"Coupang Not Required for Dawn Delivery OK"

Interview with Choi Byung-jun, CEO of Mesh Korea Domestic Business Division
Enabling Small and Medium Merchants to Access Dawn Delivery, Fulfillment, Quick Commerce, and Single-Item Delivery Services
Steady Infrastructure and Technology Investment Expected to Drive 25-Fold Fulfillment Growth This Year

Choi Byung-jun, Head of Domestic Business Division at Mesh Korea

"Even without using platforms like Coupang, Kurly, or Baemin, it is possible to offer dawn delivery, fulfillment services, quick commerce, and single-item delivery." The explanation from Choi Byung-jun, Head of Domestic Business at Mesh Korea, was straightforward. In the pandemic era, the logistics services that enabled the rapid growth of platform companies can be done by anyone, including small and medium-sized merchants. To this end, Mesh Korea has consistently invested in infrastructure and technology. A representative example is achieving 100% operating rate at the existing Gimpo and Namyangju fulfillment centers and opening the Gonjiam fulfillment center last month. Dawn delivery orders have increased to an average of more than 10,000 per day. We spoke with Choi, who has been leading this growth since taking over as Head of Domestic Business at Mesh Korea last month.

On the 14th, Choi said, "Dawn delivery started in July 2020 and grew 19 times last year, and we expect 9 times growth this year." He added, "Fulfillment began in May last year, and we expect it to grow 25 times this year." The foundation of this growth lies in infrastructure and technological capabilities. Choi, a distribution and logistics strategy expert with experience at Homeplus, Lotte Shopping, Coupang, and Woowa Brothers, focused on infrastructure investment to grow the logistics business after joining Mesh Korea. He said, "Infrastructure investment creates the base for growth, and ultimately, competition in this market will be a battle of infrastructure." Having infrastructure is essential for enabling dawn delivery without Coupang and quick commerce without Baemin. For example, the recently opened Gonjiam fulfillment center is optimized for e-commerce logistics, allowing orders for dawn delivery products to be accepted until 11 PM.

Fulfillment centers have been established mainly in the metropolitan area, but expansion to other regions is planned. He explained, "We are discussing regional expansion with large consignors. By securing main volumes and expanding services to small and medium consignors, we can efficiently utilize infrastructure, so we are planning together."

Although Mesh Korea is known for its delivery brand ‘Vroong,’ Choi explained that the company actually has strong capabilities in IT development. Investment in development, along with infrastructure investment, has been one of Choi’s main focuses. He believes that recent issues related to rising delivery costs can be solved through technological innovation. He said, "The reason delivery fees are considered expensive is due to single-item delivery, and we are developing tools to provide this service effectively." He explained, "Single-item delivery is inefficient from a logistics perspective, but by applying a fast-track concept that prioritizes single-item delivery orders coming in along the same route during bundled delivery, costs can be reduced by 50-60%."

What Choi focuses on, based on infrastructure and technology, is that as related markets such as e-commerce and quick commerce grow, logistics services have also diversified. Even products from the smallest companies can be purchased on Coupang or Naver and supplied to Emart. Although sales channels have increased, the companies responsible for each logistics operation differ, so data is scattered. Choi explained that Mesh Korea’s solution can resolve these ‘pain points.’ He emphasized, "Mesh Korea provides various logistics services needed in the market and integrates these systems to enable unified operation and management. We provide integrated logistics information to support companies in making decisions based on this data. Our goal is to ensure this service achieves results in the market."