‘Innovative Paradigm Shift! Urban Shared Logistics Platform Project’ Ranked 1st in Regional Economic Vitality Support... High Praise for Efforts Including Establishing In-Station Living Logistics Centers and Research on Logistics Delivery Systems Using Base Trains
[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seoul Metro (President Kim Sang-beom) was selected as an excellent institution by winning the Grand Prize (Minister of the Interior and Safety Award) at the ‘2021 Innovative Excellent Local Public Institution Competition’ hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
This competition is organized by the Local Public Enterprise Evaluation Institute under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, inviting excellent cases in five major innovation areas, including social value-centered management for creating social value, targeting local public institutions.
Seoul Metro was ranked first in the ‘Support for Regional Economic Vitality’ among the five innovation areas, and won the ministerial award for two consecutive years following last year’s case of ‘Metro Smart Farm Creating ICT Agricultural Innovation Even Underground.’
The innovative case Seoul Metro presented this year is the ‘Urban Joint Logistics Platform Project,’ which the company is currently focusing on. As the volume of logistics movement within urban areas continues to increase, the demand for logistics services is also rising, and Seoul Metro plans to respond by utilizing the urban railway system it owns.
At subway stations, ‘Living Logistics Centers’ will be established to provide services closely related to daily life, and at train depots, ‘Logistics Terminals’ will be installed as hubs capable of comprehensive goods management such as sorting, storage, transshipment, and packaging. The company’s business plan is to use trains for cargo transport to carry goods between these hubs.
Currently, Seoul Metro is focusing on expanding Living Logistics Centers at each station as the first phase of the project. Starting with the installation of parcel lockers accessible via mobile phones at all 279 stations since 2017, about 20 Living Logistics Centers, including long-term storage personal lockers ‘T-Storage’ and manned storage ‘T-Luggage,’ were completed this year.
The plan is to establish up to 50 Living Logistics Centers by 2024, and the development of fulfillment centers utilizing large spaces within stations is also under consideration.
Regarding the personal storage locker T-Storage, the initial three locations that began operation in November last year have nearly 100% utilization, and the subsequent 10 locations have also received positive responses, recording sales of 64 million KRW to date, showing steady progress.
Furthermore, Seoul Metro is conducting a feasibility study for installing logistics terminals within train depots and is systematically preparing by coordinating with related organizations (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Korea Railroad Research Institute, etc.) for operating freight-only trains.
Seoul Metro expects that once the planned logistics system is fully established and the subway-based transportation system is activated, it will bring positive effects such as environmental improvement benefits worth 672.4 billion KRW over 10 years, creation of 6,085 related jobs, and the alleviation of logistics transportation difficulties in the metropolitan area, leading to growth in related industries.
Kim Dong-jin, Head of New Business Division at Seoul Metro, said, “When we first started the project, there were many negative opinions such as ‘Subways are for carrying people, logistics business is impossible,’ and ‘It won’t help citizens,’ but through active communication and efforts among members, we were able to solve problems and achieve successful results.” He added, “We will continue to lead changes in the company through more innovative efforts without settling for the status quo.”
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