Top Global Logistics Firm

Chunil Cargo Transportation Co. is on a steady course to go global in its delivery logistics services

Chunil Cargo Transportation Co. has become what it is today, a leading trucking and logistics company in Korea with overseas operation. No one would doubt why it is such a giant in the cargo transportation industry today when looking into its more than half-century long history as since its launch in 1956, the company stuck with its main line of business, the cargo transportation, steadily diversifying into specializing delivery services for major manufacturers. First came electronics parts for Samsung Electronics and special steel products for POSCO. The company naturally built its own logistics centers around the country, especially in big harbors like Busan Harbor to become a leading integrated logistics company in Korea.
Following are excerpts of what the company had to say in this written interview with NewsWorld prepared by the company’s public relations department:
Question: Can you introduce us to your company, Chunil Cargo Transportation Co., which has grown to be a leading integrated logistics firm in Korea?
Answer: Chairman Park Nam-do founded the trucking firm on June 26, 1956 and built a nationwide logistics network despite the lack of sound logistics infrastructure, which was devastated during the Korean War, and started operating regular cargo delivery services around the country and has grown to be what it is today ― an integrated logistics firm.
Chunil stuck to trucking cargoes around the country over the past half century, while exploring niche logistics service markets, not satisfied with its current state of success. The company continued to provide services that are needed as times changed and diversified its service areas. It has expanded into the delivery service, container transport, the operation of CY/CFS, stevedoring, IT business, car repairs, bulk and steel rods transport and other business areas.
The company built its own super-modern logistics center of some 20,000 pyeong in area in the back of New Busan Harbor with a belief that the company should contribute to the nation’s logistics industry.
Without the help of President Park Jae-euk, the company wouldn’t be where it is today in terms of operation. His pioneering leadership under a long-term vision shared with officers and employees focused on the logistics business made the company what it is today.
Based on the foundation built under President Park’s leadership, the company has been successfully operating the delivery logistics system for such goods as auto and electronic parts, successfully building the professional delivery logistics service. Chunil is also known as a professional delivery firm for cold-rolled steel plates, in addition to its specialty of delivering containers.
POSCO named Chunil as a major railroad transporter of cold coil steel with the company building a depot for rail transport in Bugok, Gyeonggi Province, some 8,613 square meters in area, and has been operating special carriers made for those steel products.
In the past half century of trucking operations, President Park led the company to overcome various problems in the way of its growth and to share creative ideas with officers and employees, offering visions to push the company a step up the ladder of progress.
President Park always worked hard to make every employee feel at home working for the company, which has become the foundation for satisfactory management-labor relations, uniting the entire company as one large family.
As a result, the company won a number of valuable medals and citations from the government for its outstanding service and contribution to the transportation industry and the nation. The company won the Industrial Merit Bronze Medal in 1987, the Industrial Merit Bronze Medal in 1996 for its contribution to the development of the land logistics sector during the ceremony for the 107th Railroad Day and the Republic of Korea Industrial Citation, and the Korea Marketing Award in 1997.
One of the strongest points in the company’s operation has been its off main-line transport service, making the company ever ready to cope with various kinds of customer demands in the logistics area as a result of the company’s transport experience accumulated over a half century of operation.
Q: On Oct. 18, 2007, President Lee Chol of Korail proposed that a joint logistics firm involving South Korea, North Korea and China be set up to handle cargoes coming out of North Korea to China. A number of large transportation firms like Korea Express, Chunil, Sebang, Dongbu Express and Korail Logistics were selected on the South Korean side and Dandung Samjin Mining Co. on the Chinese side as partners in the projected joint venture transport firm, which was later named as the Dandung Samtong Logistics Co. based in Dandung, China.
One of the mainline of businesses for the joint venture firm was to lease cargo rail cars for the transportation of minerals from North Korea to China
The joint venture was to secure 10 rail cars for lease. But the project did not get off the ground due to the incident in which North Korean soldiers shot and killed a South Korean tourist in the Mt. Kumgang area. The future of the project now depends on the South-North relationship in the days to come.
Q: Can you tell us about Chunil’s future strategy and the current status of its operations?
