Market Kurly "Expanding Dawn Delivery Outside Seoul Metropolitan Area Based on Gimpo Logistics Center... Starting in the First Half" (Comprehensive)

"Choose the best products and receive them quickly at home in the freshest condition"
CEO Kim Seul-ah: "Corporate culture and future investments will be based on this value"
After opening Gimpo Logistics Center, daily order processing capacity reaches 440,000 boxes, double the previous
Expanding dawn delivery service to densely populated areas near the metropolitan area within the first half of the year

Seul-A Kim, CEO of Kurly.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Market Kurly will expand its dawn delivery service area beyond the metropolitan area in the first half of this year. With the opening of the Gimpo Fresh Logistics Center, the daily processing capacity has more than doubled compared to before, enabling the expansion of the service range. The funds secured through the planned initial public offering (IPO) within the year are expected to be focused on workforce investment, while also considering service expansion to major regional areas.

On the 30th, Kim Seul-ah, CEO of Kurly, held a press conference at the Gimpo Logistics Center in Gyeonggi Province and stated, "With the opening of the Gimpo Logistics Center, the average daily order processing capacity has increased from about 220,000 boxes (combined dawn and parcel delivery) to approximately 440,000 boxes, doubling the previous capacity," adding, "We plan to expand the dawn delivery service area to densely populated areas near the metropolitan area within the first half of the year."

Market Kurly is an online fresh food shopping service that started in May 2015 with the question, "Isn't there a way to select good products and receive them at home in the freshest condition?" It is famous for its 'dawn delivery' service, where orders are delivered by the next morning. The number of service subscribers, which was about 50,000 when the service began in May 2015, exceeded 7 million last year. CEO Kim said, "To maintain quality while delivering quickly, a logistics system that manages products in optimal condition must be established," adding, "The Gimpo Logistics Center is also an extension of the initial concern when the service started."

She said, "When preparing the Gimpo Logistics Center in 2019, the number of members was less than half of the current number, but we decided to invest with the idea that all users should have the same experience," emphasizing, "Among the 7 million members now, 1 million shop at Market Kurly every month. Through infrastructure such as logistics centers, we will deliver unchanging value to those who have used the service so far and those who will use it in the future."

The recently opened Gimpo Logistics Center by Kurly is the largest fresh food logistics center in South Korea. It covers a total area of 82,644㎡ (25,000 pyeong), which is 1.3 times the combined area of the four existing centers, including the Jangji Logistics Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul. A distinctive feature of the Gimpo Logistics Center is that it is equipped with refrigerated, frozen, and ambient temperature centers to maintain product freshness.

With this, Market Kurly plans to have the Jangji Logistics Center focus on the southeastern metropolitan area and the Gimpo Logistics Center on the northwest to improve delivery efficiency. The areas outside the metropolitan area where dawn delivery service is expected to expand within the first half of the year include Daejeon, Sejong, and the Chungcheong region.

It is also notable that the Gimpo Logistics Center has introduced the 'QPS (Quick Picking System)' automation system. This system was built by LG CNS. Unlike the 'DAS (Digital Assorting System)' method applied at the Jangji Logistics Center, in QPS, the product sorting staff remain in place while boxes move via rails to their location for product insertion. It is designed to immediately proceed to the packaging stage, enabling rapid processing.

CEO Kim emphasized, "While the Jangji DAS processes orders in batches of 200, the Gimpo QPS is a system that allows real-time picking and packing, providing flexibility according to order volume changes." She added that minimizing work movement reduces worker fatigue and increases concentration, thereby improving productivity, which is another advantage of QPS.

Kurly judged that QPS is the optimal system for operating fresh food. CEO Kim said, "The UK online grocery distributor 'Ocado' has full automation through robot systems, but it takes a lot of time for inbound and outbound processes, making flexible operation difficult during peak order times. The frozen center has limitations due to unverified systems," adding, "Ultimately, the important thing is to deliver the promised quality to customers by the promised time. Through QPS, we have optimized fresh food delivery, which involves daily inbound and outbound, by efficiently combining appropriate automation and manpower." This method is also evaluated as being suitable for flexibly responding to dawn delivery service, where up to 40% of total orders are concentrated between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. As a result, Kurly's Gimpo Logistics Center achieved a 20% reduction in manpower compared to the Jangji Logistics Center when processing the same order volume.

CEO Kim said, "With the opening of the Gimpo Logistics Center, Kurly is preparing to expand beyond the metropolitan area with the goal of increasing customers," adding, "We hope this logistics center expansion will be a stepping stone for greater growth as a leading dawn delivery company in Korea."

Meanwhile, Market Kurly is preparing for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange this year. The funds obtained through the listing are expected to be used for IT workforce investment and service expansion.

CEO Kim said, "The online penetration rate for markets other than food is around 50-70%, but even with an aggressive view, food is less than 20%," adding, "We expect food to rise to 60-70%, and in that process, Market Kurly also sees many opportunities for business expansion." She continued, "If we pursue profitability alone in a rapidly growing market with much value to create for customers, the priorities will be reversed," emphasizing, "We will continue to provide more services to customers as we have done so far, growing volume, and based on that, we will also secure efficiency."

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