CILT Key Knowledge Areas (KKA’s)

KKAs are comprised of eighty Universal Concepts and eight Professional Areas.

Education programs for transport and logistics are expected to exhibit methods for ensuring that students will learn as many of the Universal Concepts at the undergraduate level. In a Master’s level course there will be greater specialisation and it would not be possible to cover as many of these areas.

The Eighty Universal Concepts

The most popular of the Eighty Universal Concepts are: (more can be found via this link):

  1. Overview of transport and logistics for organizations, the community and society
  2. The importance of logistics and transport in socio-economic development
  3. Stakeholders in logistics and transport; their varied requirements and influence
  4. Environmental impact of logistics and transport, energy options, green logistics and sustainability
  5. Business and market structures used in logistics and transport
  6. Innovation, performance improvement, benchmarking and good practice
  7. Management, measurement and evaluation of financial performance
  8. Key elements of national and international legislation
  9. Modal and intermodal characteristics and opportunities
  10. Health and safety in the transport and logistics environment
  11. Security and Risk management, assessment, mitigation and response
  12. Customer service quality and adding value
  13. Developing organizational strategies
  14. Economic principles of supply and demand
  15. Project Management and negotiations
  16. Importance of information systems for efficiency and effectiveness
  17. Leadership, management and the development of people
  18. Reverse Logistics and Lean Logistics
  19. Transport logistics financing and investment, insourcing vs. outsourcing
  20. Business ethics and corporate social responsibility

The Eight Professional Areas

In addition to providing coverage of the Universal Concepts, courses also need to demonstrate that students will develop knowledge and competence in one of the eight Professional Areas. The eight professional areas are listed below with links to the Universal Concepts as they relate to each of the areas.

The eight Professional Areas are:

  1. Supply Chain Management
  2. Operations Management
  3. Procurement and Supplier Management
  4. Logistics Systems
  5. Transport Infrastructure and Network Planning
  6. Passenger Movement
  7. Freight Movement
  8. International Trade and Transport