Import manager (new job title: foreign trade manager): training, schools and information at a glance

The Foreign Trade Manager course lasts 1.5 years. It takes place on a part-time basis. It has a modular structure and 9 modules are examined at the end at the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE).

In a preparatory course for the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) for foreign trade managers (formerly import managers), the following topics are covered:

• Defining business processes in foreign trade
• Monitoring the movement of goods and services
• Ensuring cash flow and payment security
• Defining the framework conditions for foreign trade
• Assessing and applying legal issues in foreign trade
• Defining risk management
• Shaping the organization and leadership
• Defining marketing and communication
• Planning and monitoring finances

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Foreign trade managers usually carry out the following activities:

• Strategy and management:
  • They continuously analyze the international market and its developments and develop concepts for foreign trade in goods and services.
  • develop a risk management system with the management
  • draw up a business plan for foreign trade in their area of responsibility
  • Creating partial and total budgets and monitoring compliance with them
  • Calculate foreign trade figures and derive and implement suitable measures from them
  • create concepts for targeted national and international marketing
  • examine the possibilities of an internationalization strategy
• Supporting projects and major customers
• Check, monitor and optimize processes
• Managing and supporting employees

As a foreign trade manager, you should have the following personal skills:

• Service awareness
• Negotiating skills
• Networked thinking and action
• Planning and organizational skills
• Eloquence and negotiating skills
• Ability to work in a team
• Numeracy (confident handling of data and numbers)

After completing continuing education, further training to become a foreign trade specialist with a Federal Diploma of Higher Education, you cannot take the examination to become an import manager (diploma in foreign trade management) immediately afterwards, but must have at least two years of professional experience in foreign trade after obtaining the Federal Diploma of Higher Education by the registration deadline for the final examination. Practical experience includes employment in transit trade, international trade, export, import or freight forwarding.

The following modules are examined at the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE):

• Defining business processes in foreign trade
• Monitoring the movement of goods and services
• Ensuring cash flow and payment protection
• Establish framework conditions for foreign trade
• Assessing and applying legal issues in foreign trade
• Defining risk management
• Shaping organization and leadership
• Determine marketing and communication
• Planning and controlling finances

The continuing education, further training for the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) in Export Management / Import Management no longer exists under this name. It now bears the name "qualified foreign trade manager".

The examination regulations for the diploma in foreign trade management (AFPE), formerly export manager / import manager AFPE, do not explicitly stipulate that you must have completed certain modules and be able to prove that you have completed a preparatory course in order to register for the final examination. However, if you look at the subject areas and their variety, which are tested orally and in writing in the final examination (clearly shown in the question "Which topics are covered in the continuing education, further training to become an import manager?"), you will realize that attending a preparatory course for the Advanced Federal Professional Examination (AFPE) is almost essential in order to actually acquire the required knowledge in a professional manner.