Problems and Activation Strategies of Korea’s Smart Logistics Centers in the ESG Management Era

As a result of the rapid growth of non-face-to-face economic activities due to the impact of factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of smart logistics centers has become more prominent even in the field of last-mile logistics. The transition to smart logistics is essential for meeting various logistical needs, such as speedy delivery at customer touchpoints. In addition, along with the overall increase in the demand for last-mile logistics services, the concentration of cargo volumes in specific regions such as large cities is putting pressure on logistics centers to handle larger cargo volumes in a short period of time. In order to respond to the increase and concentration of cargo volumes and at the same time respond to rapidly changing and diverse consumer needs, logistics centers need expansion in size, incorporation of advanced technologies, and smartization. Amid these rapid changes in the logistics environment, it is necessary to adapt to such changes and make preparations to achieve a new leap forward, so there is a need to make efforts to implement large-scale restructuring, raise awareness of the emergence of new uncertainties, mitigate the impact of rapid changes in logistics, and improve employment stability through the expansion of training for human resource development. Additionally, logistics firms are required to actively adopt innovative technologies to actively respond to increasingly diverse logistics demands, and strive to strengthen corporate competitiveness through the efficient utilization of internal resources. Moreover, new smart technologies presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the ESG management era can be viewed as significant changes that affect not only the internal activities of companies, but also the management of domestic and foreign customers as well as suppliers outside companies. These innovative changes are perceived to impose a burden in terms of capital and effort needed to deal with them, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, so there is a need for interest and support for this problem from various sectors, including the government, related organizations, and academia. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the problems and activation strategies of smart logistics centers in Korea in the era of ESG management.