Fast and Explosive
As Korean e-Commerce company Coupang announced to invest 1.5 trillion won (US$1.32 billion) in its rocket delivery service and create 40,000 jobs by 2017, it created a sensation in the distribution industry.
At a press conference held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, on Nov. 3, Coupang CEO Kim Bum-suk presented its logistics business strategy, saying, “With a massive investment, we will revitalize the ailing Korean economy.”
The company is planning to increase the number of “Coupang men,” the nickname of the company’s delivery men, from the current 3,500 to 15,000 by 2017. Also, it has decided to expand its logistics and customer service force from the current 6,000 to 24,000 in 2017. Together, Coupang will hire 40,000 people by 2017. Since launching the Rocket Delivery service in March last year, the company hired Coupang men to deliver goods to customers in person.
With a goal to offer same-day delivery services for the entire nation, Coupang also said that it will increase the number of its large logistics centers from the current 14 to 21 in 2017. The two-year investments include US$1 billion (1.13 trillion won) from SoftBank, Japan’s third-largest wireless carrier, in June, and US$400 million (453.4 billion won) from American venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and New York-based asset manager BlackRock last year.
Kim said, “When Coupang completes the logistics system, which allows customers around the nation to receive products on the same day, we can completely overcome immediacy, which is considered the limit of the online market. Such an innovative delivery service will be recorded as the only case not only in Korea but also around the globe.”