Feeling burdened by the expectation in Lee Hyun-woo’s eyes, Kang Dong-ho took a moment to pause.
“Ah, this idea came to mind after hearing the CEO’s comments about the continuous emergence of other online shopping sites.”
“Yes, please continue.”
“Didn’t you mention that they are both competitors and collaborators? I focused on the collaborator aspect and designed a plan centered around delivery. I thought that if online shopping became more active than it is now, we could negotiate with delivery companies.”
“We can’t rely on postal parcels forever?”
“2,000 won per item. No matter how I think about it, it’s too expensive.”
At those words, Lee Hyun-woo smiled brightly.
It was because he was pleased to see Kang Dong-ho picking up on the points he had casually thrown out and seriously pondering over them.
“So, I looked into domestic transportation companies. What if we use a few of them to lower the delivery cost?”
“Not a bad idea.”
“Was it okay?”
“I was thinking about it too, but was considering the timing. I guess it’s about time we start preparing. But….”
“…….”
“Rather than going in person, just send a fax to the transportation companies.”
“Excuse me?”
“In short, have them come here and bid. We’ll decide based on who offers the cheapest rate per item.”
For directly purchased items, 【Jungle】 covers the delivery cost.
Of course, they weren’t doing charity work, so they usually charged customers 2,000 won per delivery, except in special cases.
Special cases included the delivery of CDs and books.
If the purchase amount of these two items exceeded 10,000 won, the delivery fee would be waived starting this September.
Therefore, if a way to further reduce the 2,000 won delivery cost could be found, it could directly translate into income.
Kang Dong-ho’s eyes sparkled as he nodded, having approached even this cost-saving method.
“Understood. I’ll start by sending a letter to 【Korea Express】, the industry leader.”
“And then?”
“I’ll extract the delivery regions and volumes for orders placed in the past month. I already asked Team Leader Jang Yoo-chul about it, and it seems he has the data accumulated, so it can be printed quickly.”
“Good. Then you can prepare the bidding, Mr. Kang Dong-ho.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you, Mr. Kang Dong-ho. Why? Not confident?”
“Of course not.”
Kang Dong-ho raised his voice slightly in protest.
Seeing this, Lee Hyun-woo smiled.
“Then prepare, and if you encounter any difficulties during the process, ask me.”
“Yes, CEO.”
A person who knows the future, especially a ‘returnee’ with relevant experience, handles things easily.
There’s no need to plan everything from start to finish; just carefully observe what’s already been designed.
It’s easy to tell if it will work well in the market.
Experience speaks volumes.
‘If a delivery revolution starts because of us, the industrial landscape of South Korea will change again.’
Now he was curious.
The butterfly effect, where the flutter of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil could lead to a tornado in Texas.
How much will the returnee Lee Hyun-woo change the world?
From the next day, Lee Hyun-woo watched as Kang Dong-ho began by contacting 【Korea Express】, the largest domestic transportation company, and then called in its competitors and smaller companies in the industry.
In fact, online shopping and delivery are closely related.
The expression “inseparable relationship” would be more accurate.
Lee Hyun-woo suddenly recalled 【Amazones】 from his past life and once again brought out a familiar term in his mind.
‘Delivery revolution.’
The foundation of 【Amazones】 becoming one of the top companies was delivery.
In reality, they achieved economies of scale by directly servicing the existing model.
‘The key is how much we can lower the cost.’
Fortunately, 【Jungle】 was a company welcomed by transportation firms.
During an interim report, Kang Dong-ho said,
“After sending the letters, they were all favorable.”
“Did you get calls?”
“Yes, I spoke with most of the companies. They subtly hinted that partnering with them would be more profitable than using postal services in terms of cost.”
“So they assessed our shipping volume.”
“Private companies are indeed quicker in these matters than the post office. The post office is optimized for individual use, but lacks flexibility for companies.”
Even if they wanted to, the large and bureaucratic nature of the organization would make it difficult.
Still, Lee Hyun-woo didn’t want to exclude the post office.
“Wouldn’t it be better to call the post office too?”
“I called them just in case.”
Seeing how Kang Dong-ho did things without being instructed, Lee Hyun-woo felt he had made a good hire.
It seemed he had even come up with a strategy.
“【Korea Express】 hasn’t been in the small parcel integrated transport business for long. Other companies are also preparing, so I am confident they will aggressively compete for 【Jungle】, which handles tens of thousands of items monthly.”
“That makes sense.”
“If a win-win contract in terms of cost is achieved, I’m thinking of entrusting all of 【Jungle】’s deliveries to one company for at least a year. Is that too much?”
“A year is too long. Go by season.”
“Then, since it’s September now….”
“Let’s give an exclusive contract until the end of this year, including this month.”
“Yes, I will do that.”
For reference, the ‘small parcel integrated transport business’ mentioned by Kang Dong-ho is the precursor to courier services.
‘I know that during this period, 【Korea Express】 was planning to enter the courier market.’
Lee Hyun-woo, who always worked with a margin to avoid overwork.
Instead, making quick decisions speeds up the work process.
Therefore, Lee Hyun-woo’s answers were always without hesitation, leading smoothly to the bidding process.
