What is the best way to analyze container shipping performance metrics data?

1 Define your goals and KPIs

The first step to analyze container shipping performance metrics data is to define your goals and key performance indicators (KPIs). Your goals should be aligned with your business objectives and strategies, and your KPIs should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, if your goal is to reduce costs, you may choose KPIs such as total shipping costs per TEU, fuel consumption per nautical mile, or average cost per port call. If your goal is to improve service reliability, you may choose KPIs such as on-time delivery rate, schedule adherence, or cargo damage rate.

2 Collect and standardize your data

The next step is to collect and standardize your data from various sources, such as carriers, terminals, freight forwarders, or third-party logistics providers. You need to ensure that your data is accurate, complete, consistent, and timely, and that you use the same definitions and units for your metrics across different sources. You may also need to clean, validate, and transform your data to make it suitable for analysis. For example, you may need to convert currencies, adjust for exchange rates, or normalize data for seasonal variations.

3 Choose your analytical methods and tools

The third step is to choose your analytical methods and tools based on your goals, KPIs, data, and resources. You may use different methods and tools depending on the type and level of analysis you want to perform. For example, you may use descriptive analysis to summarize and visualize your data, such as using charts, tables, or dashboards. You may use diagnostic analysis to identify and explain the causes and effects of your data, such as using correlation, regression, or root cause analysis. You may use predictive analysis to forecast and estimate future outcomes of your data, such as using time series, simulation, or machine learning. You may use prescriptive analysis to recommend and optimize the best actions based on your data, such as using optimization, decision analysis, or scenario analysis.

4 Interpret and communicate your results

The final step is to interpret and communicate your results to your stakeholders, such as management, customers, or partners. You need to present your results in a clear, concise, and compelling way, using appropriate formats, visuals, and narratives. You need to highlight the key findings, insights, and recommendations from your analysis, and explain how they relate to your goals and KPIs. You also need to provide evidence and support for your results, such as using data sources, assumptions, or limitations. You also need to solicit feedback and suggestions from your stakeholders, and use them to improve your analysis and actions.

Analyzing container shipping performance metrics data is not a one-time task, but a continuous and iterative process. You need to monitor and update your data, goals, KPIs, methods, tools, and results regularly, and adjust them according to the changing market conditions, customer expectations, and business opportunities. By following these steps, you can enhance your container shipping performance and gain a competitive edge in the global market.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?