SK Energy partners with CJ Logistics for sustainable micro fulfillment services

SK Energy just signed a deal with CJ Logistics to set up micro fulfillment centers (MFC). The partnership will establish faster delivery services and ensure that the growing demand for environmentally-friendly logistics is met.

As per Pulse News, SK Energy will allow CJ Logistics to use its gas stations. The latter will put up micro-fulfillment centers on the oil refining company’s gas stations where its electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles could charge.

What’s more, the companies will work together to recycle batteries used up by the logistics firm to fulfill delivery orders. With the installation of new gas stations and allowing the company to use them, CJ Logistics will be able to provide faster deliveries of orders that were purchased online. It was reported that delivery within just a couple of hours after order placement will now be possible.

“Since gas stations are located in key areas of cities, they are close to homes,” Korea Joongang Daily quoted CJ Logistic’s spokesman, Cho Choung Houn, as saying in a statement. “This will enable deliveries to be made in just two to three hours after an order is placed. It will also be a useful delivery method for customers who place an order via live commerce, which is becoming a major retail trend.”

As part of the deal, the firms will now jointly operate new MFCs for logistic services in South Korea. The Korea Economic Daily mentioned that since the MFCs are now closer to the customers, the delivery of orders will surely be faster than ever. The delivery times are cut from a day or two to just a few hours.

With this, it was estimated that as CJ Logistics will now be using SK Energy’s gas stations, the faster delivery will help its revenues grow up to ₩5 trillion or around $4.3 billion by 2025. Online shopping and deliveries are a growing market amid the pandemic, so the improvements at CJ will boost its profits, not just its services, while also contributing to making the environment clean and green.

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