EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THAI RICE TRANSPORTATION LOGISTIC: A CASE STUDY TRANSPORTATION ROUTE FROM NAKORNSAWAN PROVINCE TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Abstract

The purposes of this research are1) to study the transportation logistics from Nakornsawan Province to foreign countries, 2) to study efficiency and effectiveness of Thai rice transportation logistics from the province to foreign countries, 3) to study the correlation between the transportation logistics and the efficiency and effectiveness, and 4) to investigate the samples of transportation logistics which are efficiency and effectiveness in the transportation route.

The population of this research includes an exporter, Yong, wholesalers and retailers, purchasing rice from rice mill or rice ports in the province, and transport entrepreneurs from the fifteen provincial districts. The samples for the quantitative research are 787 people and 8 people for qualitative research. The implements are questionnaires and interviews examined for accuracy by five experts in the field. The data from the implements are analyzed by descriptive statistics, frequency, percentage, average/mean, standard deviation, and inferential statistics /canonical correlation analysis and showed path diagram.

The conclusions of this study of the transportation logistics means indicated that both rail and waterway transportation logistics are correlated at middle level. Land transportation logistics is correlated at high level. In the efficiency and effectiveness of Thai rice transportation logistics, all three elements, transportation cost, lead time, and transportation reliability, are all correlated at high level.

The results of the canonical correlation analysis (canonical correlation = 0.645) indicate that the means of waterway transportation logistics and those of land transportation logistics are moderately correlated. Both affected the efficiency of Thai rice transportation logistics, including the transport cost, lead time, and transport reliability. The results of path analysis are affected by not only means of waterway transportation logistics, including waterway transport networks, junctions and merchandise gate ways but also means of land transportation logistics, including kinds of vehicles, junctions, merchandise gate ways and transport information technology. This also resulted from considering carrying cost, transport cost, lead time, transferring time, transportation reliability, and supply to customer’s demand.

The results of the qualitative research are from interviews of eight experts, including an exporter, Yong, wholesalers and retailers, purchasing for rice from rice mill or rice ports in Nakornsawan Province and Lopburi Province. Most experts give precedence to land transportation. This attributed to various road networks, various vehicle types, junctions to both waterway and rail transportation, gate ways to neighboring countries, and modern transport technology; while waterway transportation is at the second precedence. As for the efficiency and effectiveness of Thai rice transportation logistics, the experts place importance on not only transport cost, carrying cost, transferring cost, management cost, but also time, including carrying time, transferring time, transporting time, and responding-to-order time, together with reliability in delivering goods, response to customer’s demand, flaw products, and returned merchandise.