KOTRA Accelerates 'Digital Transformation'... Roadmap to Be Established Within the Year

Starting Next Month on the 1st, Initiating the Establishment of the 'Digital Transformation' Vision

Kwon Pyung-oh, President of KOTRA (Photo by KOTRA)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] KOTRA announced on the 31st that it will begin establishing the 'KOTRA Digital Transformation' vision starting next month on the 1st. Amid the acceleration of digital transformation among global companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, KOTRA plans to innovate its existing trade and investment promotion services by leveraging digital technologies. The organization aims to establish a related roadmap within this year and embark on full-scale digital transformation from next year.

KOTRA will promote its unique digital transformation across three areas: customers, business, and operations. This includes ▲creating new customer value and experiences, ▲building a trade and investment ecosystem through new business models, and ▲innovating work methods to improve processes.

First, a system will be established where customers can easily find information, ask questions about unknowns, and apply for necessary services. Since early this year, KOTRA has been providing global market information collected from overseas trade centers through the 'Trade and Investment Big Data Service.' Currently, Korean companies can input product information to explore promising export countries and markets, and in the future, they will receive recommendations for trade partners suited to their capabilities as well as services from KOTRA and related organizations.

Business models and platforms will also be innovated. The online business-to-business (B2B) marketplace 'BuyKorea' will be revamped. By enhancing video consultation arrangement systems and online exhibition functions, the plan is to develop it into Korea's representative e-commerce platform. Online international exhibitions utilizing the Korea brand will be held, and 'K-Studio' will be established domestically and internationally to support entry into global distribution networks.

Additionally, KOTRA plans to build an open innovation-type collaboration system that commercializes creative ideas proposed from the private sector. It will utilize external startup technologies to perform services and internally adopt an 'agile' organizational operation method that repeats short cycles. The company also plans to expand in-house training to cultivate digital talent.

Kwon Pyung-oh, President of KOTRA, stated, “The success or failure of digital innovation depends on the digital capabilities possessed by the entire organization and the leadership abilities that can induce participation and drive change among members.” He added, “We will devote all efforts to digital transformation to provide better services to more customers externally and to perform work more efficiently internally.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.