SSG.com Partners with Hyundai Glovis to Launch 'Eco-Friendly Logistics'... Introducing 'Cold Chain Electric Delivery Vehicles'

Kwak Jeong-woo, Head of Operations at SSG.com (left), and Kim Jin-gon, Head of New Growth Logistics Division at Hyundai Glovis, are posing for a commemorative photo on the 26th at Neo003 in Gimpo City ahead of the pilot operation of the country's first eco-friendly cold chain (refrigerated/frozen) electric delivery vehicle service. (Photo by SSG.com)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] SSG.com is introducing and pilot-operating the country's first electric delivery vehicle capable of 'cold chain' logistics. While there have been pilot operations of electric vehicles for general parcel delivery trucks that are not sensitive to temperature, the integration of refrigeration and freezing functions, which consume high amounts of electricity, had not been realized due to technological limitations.

On the 26th, SSG.com announced that it will deploy eco-friendly electric delivery vehicles at its online store 'NE.O 003' located in Gimpo and put them into actual delivery operations. Prior to this, SSG.com and Hyundai Glovis completed the first verification process in mid-November at Emart Cheonggyecheon branch, testing the cold chain maintenance capability and stability of the electric delivery vehicles.

This deployment of electric delivery vehicles is part of the 'Business Agreement for Establishing Eco-friendly Refrigerated Electric Vehicle Delivery Service' signed by SSG.com and Hyundai Glovis in October last year. At the time of the agreement, SSG.com announced plans to pilot-convert some delivery vehicles to eco-friendly electric vehicles, while Hyundai Glovis would be responsible for vehicle supply and delivery operations.

Accordingly, SSG.com and Hyundai Glovis plan to conduct a three-month pilot test in actual delivery sites and then gradually expand the introduction of electric delivery vehicles. Through this, both companies aim to align with the government's 'Green New Deal policy' by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, diesel delivery trucks consume an average of 15 liters of diesel per day per vehicle, which translates to approximately '38 kg CO2eq' in greenhouse gas emissions. In comparison, using electric delivery vehicles of the same specifications is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to '16.7 kg CO2eq' per day, achieving about a 56.2% reduction effect.

Gwak Jung-woo, Head of Operations at SSG.com, said, "Recently, 'ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management' has been recognized as a key factor for sustainable corporate growth. Since 2013, our company has consistently pursued eco-friendly delivery policies, and we will elevate these efforts to deliver the value of 'good delivery' to our customers."

In practice, SSG.com uses paper bags for its same-day delivery system 'Sseuk Delivery' and has proactively introduced 'Albi Bags' for dawn delivery, which can be reused semi-permanently. Additionally, since April, all order confirmations, previously issued on paper, have been converted to mobile formats, leading the e-commerce industry’s eco-friendly delivery trends.

Meanwhile, to commemorate the introduction of eco-friendly electric delivery vehicles, SSG.com plans to hold an 'ECO Eco-friendly Product Exhibition' from the 30th of this month to the 6th of next month. The event will focus on discounts for pesticide-free, organic agricultural products, and low-carbon environmental certification products. Furthermore, customers who purchase more than 20,000 KRW worth of products from the exhibition and enter the event will receive 3,000 SSG Money as a gift.

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