Activity-Based Cost Analysis (ABC) for a Truck Freight Transport Service Providers: A Case Study of Transportation Company Phitsanulok Province

Abstract

This research seeks to 1) investigate the actual costs of trucking services and 2) evaluate value-added activities within the freight forwarding process. By applying the concept of activity-based cost analysis, an evaluation of the value of activities in the transportation process and the activity-based costing system of a logistics company in Phitsanulok Province was conducted. The analysis utilized detailed cost accounting data from transportation operations during 2019–2021, revealing that the costs exceeded the target values set by the company. The research findings show that the company has five main activities, comprising 21 sub-activities. These include transportation planning 300.11 baht/trip, coordination 3,436.99 baht/trip, vehicle arrangement 3,452.65 baht/trip, goods handling 2,337.58 baht/trip, and document preparation 1,034.64 baht/trip. The total transportation cost was 10,561.96 baht/trip, or 364.21 baht/ton, with cost components broken down into fixed costs of 48.67%, variable costs of 47.11%, and overhead of 4.23%. The coordination required the most time, averaging 23 min/trip/day, with an annual cost of 23,835,514 baht, representing 32.54% of the total costs. The pre-transportation phase consumed 55.66% of the total time, with an average duration of 13 minutes/trip. Three non-value-adding (NVA) activities accounted for 2 min/trip or 10.38% of the total time. Reducing these could reduce transportation costs by 17,629,124.16 baht/year, or 24.07% of the total expenses. Companies should integrate information technology into their data entry processes to streamline operations, reduce redundancy, minimize processing time, and decrease the likelihood of errors.