A: To cope with the current trends in the cargo transportation sector, which has changed to include running logistics businesses as well, the company secured a lot some 66,430 square meters in area in the back of New Busan Harbor and built a warehouse with 5,000 pyeong of space and two warehouses with 2,500 pyeong of space each to open an international logistics center, a new business model, close to New Busan Harbor.
In 1996, Chunil was named by Samsung-Renault as its parts delivery company, entering the delivery business for the first time. The company has since won recognition as the company’s sole auto parts logistics company, although the auto parts logistics business is not a simple one.
Chunil set up its own special logistics system to fully service the automaker including JIT (just-in-time) and synchronized delivery systems and supply chain management to ensure the top quality of its 14 years of service to Samsung-Renault.
As a result, Chunil has now been servicing GM-Daewoo and Samsung Electronics (LCD) in the area of parts delivery services. In order to perfect delivery logistics services, the company developed I-LIS, an integrated logistics system. The company was able to clear the confusion for delivery trucks, boosting productivity and product quality with cuts in the number of factory workers, cuts in production costs and diversification, among others, allowing servicing companies and their parts suppliers to focus exclusively on manufacturing and leaving the delivery of their products to Chunil.
Chunil has been operating a clean room, which is needed in protecting Samsung Electronics LCDs from dirt, and special pans to carry core parts for those LCD panels and transport them in trucks with less rattling when they move. Chunil’s ordered-to-be-made delivery logistics services has helped Samsung Electronics cut its logistics costs, and Chunil will continue to make efforts to keep its top position in the delivery logistics service sector.
Q: Can you update us on the latest trends by global logistics firms and the current status of the world logistics industry and what Korea should do?
A: The current trends of the global logistics service industry can be explained in three parts. First, they call for integration of all kinds of logistics services. Demand for total logistics services has been rising lately, not limited to just transportation and warehousing. Second, logistics firms have been growing in size. Through M&As both in country and overseas, logistics firms have been growing bigger. Third, demand for making logistics environmentally friendly and strengthening security measures has been rising lately.
As seen in AEO, C-TPAT in advanced countries, regulations on securities around logistics services have been strengthened. In order to be able to compete with foreign logistics firms in advanced countries under these circumstances, we have to train professional logistics manpower with an international sense and we need government support equal to that given to manufacturing firms in order to help domestic logistics firms break out of their poor financial conditions.
Logistics firms have close relationships with manufacturing firms. Therefore, they need equal government support, both in financial and systematic terms in order to secure a base to emerge as globally competitive logistics firms.
Q: What about both manufacturing and logistics firms advancing overseas together as part of the globalization of logistics firms?
A: As manufacturing firms become globalized, logistics firms have increasingly been advancing overseas together with them naturally. This is a result of the fact that domestic manufacturing firms find that foreign logistics firms cannot offer services equal to those of domestic logistics firms and they need domestic logistics firms to follow them overseas, while at the same time, domestic logistics firms are eager to accompany their partners in the manufacturing industry abroad, as it helps them go global.
Logistics firms began to go abroad for business not too long ago, but manufacturing firms need them to secure tailor-made logistics services in their overseas operations. Logistics firms, on the other hand, should be able to provide total logistics services appropriate in the foreign countries in which they operate, taking fully into account the SCM of local manufacturers in terms of delivery logistics, sales logistics and consultations.
Q: What are Chunil’s key management words and mottos?
A: Chunil, since its launch in 1956, has been in the same business for over half a century. “Alone in Logistics,” therefore, is the company’s motto as well as the ideal. The company will continue to make efforts to expand its professional expertise in logistics to inch toward becoming a global logistics firm. The company will launch logistics services for electronics parts makers in Xiaoju, China, and from there, move on to providing logistics services to automakers and further expand our logistics services to electronics products, particularly in the area of delivery logistics services.
The company’s management key words are “Customer and Trust,” as problems in logistics, however small they may be, could cause enormous damage to manufacturers in the area of shipments of products. Keeping time is the key and basic matter for the company’s operation. Those words have been very important in keeping the company in business for over half a century. nw

A general view of the C&S International Logistics Center in Busan

President Park Jae-euk of Chunil Cargo Transportation Co.