SK gas stations to become CJ Logistics micro-fulfillment centers

South Korea’s leading logistics company CJ Logistics Corp. teamed up with SK Energy to aim the domestic quick commerce market, utilizing gas stations of the No. 1 refiner in the country.

CJ Logistics agreed on Aug. 26 to set up micro-fulfillment centers (MFCs) at SK Energy’s gas stations in downtown areas with a plan to jointly operate the new logistics services.

MFCs aim to speed up the delivery of goods to consumers by bringing the product closer to the consumer. By placing them nearer consumers, they can significantly cut down on last-mile delivery times to a matter of hours from a day or two, enhancing inner-city efficiencies.

MFCs are expected to play an increasingly important role in the post-pandemic retail market as online shopping and quick delivery become the new norms in e-commerce.

CJ Logistics will utilize gas stations to capture the quick commerce market, or fast delivery service of small quantities of goods, which is expected to grow to 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion) by 2025 in the country.

The company aims to deliver goods, which are ordered in a live commerce, within two to three hours through the gas station MFCs, for example.

In addition, SK Energy agreed to cooperate in converting CJ Logistics’ delivery trucks to electric or hydrogen vehicles. The energy company will set up charging facilities at the MFCs and CJ Logistics’ terminals. They will work together on other eco-friendly business such as battery recycling.

“As we will have charging facilities for EVs for delivery, the both companies plan to form a joint task force team to respond to ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues such as reuse of batteries,” said a CJ Logistics source.

Write to Dong-Hui Park at donghuip@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.