Coupang opens 2nd fullfillment center in Taiwan

South Korea’s e-commerce giant Coupang said Monday it has opened its second logistics center in Taiwan a year after starting its foray into the market, with plans to launch a third one in the first half of next year.

The new fulfillment center, located in the northwestern city of Taoyuan, is a highly automated facility using artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict and analyze customer demand and inventory.

The inaugural ceremony of the second fulfillment center was held in Taipei on Thursday, with Coupang founder and CEO Bom Kim and several high-ranking Taiwanese government officials including Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua in attendance.

The company said that the latest opening is expected to deliver momentum as a new growth engine for many small and medium-sized Korean businesses by boosting their exports.

Since its debut in Taiwan last year, over 12,000 Korean firms have exported their products to the country via Coupang.

Currently, over 70 percent of the products sold in Coupang's Taiwanese market are manufactured by Korean firms.

“For many small and medium-sized Korean firms facing obstacles in their overseas ventures, Coupang's burgeoning Taiwan business acts as an alternative for exploring new sales avenues," said a Coupang official.

As Korea’s first unicorn with a corporate value of more than 1 trillion won ($770 million), Coupang has rapidly expanded its presence both at home and abroad in recent years, on the back of "Rocket Delivery," its same- or next-day same or next day delivery services.

During the opening ceremony, the Coupang CEO explained the vision of the company as “going beyond the level of linking individual companies,” and “connecting neighboring countries in Asia by increasing trade between nations.”