Level 6 Diploma in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
For the planner, buyer, transport manager or warehouse lead who runs a link in the chain and wants to understand the chain. Six OTHM units of 20 credits each, taken part-time around a job that does not stop.
Particulars
| Awarding body | OTHM Qualifications, an Ofqual-recognised awarding organisation |
|---|---|
| Level | 6 on the RQF; the level of an honours degree1 |
| Qualification type | Diploma. Not a degree. |
| Credits | 120, in six mandatory units of 20 |
| Total Qualification Time | 1,200 hours, of which 480 are Guided Learning Hours 2 |
| Ofqual number | 603/4593/73 |
| Duration | 9 months (standard) or 6 months (fast track) part-time; to be confirmed by LSPM |
| Study modes | Online, Blended, Evening classes (availability per intake to be confirmed) |
| Fees | From £999 (9 months, standard) or £1,299 (6 months, fast track) · how fees work |
| Next intake | Rolling intake — course starts when the fee is paid |
| Assessment | Written assignment per unit; no examinations |
The programmeWhat this diploma is
Supply chains are run by people who came up through them, and this OTHM diploma meets them when experience alone has stopped being enough and a framework is needed. Its six units cover the planning and control of a supply chain, strategic procurement, global and international logistics management, project management, and, unusually for a logistics award, entrepreneurship development, a unit that treats the learner as a prospective proprietor rather than a member of staff. Ofqual regulates it at Level 6; it is neither a degree nor a chartered institute qualification.
Learners come to this diploma from third-party logistics providers, manufacturers, retailers, freight forwarders, the public sector and the armed forces. What they share is operational responsibility and a growing sense that the decisions being made above them are analytical, contractual and international in ways their own training did not cover. The assignments are designed to close that gap by making them analyse their own operation as a system.
The diploma's Global Logistics and International Logistics units are demanding for learners whose experience is purely domestic. We say so at enquiry, and applicants should ask LSPM what supplementary reading on customs, trade compliance and multimodal movement it provides for those units.
StructureUnits and credits
Six mandatory units; no optional units. Titles and credit values as published by OTHM.2
| Unit | Credits |
|---|---|
| 01Entrepreneurship Development | 20 |
| 02Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management | 20 |
| 03International Logistics Management | 20 |
| 04Project Management | 20 |
| 05Strategic Procurement | 20 |
| 06Supply Chain Planning and Control | 20 |
| Total | 120 |
Supply Chain Planning and Control opens the programme because it gives learners the model of a chain that every other unit assumes. Strategic Procurement follows, then Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management and International Logistics Management as a pair. Project Management is placed fifth and is taught with a live supply-chain change as its case. Entrepreneurship Development closes the programme; taken last, it asks the learner to bring everything before it to bear on a business they might run.
AdmissionEntry requirements
OTHM sets the entry criteria; LSPM applies them. As published:2
- Relevant NQF/QCF/RQF Level 5 diploma or equivalent recognised qualification
- Learner must be 18 years or older at the beginning of the course
- Mature learners (over 21) with management experience (learners must check with the delivery centre regarding this experience prior to registering for the programme)
- English requirements: If a learner is not from a majority English-speaking country must provide evidence of English language competency. For more information visit English Language Expectations page in this website.
Applicants holding a Level 5 award in logistics, supply chain, procurement, business or operations are admitted on the certificate. The majority come by experience, and for this diploma LSPM looks for sustained responsibility for an operation: a warehouse, a transport fleet, a planning desk, a procurement category, a customs function, or a military logistics role. Supervisory grades with several years' service are typical. Expect to be asked for a CV and for a short description, in your own words, of a problem you solved at work; it says more about analytical capacity than any form.
If you are unsure which route applies to you, enquire and say so; working that out is what the advice call is for.
MethodHow you are assessed
Assignments are set by LSPM against OTHM's criteria and are, wherever possible, about the learner's own operation: a planning and control review of a supply chain with identified failure points, a procurement strategy for a category with a sourcing rationale, an analysis of an international movement including compliance and risk, a project plan and business case for a supply-chain change, and an enterprise proposal with its market and financial case. Learners we have placed regularly report that an assignment became a real proposal at work; that is the diploma working.
