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Looking for a supply chain management course in Durban that your whole team can attend together? BOTI runs its supply chain, procurement and contracts training courses in-house at your premises anywhere in Durban, including Umhlanga, the CBD and Pinetown, or live online. We bring the facilitator, the materials and practical case studies that reflect how goods move through KZN, so your buyers, planners, warehouse and logistics staff upskill together without losing days to travel.
Why Durban businesses train their supply chain teams
Durban is one of South Africa’s main logistics hubs, and that puts supply chain and procurement skills under real pressure here. The Port of Durban, with Richards Bay further up the coast, feeds a dense network of clearing agents, freight forwarders, transporters and bonded warehouses. Around that sits KZN’s manufacturing base, including automotive, chemicals, packaging and food processing, plus a large retail and FMCG distribution sector serving the eastern seaboard.
That mix means local teams deal daily with port congestion, demurrage and detention costs, import documentation, customs clearance timing, inland haulage to Gauteng, and the buffer-stock decisions that come with sitting at the end of a long shipping lane. Classroom theory on its own does not fix those problems. Training grounded in how goods actually move through Durban does.
The course suits Durban teams such as:
- Port, freight and logistics operators in and around the harbour and Bayhead managing imports, exports and 3PL flows.
- Manufacturers in Pinetown, New Germany, Mobeni, Prospecton and the south industrial basin who need tighter inbound procurement and supplier management.
- Retail, wholesale and FMCG distributors running DCs that supply stores across KZN and the Eastern Cape.
- Corporate, professional-services and public-sector buyers in Umhlanga and the CBD tightening procurement governance and spend control.
In-house and on-site delivery across Durban
We deliver this course as in-house training at your own premises: your boardroom, training room or warehouse mezzanine. Once you have six or more delegates this is usually the most practical route, because the whole team trains at once and the content is tailored to your sector, suppliers and systems.
How it works:
| Delivery option | Suits | Where |
|---|---|---|
| On-site at your premises | Teams of 6+ wanting tailored, sector-specific content | Umhlanga, CBD, Pinetown, Mobeni, Prospecton, Westville, anywhere in the eThekwini metro |
| At BOTI’s venue | Smaller groups or delegates who prefer to train off-site | Sunningdale, Johannesburg |
| Live online | Hybrid teams or staff split across KZN branches | Online, facilitator-led |
On-site delivery works well for Durban’s industrial belt. The facilitator can walk through your actual procurement and warehouse processes at your facility in Pinetown or Prospecton, and use your real supplier and inventory examples in the exercises. For head-office and professional buyers in Umhlanga and the CBD, the same course runs equally well in a boardroom. Where staff are split across sites, a live online session lets everyone train together.
What the course covers
The two-day Procurement and Supply Chain Management programme gives delegates a practical, end-to-end view of how supply chains are planned, sourced and run. It then focuses on procurement as the function that controls cost and supplier risk.
Core topics include:
- Supply chain fundamentals: the flow from supplier to customer, and how planning, sourcing, making, delivering and returns fit together.
- Procurement and sourcing: the procurement cycle, specifications, sourcing strategy and supplier selection.
- Supplier and contract management: onboarding, performance measurement, SLAs and managing supplier risk.
- Inventory and demand: stock holding, reorder logic, safety stock and the cost of carrying inventory (especially relevant to import-led KZN buffer stock).
- Logistics and distribution: moving goods, warehousing, and the port and inland-haulage realities of operating out of Durban.
- Cost, negotiation and value: total cost of ownership, negotiation basics and delivering measurable savings.
- Governance, ethics and compliance: procurement controls, audit trails and ethical sourcing.
For in-house groups, the emphasis is adjusted to your sector. A Pinetown manufacturer’s group might spend more time on inbound supplier management, while a retail DC focuses on demand planning and distribution.
Who should attend
This course suits staff at most levels of the buying and supply function, including:
- Procurement, buying and sourcing officers
- Warehouse, stores and inventory controllers
- Logistics, distribution and supply chain coordinators
- Operations and production staff who place or manage orders
- Managers and team leaders who want a structured refresher and a common language across the team
No prior qualification is required, only day-to-day involvement in buying, stock or supply.
