Samsung SDS Co., a logistics and IT solutions unit of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group, has teamed up with a Chinese post office to make a foray into the ecommerce logistics market in China.

The Korean company said it signed an agreement with the Guangzhou post office on Tuesday to offer a logistics service that combines air freight with last mile delivery services - the movement of goods from transportation hub to end users.

The company’s decision comes amid the growing demand for fully integrated omnichannel retailing, a multichannel sales approach seeking to ensure a seamless shopping experience for consumers, no matter where the customer shops such as online, telephone, or in a brick and mortar store.

Samsung SDS expects the partnership with the Guangzhou post office to enhance its competitiveness in China’s logistics industry and aims to gradually expand its ecommerce reach to Southeast Asia and the United States.

Guangzhou is a major transport hub connected to the high-tech city of Shenzhen and global trading port of Hong Kong, and handles 7.3 million tons of air cargo a year, the largest in China.

China’s ecommerce market is showing explosive growth, expanding 47 percent last year and projected to grow 27 percent this year. The Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba recently made global headlines when its Singles Day sales hit a new record of $25.3 billion in 24 hours.

Samsung SDS, with its broad network of 52 branches across 33 countries, plans to leverage its price competitiveness and expertise in logistics outsourcing business along with the Guangzhou post’s express mail service channels. The Korean firm has developed its own logistics platform called Cello to offer end-to-end logistics support and has been offering the service currently to Lazada and other online malls in Thailand.

By Lee Jae-cheol and Kim Hyo-jin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]