From king of korean Logistics 'Think big, start small' A one-man company has grown into a sales of 1.5 trillion secret

On September 1, 1984, a man in his mid-30s wearing a short-sleeved shirt came into a small office in the Hanseong Building in Galwol-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with sweat from his forehead.

Just a week ago, he was a sales manager at Daewoo Heavy Industries, the largest conglomerate in Korea at the time, but from that day on, he had to work in a shabby office with nothing but a desk and a chair.

It was his first day at work for the company he had founded.

Even if it was a company, it was a one-man company with no employees. The man who came in with a brown wooden signboard engraved with the Korea Logistics Research Institute hanging next to the office door went straight to his desk and wrote down his plans one by one on a piece of paper.

1. Membership recruitment
2. Logistics Research Group
3. Hosting the National Logistics Competition
4. Logistics briefing sessions and seminars

The last item, '12. The man's face after writing down the 'Domestic Logistics Survey' was a complex expression of excitement and anxiety.

“It was not easy to shake off my weakness and hesitation as a human being to challenge the future.”

"It is because the realistic problems of being a husband of a woman and a father of two were not easy enough to risk his life with his youth and passion for logistics alone at the age of 35."

"Honestly, the fear of the uncertain future approached me too much. I was anxious about the future, so I thought about it for over three years, and even after making the decision, I wrote a resignation letter and carried it with me, hesitating for another year for another year."

 

And on November 1, 2018, exactly 34 years and two months after his first day of work, the Korea Logistics Awards ceremony was held to commemorate the '26th Logistics Day' at the International Conference Hall of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul.

When it was time to award the 'Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit', the highest honor awarded to logistics entrepreneurs, the man from 34 years ago, who had just turned 70, climbed to the stage in front of the conference hall.

Over the past 30 years, a one-man company that started in a shabby office in Galwol-dong, Yongsan-gu has grown into a global logistics company with annual sales of 1.5 trillion won.

What the hell has happened in these 30 years?

In this article, we will look at the secret to how Seo Byung-ryun, Chairman of the Logis All Group, who started as a one-man logistics consultant, was able to grow his company like this.

0. Path of Logistics First, let's take a brief look at how Chairman Seo, who was a mechanical engineer from the Department of Agricultural Engineering (an academic field that develops machinery for agriculture), got into a relationship with logistics.

After graduating from university, Chairman Seo joined Daewoo Heavy Industries & Construction. On March 15, 1977, he was assigned to the Industrial Vehicle Production Headquarters in Incheon.

Here, he meets for the first time, a forklift, who will change the course of his life forever.

Equipment that carries cargo in factories and warehouses. “The first impression I had when I saw the forklift was that it was just an ugly machine, and I wasn’t particularly impressed.

At the time, I never could have imagined that the forklift would change my destiny."

And two years later, in 1979, after working as an engineer in a factory, he was assigned to the forklift marketing department of the company's sales division.

When forklift sales could not get out of the slump, he hired field engineers from the company and created a separate team in the sales department to find customers and provide technical support.

At first, I strongly resisted, saying, 'Why do I have to do business as an engineer?' with the determination to resign.

It was the moment he took his first step into the unknown realm of 'logistics'.

In order to discover new customers, he visited industrial and distribution sites across the country, from the dissection room of Seoul National University Medical School to rural grain processing plants and briquette factories. .

The reason for the low use of forklifts in Korea was not because of the poor performance of domestic forklifts and lack of marketing, but because the logistics infrastructure and system to efficiently use forklifts were not in place in the first place.

The biggest problem was that the pallet, the cargo stand, was not being properly supplied and used.

Pallet refers to a pedestal used to move cargo using a forklift in a factory or warehouse.

It looks like a simple pallet, but only if you have a pallet, you can move the cargo by inserting the fork of the forklift into the pallet groove.

There is no way to stack up small-volume packages and move them one ton at a time without placing them on pallets.

Also, not only one company, but all the companies that exchanged cargo with that company had to use pallets at the same time so that the entire logistics system could roll properly.

Even if the delivery company sends the cargo on a pallet, if the delivery company does not use the pallet, the inefficiency of having to transport the cargo piled up on it by human power again occurs.

While analyzing the domestic logistics industry for forklift marketing, Chairman Seo realized that the settlement of the pallet system is an essential condition for upgrading the domestic logistics industry to the next level.

In fact, he did not make the distribution of the pallet system his business item from the beginning.

At first, with the support of the company, I looked for government ministries, economic groups, and research institutes so that the government-led 'Pallet Pool' company could be established.

After years of putting in, no results were achieved.

"When I couldn't get results for about three years, the company became less interested in it, the logistics team was disbanded, and I had to move to another department."

In the end, he decided to set up a pallet pool company on his own and put it into action.

Now, let's take a look at three secrets of how he, who started as a one-man company, was able to become the founder of a global logistics company with sales of 1.5 trillion won.

Let's focus on explaining the secret to creating a foothold for leaps and bounds by overcoming moments in the early days of the business, when neither sales nor profits were modest.