The general arrangements for marking, moderation, feedback and resubmission are described on the how LSPM teaches page.
Time, honestly estimated
The published figure is 1,200 hours, 480 of them guided and 720 your own. Spread across the period you choose:
| If you finish in | Hours per week |
|---|---|
| Twelve months | about 23 |
| Eighteen months | about 15 |
| Twenty-four months | about 12 |
AfterwardsProgression
Top-up destinations are bachelor's degrees in logistics and supply chain management, in business with a supply chain or operations pathway, and occasionally in international business. The subject match is direct and the unit titles correspond closely to typical final-year modules. Universities with strong logistics departments are used to reading sector diplomas and generally admit with advanced standing where they recognise OTHM awards.
Professionally, the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport have their own qualification ladders and membership grades, which many senior roles specify. This diploma is not one of their awards and confers no membership; it may support an application for a membership grade or for exemptions, and whether it does is for the institute to say.
The mechanics of advanced standing, and the questions admissions tutors ask, are on the top-up degrees page.4 Slot: universities holding a current progression agreement for this award, verified before publication.
Not everyone wants the bachelor's. The other direction from here is a Level 7 diploma, at master's level, described on the companion site for Level 7 diplomas.
FitWho it suits, and who it does not
A good fit if you
- run a warehouse, fleet, planning desk, procurement category or customs function and want to understand the whole chain you are part of;
- hold a Level 5 award in business or operations and want a sector-specific Level 6 rather than general management;
- intend to top up to a logistics or supply chain degree, or to approach a chartered institute with degree-level study behind you.
A poor fit if you
- want a chartered institute qualification itself; CIPS and CILT run their own, and this award is not one of them;
- have no operational responsibility and no Level 5 award; a Level 4 or 5 logistics programme is the right start;
- need a purely domestic focus; two of the six units are international and assume interest in cross-border movement.
QuestionsAsked about this programme
Why is there an entrepreneurship unit in a logistics diploma?
Because OTHM's specification includes it, and because it works. Supply chain professionals who understand how a business is founded, financed and grown make better decisions about the businesses they serve. Learners often find it the unit that changes their view of their own employer.
Does this diploma count towards CIPS or CILT membership?
The institutes decide their own recognition and exemption arrangements and they change. Some Level 6 logistics awards have been recognised for certain grades in the past; this page does not restate any. Ask the institute directly with the Ofqual number 603/4593/7.
My experience is in military logistics. Is that relevant?
Very. Service logistics roles carry operational, planning and procurement responsibility of exactly the kind the units examine, and serving and former personnel are among the commonest experience-route applicants. Assignments can be written about a service operation subject to security constraints, or about a civilian case.
How international does my own experience need to be?
It need not be international at all, but two units are, and learners without cross-border experience should expect to read more for them. Ask LSPM what supplementary material on customs, trade compliance and multimodal transport it provides; its tutors help learners choose an international case to analyse.
Can the Project Management unit be used towards a project management certification?
It is a Level 6 academic unit, not an APM or PMI credential, and confers none. It does teach the methods those bodies examine, and learners preparing for such a certification find it a useful grounding. The two are complementary, not interchangeable.
Documents and application
Applications are made on London School of Planning and Management's own website, not this site; this site is LSPM's independent recruitment agent. Most people enquire first; the apply link is for those who have already had that conversation.
Brochure slot. The programme brochure (PDF) belongs to LSPM, is to be supplied by LSPM, and will replace this anchor.
Notes and sources
- GOV.UK, list of qualification levels (Level 6 includes honours degrees). ↩
- OTHM, OTHM Level 6 Diploma in Logistics and Supply Chain Management : qualification specification (PDF) consulted 30 September 2026; qualification page at othm.org.uk. Source for units, credits, hours and entry wording. ↩
- Ofqual, Register of Regulated Qualifications, qualification number 603/4593/7. ↩
- QAA, Higher Education Credit Framework for England (credit volumes; advanced standing). ↩