CLTD study guide
CLTD · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution (CLTD) is one of the professional credentials offered by the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), the organization behind the APICS certification family that also includes CPIM, CSCP and CTSC. ASCM describes its APICS certifications as globally recognized and positions them as preparation for professionals who need to navigate uncertainty and lead with confidence when supply chains are under pressure. CLTD is aimed at practitioners whose work sits at the movement and storage end of the supply chain: logistics and transportation managers, distribution and warehouse leaders, inventory and network planners, and the analysts and consultants who support them. The exam is organized around four domains - Logistics Fundamentals; Logistics Planning and Management; Logistics Execution; and Logistics Control - so it tests both transactional knowledge (modal selection, warehousing, order management) and the managerial layer above it (network design, capacity and demand alignment, cost and performance measurement). The CLTD study guide has 4 sections and about 1,224 words.
01Logistics Fundamentals: Value, Service, and Total Cost
Logistics is the part of supply chain management that plans, implements, and controls the efficient forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services, and related information between origin and consumption to meet customer requirements. Supply chain management is broader: it adds purchasing, manufacturing, marketing, and the management of inter-organizational relationships.
305 words, about 2 min02Logistics Planning and Management: Horizons, Forecasts, Inventory
Planning runs in three layers. Strategic (2–5+ years): network design - number, location, and mission of DCs, flow paths, outsourcing to 3PLs.
320 words, about 2 min03Logistics Execution: Orders, Warehousing, Transport
Order cycle time = order entry + processing + picking/packing + transit + delivery + customer receipt. Order management includes credit check, inventory allocation, order promising (ATP/CTP), and exception handling.
301 words, about 2 min04Logistics Control: Metrics, Perfect Order, Risk
Control closes the loop: set targets, measure, compare, correct. Build a metrics hierarchy - financial (cost per order, logistics cost as % of sales), productivity (units per labor hour, dock-to-stock time), quality (order accuracy, inventory accuracy, damage rate), and customer (OTIF, fill rate, cycle time).
298 words, about 1 min