POSCO to Support SME Exports Using Its Own Platform

POSCO and Korea International Trade Association to Sign Cooperation Agreement on Supporting SME Maritime Transport on the 21st

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] POSCO is actively stepping up support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) facing difficulties in exports due to recent ship shortages and soaring freight rates.

On the 21st, POSCO and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) signed a "Cooperation Agreement for Supporting SME Maritime Transport" at the Trade Tower in Samseong-dong, Seoul. Attendees included Kim Kwang-soo, Head of POSCO Logistics Division, Lee Kwan-seop, Vice Chairman of KITA, and Kim Mi-ae, Head of the Public-Private Joint Export-Import Logistics Comprehensive Response Center at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

POSCO listened to the difficulties of small customers who often find it hard to secure timely vessels due to small export volumes and have to pay relatively high freight rates, which lowers their export competitiveness. To address this, POSCO developed an "Export Logistics Consolidation Platform" that allows customers' small cargo to be shipped together with POSCO's shipments, and has been piloting it since this year.

The "Export Logistics Consolidation Platform" is a win-win logistics platform developed by POSCO that eliminates the hassle of export companies wishing to consolidate shipments having to contact shipping companies frequently to check shipping schedules. It enables schedule checking and consolidation applications to be done online at once. During the pilot operation period, the volume of customer shipments consolidated with POSCO steel products reached 40,000 tons.

Through this agreement, POSCO plans to open the platform to SMEs without direct business relations with POSCO starting next month. Based on a stable annual export volume of 15 million tons and long-term transport contracts with major national shipping companies, POSCO intends to systematically support domestic SMEs by actively utilizing its global logistics infrastructure network. The consolidated cargo includes bulk cargo such as steel products, and the transport regions cover over 80 ports in seven global regions.

Detailed information will be posted later this month on POSCO's e-commerce site SteelAnd.com and the Korea International Trade Association website. Telephone consultations are also available through KITA’s Logistics Service Office or Trade Call Center.

Amid the ongoing global shipping crisis caused by COVID-19, this is the first time a large corporation has supported SME export logistics. POSCO expects this cooperation to serve as a catalyst for "export logistics win-win" between large corporations and SMEs in Korea.

Lee Kwan-seop, Vice Chairman of KITA, added, "We hope that this support project will lead to more cooperation between large corporations and SMEs in the future."

Kim Kwang-soo, Head of POSCO Logistics Division, said, "We will not only contribute to the nation's trade development by sharing our years of maritime transport experience and logistics infrastructure assets with small export companies but also firmly practice our corporate citizenship management philosophy to grow together with small export companies."