Of the government's budget for next year, 7.9 trillion won has been allocated to the 'Digital New Deal' plan. The project underlying the plan is establishing a 'Data Dam,' which refers to a 'cloud service integration platform' where we can store a large quantity of data and supply it to those in need. This will serve to select and store the data accumulated by public institutions and process it into usable forms. Data processing is a critical factor in AI development; therefore, establishing the 'Data Dam' can be a preliminary work to prepare for future industries. The name 'Data Dam' is also interesting in that it aims to create jobs and stimulate the economy, as the US government constructed the Hoover Dam for similar purposes during the Great Depression.

 Logistics is one of the five areas supported by the Data Dam project. There are fourteen selected operators for the logistics sector (a consortium is considered one operator). We see that many of them are companies whose main business is IT development or fourth-party logistics. That is where one of the selected, E&C GLS, is distinctive from other players. Their first identity lies in the operation of their own warehouse and fulfillment services they provide for customers while dealing with various logistics solutions. 

 Logistics fulfillment service is E&C GLS’s core business and is in line with the growth of the e-commerce market. This operator provides field-oriented consulting services as well, based on its actual logistics operation experience. This is a rare case in Korea in which executives and employees with hands-on experience in various forms of distribution such as home shopping, department stores, and e-commerce have combined their accumulated know-how with IT for fashion and cosmetics, auto parts, and special cargo, etc.

 The company has years of practice to effectively respond to e-commerce, select logistics locations, and enhance the efficiency of structures and facilities. For instance, a Manhattan Beach, CA-based fashion company selected Korea as its logistics hub in the Asian market and successfully settled down using E&C GLS's services. In particular, Mr. Yang Hong-hyun, executive director, explains that the company can be a good choice for foreign enterprises that want to establish a logistics system in the early stage of the Korean or Asian market. "If technologies such as blockchain and data cloud are applied to facilities, customers will be able to check the flow of products more easily and efficiently, and this will create great synergy combined with our existing logistics management skills," he added.

 Existing Warehouse Management System software allows us to see values and figures of goods entered and released from a facility, but E&C GLS is going further to develop solutions that can optimize the flow of workers, equipment, and cargo traffic within the place. The development is expected to be completed in December this year and will be applied first to its logistics center starting next year. Besides, when the blockchain system, supported by the government, becomes practical, it will be able to further increase efficiency by reducing the time required to resolve data inconsistency or share it among the logistics process participants. Mr. Yang explained that the company's blockchain development was already underway before the government announced the plan, and it was lucky to be one of the selected companies. "We are one of the first to try this kind of IT development among the logistics providers in Korea," he said.

 "Our strength is that we have the practical ability to draw out specific action plans from a big picture, and that's what sets us apart from other firms," says Yang. "Beyond a logistics center operator or solution business, we aim to play a role as a data provider," he said, expressing strong confidence to lead the market in the coming years.