An identification of warehouse location in Thailand

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this research is to identify a province in Thailand where total transportation cost for shipping grocery goods from this province to customers in all other provinces is the lowest. Design/methodology/approach Transportation distances among provinces, freight rate and the number of population in each province were gathered. Total transportation cost was computed by taking distance, tapering freight rate and population including that in original province into account. Findings Based on pre-set assumptions, it reveals that Saraburi province has the lowest total transportation cost. Research limitations/implications This research emphasizes only transportation cost. For future research, other monetary and non-monetary factors such as land, labor, investment incentive, local government regulation should be considered together. Practical implications This is an industry-based research especially for retail and fast-moving consumer goods businesses. Originality/value This practitioner paper is one of the first to identify population, freight rate and distance-based warehouse location which can be determined as a location for Thailand’s logistics hub, particularly for retail or fast-moving consumer goods business in Thailand.