The extreme automation is on display one cold February day at a Coupang facility in the southern city of Daegu. Squat autonomously guided vehicles — AGVs for the robotically literate — march toward a collection point like school kids queuing for lunch. The machines, which can carry 1,000 kilograms, look like bookshelves riding on Roomba cleaners, delivering payloads to pickers and sorters. The workload for humans has been cut by about 65%.
Coupang Inc., the South Korean e-commerce pioneer that has lost billions of dollars since its founding, is rolling out an army of robots at fulfillment centers in a bid to reach profitability.
Korea’s answer to Amazon.com Inc., Coupang burned cash by building distribution centers around the country that could help it push the boundaries of speedy delivery with broad selection. Now the company is closing in on breaking even, with analysts projecting it will turn a profit for the second straight quarter and then report its first annual operating profit in 2023.