I would like to tell you based on what Chairman Suh Byung-ryun said in his book 'The Road of Logistics'.

I think it will be of great help to those who are starting out as a one-man company or a small startup and are envisioning a big future.

1. learn how to see contents from From king of korean Logistics

This is the first strategy that can be learned from Chairman Seo at the beginning of the business.
'I can't just be sad that customers don't know the value of my product.

It is my responsibility as the seller to inform the value of the product.

Continuously producing and distributing in-depth content with expertise is the best way to promote my products.”

I started a business with the dream of setting up a pallet pool company, but there was no way I could buy hundreds of thousands of pallets right away from him, who was an ordinary salaryman, and deliver them to all parts of the country, and there was no way I could set up a company that could collect them.

Around 1984, the concept of 'logistics' was unfamiliar to the general public as well as business people.

Logistics was only seen as a part of distribution even for those in charge of transporting the company's goods. In such a situation where there was no money and the awareness of logistics itself was not well established, the first thing Chairman Seo could and must do was to introduce the field of logistics to the industry.

It is for this reason that he started producing 'Logistics News', a logistics-related newsletter after the company was founded and sending it to the logistics managers of each company and government officials in charge.

"I made and distributed logistics materials and went to various places to explain them, but there was a limit to that method alone."

After much deliberation, I came up with a plan that it would be good to produce 'Logistics News' and distribute it for free."

"First, we edited important contents in the field of logistics and domestic and foreign logistics news and mailed 1,000 copies to the logistics-related managers of each company."

"However, while sending 'Logistics News', I thought it would be good to send this newsletter to the editor-in-chief of each newspaper in the future."

“In March 1985, there were no departments in charge of logistics media and no reporters in charge of logistics media even in newspapers let alone logistics magazines in Korea.

But something unexpected happened." As he said, his efforts to consistently produce and send out newsletters are rewarded with 'great unexpected results'.

On March 23, 1985, when I went to work at the office and opened a newspaper, the contents he introduced through 'Logistics News' were printed as large articles under the title 'Logistics Management New Wind'.

"The 'logistics' I so desperately wanted appeared in the media"

The reward for your hard work doesn't end there. After a while, a reporter from the newspaper comes to his office, where he reads the article several times with emotion.

A reporter who explained that he learned about the enormous impact of logistics on the industry by watching 'Logistics News' asks him to write a special article for the 6th edition.

In a way, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that came to him in 1985, when the influence of newspapers was incomparable to today's.

 

"With the joy of being able to write for the first time in my life on the subject of 'logistics' for a major economic newspaper, I wrote a special feature article with all my heart."

"The response was much hotter than I expected. In each episode, readers who read the featured article called the newspaper and my office, and inquiries about logistics flooded. The calls were mainly from the CEO or logistics manager of each company."

As such, he was able to seize the opportunity to introduce his product 'logistics' in detail to major newspapers with the production of a logistics specialized newsletter, and as a result, he was able to secure numerous potential customers.

His efforts to inform about the importance of a new field of logistics did not stop with the publication of 'Logistics News'.

In the past 40 years since he entered the logistics industry, he has appeared in front of audiences for lectures more than 1500 times.

Whether in front of field workers, corporate executives, or public officials or researchers, wherever there is a place to call them, I explained the importance of logistics and how to increase the efficiency of the logistics system.

“If you think about it, the subjects and places were diverse. At the very least, 20 to 30 people per session, assuming 1500 lectures, about 30,000 to 40,000 logistics managers over the past 40 years. It is calculated that he gave a lecture to

As you can see from the articles linked below, what he wrote to promote his products at the time when he had nothing in the beginning of the business was a common feature of not only Chairman Seo, but also other successful founders.

If you believe your product can truly add value to your customers, it's your job to let them know.

It is for this reason that today's companies constantly publish content such as e-mail newsletters to inform themselves.

2. Think big, start small

Now let's move on to his second strategy.

With the help of the media, they succeeded in informing corporate executives and business executives about the importance of logistics, but it took a long time for this potential demand to translate into actual profits for the company.

For the survival of the company, it was most important to create a cash flow that could generate even a small amount of cash steadily.

It is the same because people or businesses cannot live on their dreams.

And the second strategy we can learn from Chairman Suh Byung-ryun at this point is as follows.

“Think big, but start small.

Even if it is small, you can only achieve big dreams only if you have a steady income.

First, implement your ideas on a small scale and develop the stamina to challenge your big dreams.”

The phrase 'think big, but start small' is a Korean translation of the Go proverb, 'Start small, big country with great ideas' (着眼大局 着手小局.

This is the maxim that Chairman Seo has made his life's credo.

As such, Chairman Seo begins to develop his expertise, industry network, and company brand little by little while working as a one-man logistics consultant before challenging the big goal of establishing a logistics company that provides full pallet service.

It was a consulting business that received consulting fees after suggesting ways to maximize the efficiency of logistics operations for companies preparing to improve existing logistics facilities or build new ones.

His first client was Dongyang Confectionery (today's Orion).

