Life @ Blue Ocean
Mastering Business Excellence · Logistics & Shipping
New hires and coordinators learn how an international shipment is planned, booked, containerized, documented and cleared with Fundamentals of Shipping.
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In many forwarding offices experienced staff carry the whole shipment in their heads and everyone else learns by asking. Fundamentals of Shipping gives new coordinators, sales support staff and customer service teams the structured version.
It explains who the parties are, what a vessel and a port actually do, how a container is chosen and measured, which of the eleven Incoterms rules moves cost and risk where, and which documents make a shipment release and get paid, and then builds out into customs, insurance, chartering, quotations and multimodal forwarding.
The program is 32 hours of self-paced online content on the Blue Ocean learning platform at Foundation level, so a cohort with no shipping background can start from the first module.
Teams study on web or mobile around the working day, and the administrator dashboard gives HR or the operations manager a view of enrollment, progress and completion. Study resources and templates let participants rehearse a booking, a volume calculation or a document set before handling a live file, and a digital, verifiable MBE credential marks successful completion.
Foundation level means the program assumes nothing. It fits graduate intakes and career starters joining a forwarder, shipping line or port operator, and it fits people already in the business whose knowledge stops at their own desk. Logistics coordinators who book and chase shipments get the picture behind each milestone.
Freight forwarding personnel in sales and customer service learn to talk about modes, containers and Incoterms with authority. Supply chain practitioners in manufacturers and retailers discover what their forwarder is doing on their behalf. Because the content is shared ground, a mixed cohort from operations, sales and finance tends to produce better conversations than a single team studying alone.
Across 21 modules the sequence runs from first principles to professional practice. Modules 1 to 4 introduce the vocabulary, the shipment journey, maritime transport, ship types and ports. Module 5 defines the forwarder's role, and modules 6 and 7 cover cargo, containers, shipment planning and containerization.
Modules 8 to 11 follow the export and import workflow, apply the Incoterms 2020 rules and cover shipping documents and bills of lading. Modules 12 to 16 add maritime law, customs basics, dangerous goods awareness, marine insurance and chartering. Modules 17 to 20 turn to freight quotations, digital documentation, multimodal forwarding and decarbonization, and module 21 is a capstone on the professional forwarder.
That is the audience it was built for. The level is Foundation, and module one begins by defining shipping, forwarding and the logistics vocabulary before following a shipment from seller to buyer. Someone joining from retail, finance or a graduate scheme can follow every module in order and arrive at documentation and Incoterms with the context needed to understand them.
Module nine treats the Incoterms 2020 rules as working tools rather than a list to memorize. Participants learn what the rules do and do not govern, how the eleven rules split into two families and four groups, where risk and where expense transfer under each, and how to choose a rule based on transport mode, container use, insurance and the control a party wants.
Modules six and seven. Module six treats the container as the standard planning unit: cargo types and characteristics, the FCL versus LCL consolidation decision, and measuring volume, weight and chargeable basis. Module seven explains why containerization replaced break-bulk, the unitization principle behind it, how a standard container is built and identified, and how it is certified and secured for transport.
Further than the title suggests. After the core modules on vessels, ports, forwarding roles, containers, workflow, Incoterms and documents, the program continues into bills of lading and the contract of carriage, maritime law, customs basics, dangerous goods awareness, marine insurance, chartering and freight markets, freight quotations, digital documentation, multimodal forwarding and decarbonization, before a capstone on professional practice.
Very much so. Shippers who outsource to a forwarder still sign the contract, choose the Incoterms rule, supply the documents and absorb the delays. Module five explains the forwarder's responsibilities, liability and standard trading conditions, which tells an in-house team what it can expect and what remains its own job. Modules eight and ten cover the workflow and documents that team supplies.
There are 32 hours of self-paced content on the Blue Ocean learning platform, accessible on web and mobile. Nothing is timetabled, so an onboarding manager can set a target such as completion within the probation period and let each person pace the modules around shadowing and desk work. The administrator dashboard shows how far each new joiner has progressed and when they finish.
Use the Register Now button on this page. It opens Fundamentals of Shipping on the Blue Ocean Academy website, where individual learners can enroll directly.
Your organization licenses seats for a cohort or a whole team. Participants study the self-paced modules on the Blue Ocean learning platform, on web or mobile, and your administrator follows enrollment, progress and completion on a dashboard.
Yes. A pilot cohort in one department is a practical first step. Use the corporate license form, and a program advisor will map the relevant courses and license options to your teams.
Request a corporate license for your next intake of coordinators, or run a pilot cohort in one branch and compare the results.
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