- Seoul National University Professor Park Sung-ho discusses how changes in the retail industry are reshaping logistics operations
- Seminar explores the future direction of LAPI and its evolution toward a shared logistics platform
The Korea Logistics Institute, part of LOGISALL Group, held an online and offline seminar on September 16 to discuss the future direction and development of LAPI (Logistics Alliance in Physical Internet), Korea’s model for implementing the Physical Internet.
The seminar featured Professor Park Sung-ho of Seoul National University’s College of Business Administration under the theme “The Era of Retail Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges for LAPI.” Approximately 100 representatives from KCCLO member companies participated online. The seminar examined how rapid changes in the retail industry are reshaping logistics operations and explored ways to develop a new logistics ecosystem in which resources and data can be connected and shared across companies through the Physical Internet.
Professor Park highlighted the expansion of retail media, subscription and membership services, and AI agents as key trends transforming the retail industry. Retail media is enabling retailers to generate new business value from customer, product, and purchasing data, while the growth of subscription services is driving changes in logistics demand through smaller and more frequent orders as well as increased deliveries and returns.
He also discussed the emergence of a new commerce environment in which AI agents could move beyond product search and purchasing to make decisions based on a broad range of factors, including price, delivery time, logistics costs, and carbon emissions.
Professor Park emphasized that these changes are increasing the need for the standardization, sharing, and connectivity envisioned by the Physical Internet. As orders become increasingly fragmented and logistics demand grows more complex, independently owning and operating logistics resources may become less efficient. This, in turn, increases the importance of networks that connect and share transportation, warehousing, packaging, and other logistics resources and data across organizational and industry boundaries.
The seminar also highlighted the importance of data and protocol standardization. For AI agents to effectively utilize logistics information, data must not only be standardized across companies but also provided in formats that machines can understand and process.
A major focus of the seminar was the “LAPI Pool Project,” which the Korea Logistics Institute is currently preparing for pilot implementation as a practical model for advancing LAPI.
LAPI Pool is designed to connect fragmented logistics supply and demand across companies and share information on transportation capacity, warehouses, logistics equipment, and other resources, enabling them to be allocated more efficiently where they are needed. Through this initiative, the Korea Logistics Institute aims to evolve LAPI beyond the pooling of individual logistics assets into a comprehensive, data-driven logistics network that connects and shares a wide range of resources.
The Q&A session also covered potential connections between LAPI and major retailers, the integration of B2B-oriented LAPI with B2C distribution, corporate data quality and utilization, and the need for logistics information standards such as GS1.
Building on the seminar, the Korea Logistics Institute plans to further develop pilot initiatives, including LAPI Pool, in response to the growing need for greater connectivity and resource sharing across logistics networks. It will also expand collaboration with companies, research institutions, and the public sector to establish the foundation for a Korean Physical Internet ecosystem in which logistics data and resources are seamlessly connected.
“As the retail industry rapidly evolves around data and AI, logistics must also move beyond optimization within individual companies toward a model in which resources and data can be connected and shared across organizations,” said a representative of the Korea Logistics Institute. “Through pilot initiatives such as LAPI Pool, we aim to translate the concept of the Physical Internet into practical logistics operations and build a Korean Physical Internet ecosystem where diverse participants can share and utilize logistics resources more efficiently.”
