BSc in Trade Logistics & Documentation
Course Overview
If you want to run a customs desk, a freight-forwarding branch or a trade-documentation team inside a UK importer, exporter, freight forwarder or a London-based logistics arm of an overseas group, the BSc in Trade Logistics & Documentation at the London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is built for you. Sitting in the International Business & Trade faculty, this three-year honours degree combines the core business curriculum with the working post-Brexit customs rulebook — the Border Target Operating Model, CDS declarations, Incoterms 2020, and the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement — plus practical freight documentation.
You will complete a placement year with a UK freight forwarder, customs broker or exporter, produce a live customs-clearance case in year two and defend a final-year capstone in front of a working BIFA-member customs practitioner. The BSc in Trade Logistics & Documentation is available on-campus in central London, fully online with UK / APAC cohort calls, and by distance learning from 2026.
Key Features
- Curriculum reviewed against CIPS, CILT and BIFA competencies, so the credential lands with UK freight and customs employers.
- Three study modes — central London campus, fully online with UK / APAC cohort calls, or distance learning.
- Placement year with a UK freight forwarder, customs broker or mid-market exporter.
- Live customs-clearance case from a UK importer or exporter each cohort.
- Documentation lab covering CDS declarations, commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin and dangerous-goods declarations.
- Final-year capstone defended in front of a working BIFA-member customs practitioner.
What You Will Learn
The degree organises trade logistics around the working questions a customs desk actually faces: which commodity code applies, which Incoterm shifts the risk, what documents the border needs today, and how not to miss the pre-lodgement window for a ferry crossing at Dover.
- Incoterms 2020 in trade practice — risk transfer, cost allocation, common errors.
- UK customs declarations — CDS mechanics, commodity classification, valuation rules.
- Border Target Operating Model and post-Brexit border-control practice.
- Freight documentation — bills of lading, air waybills, CMR notes, certificates of origin.
- International freight modes — sea, air, road, rail and multimodal design.
- Cross-border supply chains and CIPS-standard sourcing.
- Trade compliance — sanctions screening, export licences, dual-use goods.
- Trade finance basics — letters of credit, documentary collections, open account.
- UK Export Finance schemes and trade insurance essentials.
- Capstone research on an original trade-logistics or customs-documentation question.
Who This Course Is For
- A-level leavers aiming for graduate schemes in freight forwarding, customs brokerage and importer / exporter operations.
- International students who want a UK honours degree recognised across trade logistics.
- Working professionals in freight, customs or logistics moving into management responsibility.
- Career switchers from retail or hospitality moving into a UK trade-operations career.
- Family-business successors taking on cross-border shipping and documentation responsibility.
Career Pathways
Graduates typically progress into customs, freight-forwarding and trade-documentation roles across UK importers, exporters, freight forwarders and London-based logistics groups. The degree supports applications but does not by itself guarantee job offers or visa outcomes. Typical destinations include:
- Global Supply Chain Analyst
- International Logistics Coordinator
- Trade Documentation Officer
- Customs Operations Manager
- Freight Forwarding Executive
- Import / Export Coordinator
The BSc in Trade Logistics & Documentation is the natural step onto the MSc in Global Trade Management, the MSc in Trade Compliance and Regulation, or a professional-body track with IOE&IT, CIPS or CILT.
Entry Requirements
- Three A-levels at BBC or above, or equivalent UK / international qualification (IB 28+, BTEC DMM, Access to HE, Foundation Year pass, or a relevant Higher Diploma with confirmed credit transfer).
- GCSE English Language at grade 5/C and Mathematics at grade 4/C (or equivalent).
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band below 6.0) for non-native English speakers.
- A personal statement showing genuine trade-logistics curiosity (work in freight, retail supply, family exporting, travel). Mature applicants (21+) may enter with a portfolio and a short interview.
Why Study at LSIBM
The London School of International Business and Management (LSIBM) is a specialist business-education provider based in central London and part of Harold International College. Undergraduate cohorts sit in small groups so every student is visible to their tutor, run a single intake schedule students can rely on, and every degree route is reviewed against UK professional-body competencies — ACCA, CIMA, CIM, CIPD, CMI, CIPS, CFA UK and IOE&IT — so graduates carry a credential that City recruiters engage with.
London puts the City, Canary Wharf, Whitehall, Companies House, the FCA, the Bank of England and the West End within a short tube ride of every classroom. Undergraduate students access a fortnightly practitioner clinic, at least one industry-careers day per academic year, a structured placement route and one-to-one application coaching in the final year.
Apply for the BSc in Trade Logistics & Documentation
Launch your UK career with the BSc in Trade Logistics & Documentation. Click Enrol Now and admissions will reply within one working day with UCAS guidance, intake dates and the current fee schedule. LSIBM undergraduates receive structured placement and application coaching in every final year.
