Network design is often the single biggest lever a supply chain team has over cost, speed, and service — yet many organisations only test their network's limits after a client order fails to arrive on time. The choices at play are structural: where warehouses sit, how transport lanes connect them, and how distribution adapts once goods cross into new markets. Handled well, those choices turn a scattered set of country operations into one coordinated network. The Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization Training Course, delivered by the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy, prepares supply chain professionals to make exactly these structural decisions with confidence.

Rather than walking through global logistics topic by topic, this course builds outward from the physical network itself — starting with where inventory sits and how it moves, then addressing the layers of complexity that come with operating across borders. Participants work through warehouse location trade-offs between cost, speed, and service, learn to build a transportation network resilient enough for long-haul reliability, and study how distribution plans must flex for different regional infrastructure. Optimization and cost reduction are treated as one continuous exercise rather than separate topics, and participants use modelling techniques to pressure-test network decisions before capital is committed. Customs, currency, and regulatory differences are folded into the same practical lens, so participants finish with one integrated method for keeping a global network dependable as conditions change.

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

• Use network design principles to structure sourcing, production, and distribution as one system
• Weigh warehouse location decisions against cost, speed, and service requirements
• Build transportation networks that hold up across long distances and multiple regions
• Adjust distribution strategy for regional infrastructure and demand differences
• Combine optimization and cost-reduction techniques without eroding service levels
• Apply modelling and scenario analysis to test decisions before committing capital
• Manage the regulatory, customs, and currency complexity that comes with cross-border networks

Target Group

• Supply chain and logistics managers running international networks
• Network design and distribution planning professionals
• Operations managers accountable for multi-country performance
• Supply chain analysts and consultants supporting network decisions
• Professionals moving into global supply chain leadership roles

Module 1: Why Network Design Decides Global Performance

• How location, transport, and distribution choices compound into cost and service outcomes
• What separates a connected network from a set of local operations

Module 2: Locating Warehouses for Cost, Speed and Service

• Weighing warehouse location decisions against cost, speed, and service impact
• Balancing centralised hubs against regional responsiveness

Module 3: Building a Transportation Network That Holds Under Pressure

• Structuring transport lanes that stay reliable across long distances
• Managing handoffs across multiple transport modes

Module 4: Adapting Distribution to Regional Realities

• Adjusting distribution strategy for different infrastructure conditions
• Managing demand variability across diverse markets

Module 5: Squeezing Cost and Performance Out of the Network

• Applying optimization techniques to lift network performance
• Finding cost-reduction opportunities that don't erode service levels

Module 6: Modelling Decisions Before You Commit Capital

• Using modelling and scenario analysis to test network decisions
• Comparing trade-offs before capital is committed

Module 7: Cross-Border Complexity and Keeping the Network Current

• Navigating customs, currency, and regulatory differences across markets
• Building review cycles that keep the network's design current as markets shift