When I went to the Gumi Smart Logistics Center, it doubled productivity per hour for integrated management of warehousing, inventory, and transportation, and controlled detailed environments such as “zero cases” of inventory identification errors
Smart Joint Logistics Center in Gumi National Industrial Complex 1 in Gyeongsangbuk-do recently visited. Here, robots called ACRs (Autonomous Case-Handling Robots) were moving quickly to and from shelves stacked on more than 10 floors. Thanks to ACR specialized in small orders of various types, 1,500 boxes could be processed an hour with only two or three managers. Compared to the fact that only about 700 automation facilities could be handled before the introduction of such automation facilities, productivity doubled.
The idle factory of the Gumi National Industrial Complex has been transformed into a “smart logistics platform” equipped with advanced automation facilities and data-based systems, enhancing the logistics competitiveness of local small and medium-sized companies. It is improving inventory management efficiency by providing smart logistics services to local small managers (materials, parts, and equipment) companies that had difficulty building logistics infrastructure.
The Gumi Smart Logistics Center was created as part of the “Industrial Complex Smart Logistics Platform Establishment and Operation Project” overseen by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation was in charge of the agency. Unlike large companies, the core goal is to establish a shared logistics infrastructure for small and medium-sized companies that are difficult to have their own advanced logistics centers or management systems. The center was remodeled from the abandoned factory of the Gumi KCC device and built to be 2,350 pyeong (7769㎡) and has been in full operation since last year.
Unlike existing general distribution centers that were operated mainly by manpower, smart centers have a digital operating system that integrates and manages incoming and outgoing, inventory, and transportation. An integrated sharing system linked to the WMS (warehouse management system) has been established, allowing customers to monitor key information such as inventory status, stock history, and warehouse temperature and humidity in real time by accessing the Internet. It is also preferred by companies that need precise product management, such as semiconductors and electronic components, as it has a function that provides an alarm when temperature and humidity deviate. More than 30 companies, including SK Siltron and Shinyoung Electronics, are using the center.
Due to the increase in space and work efficiency through automation, companies are saving an average of 10-20% in logistics costs. A representative of a parts company said, “Logistical costs have been reduced by about 12% in six months after its introduction.” Another head of a material company said, “We used to handwrite records for two hours a day, but now it takes less than 10 minutes,” adding, “We are saving more than 1.5 million won per month based on labor costs.”
By managing logistics through computerization, problems such as errors in entry and exit, inventory mismatch, and loss and omission have also been greatly reduced. A representative of an automated equipment parts company said, “Before using the smart logistics center, there were about 4 to 5 shipping accidents per month due to inventory errors, but there was no single one in the last three months.” “Smart logistics is not just a concept of processing things faster than people,” said Lee Jong-soo, CEO of KCC Device, which operates the center. “The key is to eliminate errors through accurate inventory management, reduce the dependence on manpower at the logistics site, and help management make accurate decisions through data.”
In the future, KCC devices will introduce additional advanced logistics automation equipment such as unmanned trucks. It is also planning to upgrade integrated logistics services such as airport and port-linked import and export logistics tracking functions. Lee Jong-soo, CEO of KCC Device, said, “We will provide an integrated solution linked to real-time data-based inventory management, customer customization services, and transportation.”
Gumi = Reporter Seo Jeong-won
[Joint Planning of Maeil Economy and Korea Industrial Complex Corporation]
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