In today's competitive global market, controlling logistics expenses is crucial for maintaining profitability. At CNFANS Shipping, we believe that your historical data is a goldmine for uncovering savings. By systematically analyzing your spreadsheet data, you can make informed decisions that significantly reduce your freight costs.
The Power of Historical Data Analysis
Every past shipment recorded in your spreadsheets—containing fields like carrier name, origin/destination, dates, weight, dimensions, freight charges, and transit time—holds the key to future optimization. This data, when organized and compared, reveals patterns and outliers that are impossible to spot otherwise.
- Identify Cost Inconsistencies:
- Uncover Performance Trends:
- Benchmark Rates:should
- Uncover Performance Trends:
A Step-by-Step Guide to Spreadsheet Analysis
Transform your raw data into actionable intelligence with this practical approach:
1. Data Consolidation & Cleaning
Gather shipment data from the past 12-24 months into a single, standardized master sheet. Ensure consistency in carrier names, port codes, and currency formats. Remove duplicate entries and correct obvious errors.
2. Categorize by Route and Lane
Create consistent identifiers for your major trade lanes (e.g., Shanghai_TO_Los_Angeles). Group all historical shipments by these lanes. This allows for an apples-to-apples comparison, which is the cornerstone of effective analysis.
3. Compare Historical Freight Charges
For each lane, calculate key metrics:
The cheapest rate is not always the most economical if it leads to delays, damages, or hidden fees. Add performance columns to your analysis:
Create a final comparison matrix for your primary lanes. List all available carriers, their average historical cost, performance score, and reliability notes. This visual tool makes the optimal choice clear—often a carrier with a slightly higher rate but a perfect performance score will be more economical in the long run by avoiding supply chain disruption costs.
Average Cost per Kg/CBM:Cost Range (Min/Max):Carrier-Specific Averages:
4. Evaluate Route and Carrier Performance
Average Transit Time:Incident Rate:Assign a simple performance score (e.g., 1-5) to each carrier-lane combination.5. Synthesize for Decision-Making
Moving Beyond Basic Spreadsheets
While manual spreadsheet analysis is powerful, it can be time-consuming. For businesses with high shipping volumes, CNFANS Shipping recommends and can assist in implementing:
The goal is to move from reactive data recording to proactive cost management.
Dashboard Tools:Automated Rate Shopping:
Your Action Plan with CNFANS
Start today. Export your last year of shipments. Follow the steps above to identify your top 3 most expensive lanes and analyze them. You will likely find an immediate opportunity for savings. For a more comprehensive analysis and to leverage our carrier partnerships for optimal rates, contact the CNFANS Shipping optimization team. Let us help you turn your data into your most powerful tool for cost reduction.