Logistics Activity and Cost of Entrepreneur or Cooperative (Lan Tay) Oil Palm in Krabi Province

Abstract

     The objectives of the research were to study the logistics activity and costs and to propose ways to reduce them for the Entrepreneur or Cooperative (Lan Tay) Oil Palm Industry in Krabi. The data were collected from 53 entrepreneurs or cooperatives. A stratified random sampling methodology was used with the data divided into 7 districts (Amphur). The results revealed that the logistics activities of the entrepreneur or cooperative could be divided into 5 operating activities: (1) procurement, (2) material handling, (3) warehouse and storage, (4) transportation and (5) communication activity in the logistics cycle. Warehouse and storage management were a feature of Lan Tay which has wide open space and is roofless which has an effect on the weight of oil palm which becomes lower than the actual amount. The respondents conducted 86.79 percent of the transportation themselves, with 41.51 percent of the entrepreneurs or cooperatives transporting their crops from 1 to 50 kilometers. The logistics costs of the respondents were 0.1241 baht/ kilogram. The recommendations for the entrepreneurs and cooperatives were that they should transport their crops themselves with 6-wheeled trucks being appropriate for purchasing to carry loads of less than 10 tonnes a day while 10-wheeled trucks would be more appropriate for carrying more than 25 tonnes a day. There should be more collaboration with other entrepreneurs and cooperatives to set standards of cooperation.