A courier's second-by-second delivery routine ahead of Chuseok

“Even a short time on the market is a loss, so as soon as it comes in after delivery, we go out again to deliver the goods.”

Kim Sang-ok (34), a courier I met in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon on the night of the 21st, ahead of the Chuseok holiday, said while carrying fresh food and various daily necessities, including Korean beef and seasonal fruits.

Mr. Kim, who works for YB Logis, a Coupang consignment delivery company, is a 9-year courier who jumped into the courier job right after being discharged from the military. I followed his movements all night ahead of the Chuseok holiday, when work surges.

◇ Movement in seconds to reduce ‘waiting time’… ‘5 minutes to stop the car and complete delivery’

At 10:30 p.m. on the 21st, Mr. Kim filled the truck bed with about 150 parcels and began delivery at the Coupang Logistics Service (CLS) delivery base ‘Cheongcheon M Camp’ located in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon.

A hair band was tied around the head to prevent sweat. As soon as I parked my car in the parking lot of the apartment complex, which was my first delivery destination, I piled various packages on the cart and quickly headed toward the elevator.

As soon as I got on the elevator, I pressed the button for the floor I wanted to deliver to. Then, I quickly sorted the delivery boxes, ran out as soon as the door opened, placed the boxes in front of the front door, and even took a picture.

Time was divided into seconds to deal with the increased volume of deliveries during the Chuseok holiday.

Even as he was heading downstairs after completing the delivery of the building, his eyes kept looking at the smartphone app screen. This is because you want to picture the next delivery route in your mind.

It took only about 5 minutes to park the car, put the items in the cart, complete the delivery, and return.

There was no need to walk when getting out of the car, heading to the elevator, and moving to the front door.

20 minutes after starting the delivery work in earnest, he took a deep breath and said, “This keeps happening over and over again,” and “But I’m glad it’s a cool day today.”

I took a moment to catch my breath, but immediately ran to the truck and started the next delivery.

Mr. Kim's delivery area is a place with a high concentration of delivery volume, ranking in the top 5% nationwide.

Even though the reporter simply followed the movement, his feet were so busy that he started sweating. With an earphone in one ear, he continued his delivery while sharing the situation with fellow couriers and the logistics center.

◇ Use the restroom when loading/unloading… The number of steps increased to 20,000 with 3 circular deliveries.

The first round of work was completed after moving about 150 packages past midnight.

We went straight back to the logistics center and started loading the goods for the second delivery. I usually go to the bathroom at this time too.

A total of three loading and delivery tasks at the logistics center are completed at 6:40 a.m.

Although the route from the truck to the elevator and from the elevator to the front door of each apartment seems short, it takes 20,000 steps to process about 300 items a day.

It also consumes a lot of stamina.

“At first, I couldn’t do it at this speed either. As time went by and I got used to it and it was a repetitive task, I was able to process it at a faster speed,” he said with a smile.

◇ Just before the holidays, the volume is concentrated in stores and companies... Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport launches ‘special management period’

He said, "It is a daily delivery system, so in the case of apartment complexes, the volume does not increase very rapidly ahead of the holidays," but "in areas where companies are located, the volume of deliveries increases rapidly in the week before Chuseok due to holiday gift sets."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport predicts that parcel volume during the Chuseok holiday will increase by 4.9% compared to normal times and will operate a ‘Chuseok holiday parcel delivery special management period’ until the 2nd of next month.

An official from Coupang Logistics Service said, “In cooperation with consignment delivery companies, we are operating a backup driver system in which separate personnel perform deliveries when delivery drivers are off.”