On the day of the bidding, as expected, the largest company, 【Korea Express】, proposed an exclusive contract at 1,000 won per item, and 【Jungle】 had no reason to refuse.
Kang Dong-ho, with a cheerful face, reported the results to Lee Hyun-woo just before leaving work.
“At 1,000 won, it’s profitable for us, and consumers can buy goods cheaper.”
“Exactly.”
At 【Jungle】, orders over 10,000 won had free delivery.
So, to save the 2,000 won delivery fee, consumers had to purchase more items, and 【Jungle】 had to pay the post office 2,000 won for orders over 10,000 won.
Now, a win-win situation was emerging between 【Jungle】 and its customers.
“The timing is perfect.”
“Timing?”
“Just now, Team Leader Han Se-jin concluded a contract with Taepyeong Cosmetics.”
“Ah….”
Unlike CDs and books, which generally had uniform prices, cosmetics varied greatly.
Therefore, the 1,000 won delivery cost seemed like a great achievement that could give a significant boost to the business.
“Now, shall we see how well cosmetics sell?”
In fact, Lee Hyun-woo knew well that cosmetics were among the most overpriced products.
‘The cost is less than 10% of the selling price.’
He knew this well but did not interfere and left it to Han Se-jin.
It seemed he had gained some experience over time, as he negotiated a 50% selling price.
If Lee Hyun-woo had gone himself, he could have reduced it to 30%, but he generously praised the outcome.
He was satisfied with the result, given that the CEO didn’t personally intervene.
With capable employees like Kang Dong-ho and Han Se-jin joining, Lee Hyun-woo pondered.
‘I thought only developers were good, but there are hidden gems in the sales department too.’
Watching their growth day by day was one of the joys of running the company after his return.
However, he knew a way to accelerate their growth.
Recently, he had written about this method in his frequently used notebook:
The operator must efficiently manage the employees’ time. To do this, the time spent together must be increased, but delaying the end of the workday is one of the most inefficient methods. Just as sitting at a desk for a long time doesn’t guarantee good study results, not all employees work during the extended hours enforced by the boss. Therefore, the method to employ is a workshop.
A workshop originally means a ‘workplace’ or ‘workroom.’
But how effective would it be if held at the office?
It would be close to zero.
‘Workshops should be held at places where employees are most satisfied to be effective.’
Then, should I choose a location that will vertically increase their satisfaction?
With these thoughts, the next day, Lee Hyun-woo made another bold announcement upon arriving at work.
“Now it’s time to devise a good plan for selling cosmetics. To come up with more brilliant ideas, we will hold a workshop at 【Seorabeol Hotel】 next week.”
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
The endless stream of exclamation marks in the employees’ eyes seemed never-ending.
Some even doubted their ears.
A workshop?
At one of Korea’s top hotels, 【Seorabeol】?
Fortunately, it wasn’t a problem with their hearing, as Lee Hyun-woo repeated himself.
“Is 【Seorabeol Hotel】 not good?”
“No!”
“Of course not.”
“It’s a huge welcome.”
“I’ll definitely participate.”
“CEO, I love you.”
“I’ve never been to a hotel before.”
“Me too. I really want to experience it this time.”
“Wow, my first hotel experience at 【Seorabeol Hotel】….”
There was a woman’s voice in the middle, but it was unclear who it was.
It seemed they were so happy that they were just saying whatever came to mind.
Watching the employees’ reactions, Lee Hyun-woo continued with a smile.
“However, we cannot leave the server without a constant manager, so we need to arrange shifts. Mr. Jang Yoo-chul.”
“Yes, CEO.”
“During the workshop, don’t rotate only the server management team. Coordinate with the development team to form a shift schedule.”
“Yes, understood.”
Up to this point, everyone seemed to fully believe it and genuinely liked it.
Especially the female employees, who had increased to three, looked particularly excited.
Seeing them, Lee Hyun-woo continued.
“The ones we will listen to the most during this workshop are the female employees.”
“Us?”
“Yes, as mentioned earlier, it’s a cosmetics-related meeting. There’s a lot to refer to.”
“Ah….”
Apart from Yoo Jin-young, the other two were both 20 years old.
This was because they were friends of Yoo Jin-young, who had joined earlier.
Going forward, to consider her, it seemed best to avoid hiring people significantly older than her.
Age culture is deeply rooted in Korea.
Even in a workplace with clear boundaries between public and private matters, this couldn’t be ignored.
Anyway, due to the influence of their close relationship, Yoo Jin-young also started to talk more than before.
“Please ask me anything. I’ll tell you everything. Oh, by the way, the most essential cosmetic item is ‘makeup base.’ I wonder if you know this.”
“Of course. It’s essential along with the twin cake.”
“Huh?”
It was rare for a man to know about such kinds of cosmetics, so Yoo Jin-young looked puzzled.
Seeing her reaction, Lee Hyun-woo smiled and said casually,
“I’ve done a lot of research.”
More than research, it was mostly due to his past life’s experience.
Naturally, the 【Deoksung Group】 he worked for also dealt with cosmetics.
“Alright, let’s end the meeting here. I’ll discuss the detailed workshop schedule with Team Leader Lee Jung-woo and inform you soon.”
