Samsung SDS Co., the information technology (IT) service arm of South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group, is accelerating its push into the global logistics management business with its own innovative technology, in particular the cutting-edge Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

According to Samsung SDS on Tuesday, it has recently signed a contract with a leading retailer in Mexico to provide it with international marine transportation service. The Korean company has also won an order from a healthcare company in Europe and the United States to provide inland transportation service within Mexico. The two contracts follow previous similar memoranda of understanding signed each with a customs clearance company in Thailand, a flight terminal management company in Hanoi, and a port terminal clearance company in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.

“The latest contracts are very significant in that they were all sealed with global companies operating overseas rather than Korean companies doing business overseas,” said an official from Samsung SDS who asked to be unnamed. “This shows that we have been widely recognized for our technique and logistics solutions based on the many distribution projects we have promoted over time.”

As part of efforts to strengthen its logistics-related business that includes providing supply chain management consulting and logistics solutions, Samsung SDS invested more than 100 billion won to develop Cello, an advanced, IoT-applied logistics solution. Ever since the company launched the system last year, it has been putting out efforts to seek more logistics-related orders from global firms.

The company’s efforts are paying off. Sales of its logistics-related business were 627.6 billion won in 2012, but the volume grew significantly over years to reach 2.61 trillion won last year. Samsung SDS expects on-year sales to increase by more than 15 percent this year. With growing sales, the company’s logistics business accounted for 33 percent of total sales last year, up from 10.3 percent in 2012. In 2016, the logistics is expected to account for 35 percent of its total sales, allowing it to move forward to becoming Samsung SDS’s core growth engine.

Another official from Samsung SDS said that this year, it plans to diversify its logistics business by making the most out of its overseas network that has already been secured by its manufacturing affiliates and become a firm leader in the global logistics solution industry. The official said that it is currently working on to improve its distribution management system to offer the best available in the world.

On Thursday, Samsung SDS plans to hold the Cello Conference 2016 in Seoul to offer attendees in-depth information on its smart logistics platform.

By Seo Chan-dong

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