Goal of the Day

Today you will learn core logistics management concepts, explore Titan’s Freight and Tariff datasets, and identify major cost drivers within the supply chain.
You will prepare yourself for cleaning and analyzing freight cost patterns to support logistics optimization later in the project.

Detailed Tasks with U2xAI Prompts and Interview Preparation Focus

1. Study Logistics and Freight Management Concepts

  • What to Do:
    Study key logistics components:
    • Inbound and outbound transportation
    • Freight charges and landed cost
    • Shipping modes (air, sea, road)
    • Freight cost contracts and surcharges (fuel surcharge, handling fee)
  • U2xAI Prompt:
    "Explain core concepts of logistics and freight management, and how freight costs impact supply chain efficiency."
  • How This Helps for Interviews:
    Interviewers commonly ask, “What are major logistics cost components?” or “How does logistics affect supply chain profitability?” — You’ll be ready with a crisp answer.
  • Time Recommendation: 1 hour

2. Review Freight and Tariff Datasets

  • What to Do:
    Open logistics datasets:
    • Freight Transactions
    • Shipment Master
    • Tariff Structure
    • Tariff Trade Policy Data
      Look for fields like: shipment ID, mode of transport, origin, destination, base freight cost, fuel surcharge, tariff applied.
  • U2xAI Prompt:
    "List common fields found in freight and tariff datasets and explain their importance for analyzing logistics costs."
  • How This Helps for Interviews:
    You may be asked to quickly interpret logistics datasets: “If I give you shipment data, what KPIs would you create?” Understanding fields is critical.
  • Time Recommendation: 1.5 hours

3. Identify Major Freight Cost Drivers from Data

  • What to Do:
    Analyze which fields will likely drive freight cost, such as:
    • Distance between origin and destination
    • Mode of transport (air is costlier than sea)
    • Tariff rates per country
    • Weight and volume of shipment
  • U2xAI Prompt:
    "Identify key cost drivers in logistics freight datasets and explain how each one influences total freight cost."
  • How This Helps for Interviews:
    Interviewers often ask scenario-based questions: “How would you reduce freight costs by analyzing data?” — This prepares you to answer practically.
  • Time Recommendation: 1 hour
  • What to Do:
    Prepare a mapping between fields and KPIs like:
    • Average Freight Cost per kg or per shipment
    • Cost per lane (origin-destination pair)
    • Freight Mode Distribution (how much by air, sea, etc.)
    • Impact of Tariffs on Total Landed Cost
  • U2xAI Prompt:
    "Suggest key logistics cost KPIs that can be calculated using shipment and freight datasets, and explain their business relevance."
  • How This Helps for Interviews:
    You’ll be able to quickly suggest KPIs in response to questions like, “If asked to audit logistics performance, what KPIs would you propose?”
  • Time Recommendation: 1 hour

5. Document Logistics and Freight Data Process Understanding

  • What to Do:
    Write a simple document showing:
    • Key fields in freight and tariff data
    • Typical cost components (base freight, surcharge, tariff)
    • High-level logistics process flow (shipment creation to delivery)
  • U2xAI Prompt:
    "Help me create a short documentation describing the logistics process flow and how freight data fields relate to logistics KPIs."
  • How This Helps for Interviews:
    Shows you can structure business processes into a clean, understandable flow — a valuable skill for analyst and operations consulting roles.
  • Time Recommendation: 45 minutes

6. Plan Freight Data Cleaning Activities for Tomorrow

  • What to Do:
    List the cleaning checks you need to perform next session:
    • Missing shipment IDs
    • Incorrect or missing weights
    • Tariff mismatches
    • Unusual or negative freight charges
  • U2xAI Prompt:
    "What are common data quality issues found in freight and logistics datasets and how should they be cleaned?"
  • How This Helps for Interviews:
    If asked, “Before analyzing freight data, what cleaning steps would you perform?”, you’ll have a ready, structured checklist.
  • Time Recommendation: 15 minutes

Step-by-Step BUILDUP Application for Day 8

  • Breakdown:
    Focus on understanding logistics cost structures and freight data relevance.
  • Understand:
    Study dataset fields and their connection to logistics KPIs.
  • Implement:
    Identify freight cost drivers from the data.
  • Link:
    Map shipment fields to logistics performance KPIs.
  • Document:
    Write a summary describing logistics workflows and freight data points.
  • Upgrade Progress:
    Plan data cleaning activities (error checks and cleaning goals) for tomorrow.

Deliverables for Today

  • Logistics Process Summary Document
  • Freight and Tariff Data Fields Review Sheet
  • List of Key Freight Cost Drivers
  • Logistics Cost KPI Mapping Table
  • Freight Data Cleaning Plan for Day 9

Practice Interview Questions for Day 8

  1. What are the major components of freight cost in supply chain logistics?
  2. How do tariffs influence total landed cost calculations?
  3. What KPIs would you propose to track logistics performance?
  4. If you find missing weight data in freight transactions, how would you address it?
  5. How would you identify lanes where freight cost optimization is needed?

Bonus Task:
Record a 2-minute voice memo answering:
“If Titan’s air freight costs are unusually high, what are the top 3 steps you would take to investigate?”