freight. The emphasis stays on planning judgment: how a demand plan becomes a supply plan, then a distribution plan, and how those plans get owned, measured, and revised.

Why this matters

Logistics costs absorb a large share of the cost of goods sold, and most is committed at the planning table long before execution. When a demand forecast drifts, the error propagates: inventory piles up in the wrong echelon, expedited freight replaces planned ocean moves, and delivery windows slip. The S&OP discipline emerged to close that gap, giving commercial, supply, and finance teams one monthly cadence to agree on volumes, inventory targets, and capacity. Frameworks like the SCOR model from ASCM, with metrics such as MAPE, inventory turns, and perfect order fulfillment, give planners a shared vocabulary for judging a plan.

The economics reward integration. A demand plan never reconciled with distribution capacity produces service failures, while a transportation plan built without visibility into inventory positions produces half-empty trucks and missed consolidation. Sectors from fast-moving consumer goods to pharmaceuticals now run integrated business planning so a change in service policy shows up immediately in the cost forecast. Getting this right separates a supply chain that meets its service level agreements at target cost from one that buys its way out of poor planning.

Course objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Test forecast models for fit using MAPE and bias.
• Allocate safety stock from demand swings, not flat rules.
• Structure transport plans for responsiveness and delivered cost.
• Assemble one agreed number set from demand, supply, and finance.
• Connect service and cost targets to inventory and network flows.
• Adapt the planning cycle when live positions contradict it.
• Weigh sourcing and buffer choices against carbon cost.
• Negotiate shared forecasts and vendor-managed commitments.
• Resolve the step where the planning cycle breaks down.

Course outline

Unit 1: Principles of integrated logistics planning

• The SCOR plan-source-make-deliver frame for logistics.
• Demand, inventory, supply, and distribution in one flow.
• S&OP cadence linking sales, operations, and finance.
• Global reach via Incoterms and multi-echelon networks.

Unit 2: Demand forecasting and inventory alignment

• Modeling demand with Holt-Winters, ARIMA, and causal methods.
• Setting reorder points against cycle service level targets.
• Integrating forecasts into distribution planning (DRP).
• Avoiding stockouts by classifying SKUs with ABC and XYZ.

Unit 3: Transportation and distribution optimization

• Designing hub-and-spoke, cross-docking, or direct shipment.
• Distribution tactics via postponement and mode choice.
• Vehicle routing logic and trailer fill targets.
• Documented transport efficiency cases on delivered cost.

Unit 4: Technology in integrated logistics

• Digital tools that shorten the replanning cycle.
• SAP IBP and Oracle joined on one planning data model.
• Control towers feeding live positions back into the plan.
• Demand sensing and optimization engines adjusting plans.

Unit 5: Building resilient and successful supply chains

• Risk mapping across single-source links and demand shocks.
• Dual sourcing, buffers, and carbon-aware mode choice.
• Collaboration via vendor-managed inventory and CPFR.
• Benchmarking SCOR inventory turns and perfect order.

How the course is delivered

The teaching approach favors dialogue over one-way delivery. An expert instructor takes the group through worked planning examples, walkthroughs of documented forecasting and inventory cases, and guided discussion of the trade-offs each decision creates. Participants practice on documented data throughout. The course is educational in nature and does not certify systems or deliver a compliance assessment of any planning function.

Who should attend

It is designed for demand and supply planners, inventory and materials managers, logistics and distribution managers, S&OP and integrated business planning leads, transportation planners, and supply chain analysts who own or influence the planning cycle. It also fits procurement and operations professionals moving into planning roles.

About EuroQuest International Training

Founded in 2015, EuroQuest International Training is a professional training company headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia. More than 15,000 professionals have completed its courses, drawn from a catalog of over 1,000 titles. Sessions are hosted across the organization's hubs in Barcelona, Dubai, Geneva, Vienna, Paris, London, and Istanbul.

Frequently asked questions

Is a certificate provided when I finish the course?

Yes. Delegates who finish are issued a EuroQuest certificate of completion. The certificate documents attendance and the material covered, and although it is not a credential from a certification body, it works well as a professional-development record.

Is a statistical or forecasting background required to follow along?

No advanced background is required. Forecasting and inventory methods are explained from first principles, and worked examples show how each calculation supports a planning decision. Familiarity with spreadsheets and supply chain terms is helpful but not essential.

What planning methods and tools will we work with?

It covers forecasting models such as exponential smoothing and ARIMA, inventory logic including safety stock and ABC and XYZ segmentation, distribution requirements planning, transport network design, and the S&OP cycle. It also shows how these plans are supported inside ERP and analytics platforms.

Related courses

Participants who want to go deeper on specific parts of the planning cycle often continue with these related courses:

• Predictive Analytics & Demand Forecasting in Logistics
• Machine Learning for Demand Forecasting
• Strategic Planning for Transportation & International Shipping
• Big Data Management & Predictive Logistics Planning

Register for this course

Build the planning judgment that keeps logistics aligned with service and cost goals. Reach out to EuroQuest International Training to check the next available date and enroll.