An acute shortage of qualified personnel is one of the main problems of domestic logistics. And since this area provides an opportunity to work remotely, many people think about how to become a freight forwarder at home. To do this, you need to choose the type of activity, learn the basics of the profession and solve organizational issues on the arrangement of the work process and the search for a vacant position.
What kinds of activities in the field of logistics can be done at home
The main advantage of working as a logistician is the high income of the profession. On the other hand, and the load in the field of cargo transportation is quite large. And so, thinking about how to become a logistician, where to start and how much you can earn, you need to make a choice what kind of activity you plan to engage. These may be the following positions:
Dispatcher – performs communication between the customer and the direct carrier (driver). The essence of the work is to receive calls from customers, selecting performers, calculate the cost and coordinate the time of loading and delivery. Home dispatcher usually works with private clients and private carriers of goods. Remuneration of the dispatcher is calculated by the rate for each shift (one day). This type of activity requires almost no skills and is available to beginners. And therefore, in this direction very often work for women on maternity leave.
Manager of sales of logistics services – carries out comprehensive work on the search for clients. His tasks include analyzing the service market, maintaining a base of regular customers, ringing up the customer base and the search for new customers, registration of contracts and reporting, advertising transportation services. Manager for the sale of logistics services works with customers, production and trade companies or individual entrepreneurs, offering freight transportation services. Earnings for this position are formed from the interest for each transaction carried out. Such a specialist, as a rule, is a representative of the carrier’s company.
A logistician (logistics manager) is a high level specialist. His tasks include developing the most optimal delivery routes, selecting carriers, calculating cost reductions, tracking shipments, coordinating the work of the warehouse and the delivery time of goods. Such a specialist is most often a hired employee of the company of the supplier of the products, which needs freight forwarding services. A logistics manager’s salary is expressed as a monthly salary and various bonuses in the form of bonuses.
How to study transportation logistics
Domestic education offers few opportunities for logistics training and most of the skills you can get in a practical way or on private courses. First of all, you need to familiarize yourself with theoretical knowledge, which includes learning all areas of logistics, types of transport, cargo classification and route calculation techniques.
To work from home, you can take distance learning logistics courses:
ESCO course – consists of 30 classes with an individual instructor. The course costs from $10 per month. Assumes 30 logs, which allows you to learn offline.
Portal Lectorium, the course “Logistics” – training for a logistician on this program includes 50 videos and 16 practical assignments, provided for 16 weeks. The course is organized by St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. Training is free online.
The course is offered by the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The course includes 8 practical lessons, which will help to practice skills for working as a logistician (carrier selection, HMS calculation, work with tracking systems). Also, the course provides the opportunity to take several practical classes with a field trip to the company, which will be a useful experience even if you plan to work at home. The cost of the course is $400. The program exactly meets the requirements of the professional standard “Specialist in Transport Logistics”. Classes are held in a webinar format.
Eco-gruzovoz.com – the material is adapted for the UA (Ukraine), RU (Russia), KZ (Kazakhstan) and BY (Belarus) regions. Express course lasts 10 days, includes 10 hours of theory plus practical classes. The cost of the course starts from $150.
In addition to the profession itself, you will also need to learn supportive skills that will allow you to get the job done quickly and professionally, as well as build a serious career in the long run:
Microsoft Excel. A program that allows you to work with spreadsheets, perform economic and statistical calculations, and prepare reports.
English. This skill will be of interest to those who plan to engage in international transportation.
The techniques of effective sales and communication. A logistician constantly communicates with customers and carriers (drivers). Therefore, it is necessary to have good communication skills to be able to resolve conflict situations quickly.
Time management (time management). Working as a logistician (especially at home) implies being in touch at all times. For example, dispatchers work by the day, which means that to work effectively, you need to learn planning and self-control.
Personality Psychology. The ability to identify the psycho-type and mood of customers and partners without personal communication will allow you to establish contacts faster and more actively conclude contracts.
Knowledge of geography. You must be familiar with at least the region you are going to work with. Also you will need the ability to work with maps, knowledge of time zones, climatic conditions and analysis of social and political situation in the region where the route will be laid.
As a rule, trucking dispatchers are trained by the hiring company. And if you are looking for options on how to become a logistician without material investment, start with this particular position.
Work schedule and income of a home-based logistician
Assessing the possible level of earnings, you need to imagine what logistics is in practice. It’s quite hard work processing a lot of information in order to find the most optimal (economical) route for the delivery of cargo.
Profession logistician allows the beginner to earn an income of $ 200 per month. On the other hand, the salary of an experienced specialist often reaches $4,000. Of course, this high level of salary you can get only if you work permanently, not remotely. When working at home, the earnings can be about a third of these amounts. The average statistical figures for the income of beginner logisticians by country are presented in the following gradation:
A logistician’s real earnings from home also depend on the format of his activity. For example, the standard work schedule for a trucking dispatcher: one day of work and two days off. This means that you will actually work about 10 days a month. Paying an average of $15 per day. Thus, the dispatcher can earn from $150 per month.
