Transportation modal choice in coolant importation through total costs minimization: a case study

Transportation plays a very significant role when it comes to the costs of a company representing on average 60% of logistics costs, so its management is very important for any company. The transportation modal choice is one of the most important transportation decisions. The purpose of this article is to select the transportation mode which is able to minimize total costs, and consistent with the objectives of customer service on the coolant import, which is used in plasma cutting machines. With the installation of a distribution center in Brazil and the professionalization of the logistics department of the company, it was decided to re-evaluate the transportation mode previously chosen to import some items. To determine the best mode of transportation was used basic compensation costs, in other words the cost compensation of using the shuttle service to the indirect cost of inventory related to the modal performance. Through the study, it was possible to observe it may be possible to save up to 73% on the coolant international transportation by changing the transportation mode used by the company.