KOTRA Partners with Samsung SDS to Support Companies Facing Logistics Challenges

Starting February, Samsung SDS and Small Business Exclusive Shipping Space Support Project Launched
Up to 5 Million KRW Support for Inland Transportation in North America to Alleviate Logistics Congestion

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyeyoung] KOTRA announced on the 16th that it will expand logistics support services starting next month to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies experiencing logistics difficulties, in line with the government's emergency response measures for export-import logistics.

KOTRA's representative logistics support projects include the 'Overseas Joint Logistics Center,' which supports local inventory sales, and the 'Logistics-Exclusive Export Voucher,' which supports international transportation. Earlier this year, a total of 837 domestic companies were selected as participants in the Overseas Joint Logistics Center, and support is planned to expand to 1,280 companies within the year. Currently, 112 implementing agencies provide services for the Logistics-Exclusive Export Voucher, aiming to support 370 domestic companies by the end of the year.

In addition, KOTRA is launching a new 'Dedicated Shipping Space Support Project for SMEs' in partnership with Samsung SDS to assist export companies facing difficulties due to a shortage of shipping space. Samsung SDS will allocate 70 TEUs per week from the fixed shipping space it has already secured in the US West Coast, US East Coast, and Northern Europe regions exclusively for SMEs, and will also provide digital logistics solutions through Samsung SDS's logistics consulting program.

Support for inland transportation costs to disperse arrivals locally will also be strengthened. For cargo arriving at less congested Northwest (PN) ports such as Tacoma and Seattle instead of the US Southwest (PS) ports like LA and Long Beach, where port congestion and logistics delays persist, inland transportation across the US will be supported up to 5 million KRW.

KOTRA explained that when arriving through Northwest ports, inland transportation to places like Chicago and Detroit can reduce transit time by about 8 to 10 days, which is expected to greatly help resolve logistics bottlenecks faced by domestic export companies, such as buyer delivery delays.

Yoo Jung-yeol, President of KOTRA, said, "We have established a system that provides comprehensive support from shipping space for SMEs to local fulfillment services," and added, "We will continue to actively promote various logistics support projects to help our companies enter overseas markets."