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Description

Air and Sea Freight: Selecting, Contracting and Tracking Your Shipments

Understand air and sea freight in order to balance cost against lead time on every shipment

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

A poorly prepared shipment is expensive. A container is held at the port because one document does not comply. An order is flown out under pressure at a cost that bears no relation to the value of the goods. An invoice for ancillary charges arrives long after delivery. Transport decisions are too often taken without visibility over the actual chain.

These two days help you regain control. You identify the parties involved in international transport and their respective responsibilities. You read a freight forwarder's quotation line by line. You build a well-argued comparison between air and sea freight. Finally, you organise the tracking of your shipments with clearly defined control points.

Learning objectives

  • Identify the role of each party in the air and sea transport chain
  • Select the appropriate mode of transport based on the cost and lead-time trade-off
  • Verify the transport documents issued for a shipment
  • Analyse a freight forwarder's quotation and identify sources of additional cost
  • Organise the tracking of a shipment through to delivery

What makes this programme different

Line-by-line analysis of freight forwarder quotations
Quantified air versus sea comparison built on your own shipping flows
Transport specification template provided at the end of the session

Programme

1Parties Involved and the International Transport Framework

Who does what and who answers for what

  • Shipper, freight forwarder, contracting agent and carrier
  • Freight forwarding mandates and agency arrangements
  • Liabilities and limits of compensation
  • Interaction with Incoterms

2Sea Freight

From booking to container release

  • Vessel types and load units
  • Booking and shipping documents
  • Bills of lading and binding clauses
  • Ancillary charges at origin and destination

3Air Freight

Speed, constraints and cost structure

  • Unit load devices and tariff rules
  • Air waybills
  • Dangerous goods and restrictions
  • Chargeable weight and the weight-to-volume ratio

4Selecting, Deciding and Tracking

Deciding on measurable criteria

  • Air versus sea comparison on cost, lead time and risk
  • Critical review of a freight forwarder's quotation
  • Control points for shipment tracking
  • Handling reservations and disputes

Who is it for

Staff in logistics, transport and sales administration functions, together with buyers and operations managers involved in international shipments.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.