Interview with Kim Sang-hyuk, CEO of PlayAuto
Industry's Largest with Over 6,500 Clients
"Easy and Intuitive"... Annual Transaction Volume of 5.6 Trillion KRW
"Supporting Online Expansion Consulting for Small Business Owners"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] As online sales become more active, the number of small business owners entering various platforms such as Naver and Coupang is increasing. This is because expanding sales channels increases touchpoints with consumers. However, registering products, managing orders, and responding to customers on each platform can be quite cumbersome. PlayAuto’s integrated solution is a work support tool designed to reduce the time and energy sellers spend on these tasks and to increase productivity.
Kim Sang-hyuk, CEO of PlayAuto (photo), said, “Unlike the overseas platform market divided between Amazon and eBay, various online shopping malls have emerged in Korea. The ‘needs’ of sellers who have to sell products on multiple platforms led to the development of the country’s first integrated solution in 2004.”
As the online market rapidly grows, PlayAuto’s sales have also increased annually, from 6.8 billion KRW in 2018 to 8.3 billion KRW in 2019, and 11.7 billion KRW last year. The company has about 6,500 clients, one of the largest in the industry, and the annual transaction volume reaches 5.6 trillion KRW. The surge in non-face-to-face and digital transactions due to COVID-19 also played a role. CEO Kim predicted, “Currently, the ratio of online to offline markets is about 4 to 6, but if this trend continues, it will be reversed this year or next.”
With a bright market outlook, there are roughly 50 companies, large and small, providing integrated online platform solutions like PlayAuto. Users mostly evaluate it as “easier and more intuitive than other solutions.” Lee Ho-cheol, CEO of FindK, an online import and distribution company with annual sales of 4 billion KRW, said, “After using PlayAuto, productivity increased and inefficient time was reduced. Yesterday’s order details are pre-collected, so work can start immediately upon arriving at the office the next day.” The company has high credibility as it counts large corporate affiliates such as Hyundai Livart, CJ Freshway, and E-Land Retail among its clients. The usage fee is 50,000 KRW per month, with additional charges depending on the functions used or order volume.
Since November last year, Coupang has been offering PlayAuto’s integrated solution free of charge to sellers newly registering products on its platform. CEO Kim said, “We have formed a partnership to support a one-click service that makes product registration on Coupang convenient,” adding, “The number of new customers through Coupang is increasing surprisingly.” He also said, “We are always open to collaboration with platforms or shopping malls,” and “We want to help online sellers sell products across various channels.” PlayAuto is participating in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ ‘Online Export Agency Support Project’ to assist small business owners entering Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.
In the future, the company plans to utilize its abundant data to provide online market analysis and consulting. CEO Kim stated, “Small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners are inevitably at a disadvantage compared to large corporations in terms of information asymmetry and price competitiveness,” and added, “We will support online expansion by providing meaningful information that can be estimated from data, such as market size and average sales of the relevant product category.”
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