“One day in May 1986, he met Cheol-gon Dam, the vice president of Dongyang Confectionery at the time, and after a two-hour interview, he said he would like to ask for logistics consulting for Dongyang Confectionery.”

“With this as a starting point, I was able to walk the path as a logistics consultant, and so far, I have performed about 30 logistics diagnoses.”

At the time in the mid-1980s, when the field of logistics was just beginning in Korea, it was difficult to find an expert who had as much expertise in logistics technology and systems as Chairman Seo.

Based on the experience and knowledge he has learned from working at Daewoo Heavy Industries, where he has traveled to logistics sites across the country, and from industrial sites and logistics exhibitions in developed countries, he has been able to provide domestic companies with the ability to handle more cargo at a lower cost.

Suggested effective methods. As the logistics efficiency of the companies he consulted with increased by word of mouth, more and more companies are looking for him.

He also conducted research to suggest improvement plans for about 30 companies in different environments, allowing him to have deeper professional knowledge and rich experience in logistics.

“The logistics consulting that I have been in charge of so far amounts to about 30 cases including Dongyang Confectionery, Ottogi Foods, Samsung Electronics, Seoul Heinz, Haitai Confectionery, Nongshim, and Lotte Chilsung Beverage. intensively carried out.”

“In the early days of business, if you were worried because you didn’t have money to pay for office operating expenses or employees, it wasn’t the first time that a logistics consulting manager came to solve the problem.”

Chairman Seo said, "Consulting is the perfect world of professionals," and urges consultants to work with the following thorough mind.

As I am also providing consulting services in the field of contents to companies, I ask, 'Am I really working with that mindset?' I looked back at myself.

"In my experience, consulting should be the perfect professional world. It's like a professional athlete playing with everything in their life, and a professional Go player putting their life on the line."

"Consultants cannot pass through amateur skills, they must be experts with professional skills"

“This is because you can only do work if you are recognized as a competent person you can trust and entrust to you.”

“As a consultant armed with a professional spirit, I put my life in logistics, so I put superhuman strength into every case of logistics consulting.”

“The reason was that if there were any customers who complained about the consulting results report, it would be my own disgrace and the thought that it would herald the end of my logistics life.”

As I have explained so far, Chairman Seo Byung-ryun was able to secure potential customers by publishing professional content in the early stages of his business, and to raise the necessary funds for the company's operation through logistics consulting.

3. The earlier the partner, the more important

Shortly after the establishment of the Korea Logistics Research Institute, Chairman Suh sent a letter to Inasuka Modoki, secretary general of the Japan Logistics Management Council, a Japanese logistics association, asking for help.

Secretary General Inasuka was a logistics expert he met on a business trip to Japan in January 1980 while he was working at Daewoo Heavy Industries.

In a letter sent to him, Chairman Suh proposes a business partnership between the Korea Logistics Agency and the Japan Logistics Management Council.

Fortunately, the Japan Logistics Management Council readily accepted Chairman Suh's proposal.

"In this way, the Korea Logistics Center was able to engage in international activities in the field of logistics in earnest."
"Korean representatives participated in international logistics symposiums and international logistics conferences hosted by the Japan Logistics Management Council, and Japanese logistics experts participated in Korean logistics competitions and logistics seminars."

"In addition, our logistics training group was dispatched several times to tour advanced logistics sites in Japan, and in Japan, the logistics training group also toured logistics sites in Korea."

The benefits that a one-man company that set up a nest in a shabby office could achieve by forming a business partnership with Japan's leading logistics organization exceeded expectations.

First of all, I was able to invite Japanese logistics experts, who were far ahead of Korea in logistics system and technology at the time, as speakers to the logistics-related event they held.

"The wisest policy is to always try to research and improve logistics by working together with others."

"In other words, the most important keyword in logistics is a win-win strategy."

Chairman Suh's third strategy, which can be learned from what has been explained so far, is as follows.

"It is important to work with an external partner you can trust in the early stages of your business. Create a partner that can fill your shortcomings and that can be a win-win for each other in the long run."

It was in October 1985 that Chairman Seo established 'Korea Pallet Pool', a pallet pool company.

It was a small company with 3 employees and started with 500 pallets.

At first, the focus was on managing, transporting, and collecting pallets that are mainly used for the transportation of import and export cargo between Korea and Japan. Then, as wages rose sharply through the late 1980s, many companies began to use machines such as forklifts instead of manpower for unloading.

Accordingly, the demand for pallets, an essential product for mechanization and automation of logistics, has also increased significantly.

 

 

Accordingly, the pallet holding capacity of Korea Pallet Pool, which started with 500 sheets, also increased to 2.5 million sheets in 1997, 12 years later.

Today, while supplying 20 million pallets to over 200,000 companies nationwide, it has grown into a global logistics company with annual sales of 1.5 trillion won with overseas subsidiaries in the United States, Japan, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, and Vietnam. .

In this article, we looked at the three secrets of Logisall Chairman Suh Byung-ryun, who developed a company that started as a one-man company into a global logistics company, overcame difficulties in the early days of business and laid the foundation for a leap forward.

I hope this helps, so I'll just stop here for today.