Analysis and comparison of air freight rates: A case study of ABC (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) analyze and compare air freight rates from individual service providers to select the most suitable carrier; and 2) develop a dashboard using Looker Studio to analyze and compare freight rates from each service provider for ABC (Thailand)Co., Ltd..This study is developmental research design employing a fishbone diagram as an analytical tool. The sample consisted of 9 employees from logistics department, including a manager, a department supervisor, and operational staff. Data collection involved structured interviews to analyze freight rate data management problems, alongside collecting air freight rate data from 7 service providers. The data was subsequently stored and managed via Google Sheets, and visualized through a Looker Studio dashboard to support decision-making. The results revealed a clear improvement in operational efficiency. The average data search time decreased from 3.41 to 2.70 minutes per instance — a reduction of 0.71 minutes — while the number of work steps dropped from 12 to 7 steps per instance, representing a decrease of 5 steps. Furthermore, decision-making speed enhanced significantly, with the average time taken dropping from 4.14 to 3.02 minutes per instance, yielding reduction of 1.12 minutes. These findings reflect that the process improvements enabled faster information retrieval, fewer procedural steps, and accelerated decision-making.