Certification
The Procurement and Supply Chain Management programme is a practical, facilitator-led short course. It builds workplace skills but does not lead to a qualification. If your organisation needs an accredited route, BOTI is a QCTO-accredited Skills Development Provider. For stores, receiving and dispatch staff, look at the Occupational Certificate: Dispatching and Receiving Clerk, or browse BOTI’s accredited training options. Occupational certificates end in an external integrated summative assessment (EISA), and the QCTO issues the certificate.
Funding: Skills Development levy and B-BBEE
In-house training for your Durban team can be a sensible use of your Skills Development budget, and it can count towards the skills development element of your B-BBEE scorecard. How much it counts depends on your own circumstances.
- Skills Development Levy (SDL): the levy is 1% of the leviable amount (total remuneration). Employers whose leviable amount over the next 12 months will not exceed R500,000 are exempt[1].
- Mandatory grant: levy-paying employers can claim back 20% of the levies they paid as a mandatory grant. To qualify, they must submit their Workplace Skills Plan and Annual Training Report by 30 April and be up to date with levy payments. Unclaimed mandatory grant money moves to discretionary funding by 15 August[2].
- B-BBEE skills development: the amended generic Codes, gazetted on 31 May 2019, set an overall target of 6% of the leviable amount. This is made up of 3.5% on learning programmes for black people and 2.5% on bursaries for black students at higher education institutions, plus a further 0.3% for black employees with disabilities[3]. Sector codes may differ.
- A single on-site group can therefore cover staff development, appear in your training plan and report, and support your skills development spend.
This is general guidance, not financial or legal advice. BOTI does not promise grants or scorecard points, so confirm the details with your skills development facilitator or B-BBEE verification agency.
Related supply chain and logistics courses
- Logistics and Distribution Management Course (2 days): for transport, warehouse and distribution teams.
- Supply Chain Management Course (1 day): a shorter introduction for staff new to the function.
- Mastering Asset and Inventory Management: Stock and Fixed Assets (2 days): for stores and inventory controllers.
- Governance and Efficiency in Tendering and Supply Chain Management (3 days): for public-sector and governance-focused buyers.
- Contract Management Course (2 days): for staff who manage supplier contracts.
- Supply chain and procurement training in Cape Town and in Johannesburg.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I study a supply chain management course in Durban?
BOTI runs its supply chain and procurement training in-house at your premises anywhere in the eThekwini metro, including Umhlanga, the CBD, Pinetown, Mobeni, Prospecton and Westville. Smaller groups can also train at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or live online with a facilitator.
Is the supply chain management course in Durban accredited?
No. It is a practical, facilitator-led short course, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance rather than a qualification. If you need an accredited outcome, ask BOTI about its QCTO occupational certificates, such as the Occupational Certificate: Dispatching and Receiving Clerk for stores and dispatch staff.
Do you offer logistics courses in Durban?
Yes. Alongside the procurement and supply chain course, BOTI runs a two-day Logistics and Distribution Management Course and a one-day Supply Chain Management Course. Both can be delivered on-site for Durban teams or live online.
Can we use our Skills Development budget for this training?
Training spend can form part of your workplace skills plan and your B-BBEE skills development spend, but the rules depend on your levy status, your SETA and your sector code. See the funding section above and confirm the details with your skills development facilitator or verification agency. BOTI does not promise grants or points.
How many people do we need for an in-house course in Durban?
In-house delivery is usually most practical from about six delegates. For smaller groups, or for staff spread across KZN branches, a live online, facilitator-led session lets everyone train together without travel.
Get a quote for Durban in-house training
Tell us your team size, your sector and your area, whether Umhlanga, the CBD, Pinetown or elsewhere in eThekwini, and we will put together a tailored proposal. You can also ask BOTI to help you scope your team’s skills gaps before you decide, or Request a quote or booking.
The course this page describes is Procurement and Supply Chain Management Training, a two-day programme for buyers, stores, logistics and operations staff. Call BOTI on 011 882 8853 or email [email protected]. Training runs in-house at your premises, at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or live online. This course is not accredited. It is delivered as a professional skills programme, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.
Sources
- Skills Development Levy – South African Revenue Service (SARS), 2026.
- Mandatory Grants – Health and Welfare SETA (HWSETA), 2026.
- Codes of Good Practice on B-BBEE: Code Series 300, Statement 300 – Skills Development (Government Gazette 42496) – Department of Trade and Industry, 31 May 2019.