South Korea's largest logistics player CJ Logistics has opened the largest Starbucks distribution centre in the country.
Located near Busan New Port, the facility has an area of 38,000 m², equivalent to six football fields, and processes 130,000 imported shipments of coffee beans every day.
Outside the United States and China, South Korea has the most Starbucks outlets, with 1,750 cafes.
CJ Logistics said on 22 May that opening the facility consolidates its leadership in South Korea’s coffee logistics market, which is growing exponentially.
The Busan facility is CJ Logistics’ second Starbucks distribution centre, after another one in Incheon.
CJ Logistics explained that while the Incheon facility enables deliveries to Starbucks outlets in the metropolitan Seoul area and the northern part of the country, the Busan centre caters to cafes in the southern part of the country.
Last year, South Korea imported 188,000 tonnes of coffee beans, of which 93%, were imported through Busan.
CJ Logistics said, “Beans are the core of the taste of coffee taste. Being fresh food, beans require meticulous and thorough management. CJ Logistics maintains an appropriate temperature throughout the entire process, from the moment the cargo arrives, to storage, packaging, and delivery. Our Busan centre was built to be a ‘giant refrigerator.’ The beans are promptly delivered to the store by cold chain (refrigerated distribution system) vehicles.
“In the past, coffee logistics was often a simple delivery service for coffee beans, but recently it has expanded to include all items necessary for store operation and overall logistics services. This is because as coffee shops grow exponentially, there are limits to inventory management and logistics at cafes.”
