Business Intelligence (Metabase)

Fr8Labs' Business Intelligence layer gives every client company self-service access to operational, financial, and managerial dashboards — all powered by Metabase and accessible directly from the client portal.

How It Works

Your analytics dashboards live inside the Analytics Portal, which is built into the client portal you already use. No separate Metabase login needed.

Dashboards are organized into three categories that control who sees what:

Your company admin controls which team members can access each category.

Key Capabilities

Self-Service Dashboard Access

Dashboards are automatically provisioned the first time an admin visits the Analytics page. Your dashboard package is configured with your company's data filter. Wait for setup to complete; contact support if it does not finish.

Full guide: Analytics Portal — Getting Started

Dashboard Marketplace

The Marketplace tab inside the Analytics Portal lets admins browse and apply additional dashboard templates beyond the default package. Templates are organized by category and can be added with one click — they're automatically cloned with your company's data filters applied.

Browse the Marketplace for templates covering:

• Trade lane analysis and volume breakdowns

• Customer profitability and revenue trends

• Carrier performance comparisons

• Operational KPIs and SLA tracking

• Financial aging and cash flow reports

Dashboard Marketplace

AI-Powered Dashboard Creation

The AI Analytics Assistant lets you create custom dashboards and drill into your data using plain English — no SQL knowledge required. Describe what you want, and the AI generates the query, creates the visualization, and saves it to your dashboard collection.

Use cases:

• Board meeting questions that need answers in minutes, not weeks

• Market disruption exposure analysis (e.g., Straits of Hormuz, Red Sea diversions)

• Customer-specific QBR dashboards

• Ad-hoc financial deep-dives

Full guide: AI Analytics Assistant — Self-Service Dashboards

Custom Query Requests

For complex analytics requirements beyond what the AI can generate — such as cross-system joins, multi-step calculations, or compliance-specific reports — you can submit a request to the Fr8Labs analytics team.

Best practices for custom requests:

• Describe the business question you're trying to answer, not just the data fields

• Include the time period and any filters (customer, trade lane, shipment mode)

• Specify the audience — who will use this dashboard and how often

• Mention if it should be a one-time export or a recurring dashboard

• Provide an example of the expected output if possible (even a rough sketch helps)

Submit custom requests to your Fr8Labs account manager or via the support channel.

Standard Dashboard Package

Every new company is provisioned with a default set of dashboards across the three categories:

Operations dashboards include:

• Shipment volume by mode (Ocean/Air/Land)

• Active shipment status overview

• Delivery order (DO) tracking

• Container movement timeline

Finance dashboards include:

• Revenue by customer (monthly)

• Invoice aging summary

• Cost analysis by shipment

• Margin overview

Managerial dashboards include:

• Executive KPI scorecard

• Customer performance trends

• Trade lane volume analysis

• Month-over-month growth

Admins can add more dashboards from the Marketplace or create custom ones using the AI Analytics Assistant.

Access and Permissions

Admins should check each team member’s dashboard access and assigned categories in Team Access or the Users tab in the Dashboard Editor. Viewing permission and editing permission are different.

Full setup guide: Analytics Portal — Getting Started

Related Guides

• Analytics Portal — Getting Started — First-time setup, team access management, session handling

• AI Analytics Assistant — Self-Service Dashboards — AI chat, real-world scenarios, tips for best results

Documentation owner: Fr8Labs Customer Success. Text reviewed: 21 September 2026.