Information technology solutions developer Samsung SDS said Tuesday that it would offer logistics platform services, dubbed the Cello Square, from Thursday.

The Cello Square will serve as a venue where shippers, forwarders and carriers can share logistics information and proceed with businesses projects together, according to the Seoul-headquarter IT firm.

In order to establish an ecosystem for a comprehensive smart logistics platform, SDS will not impose any charge for the services available on the platform for a while.

Those who want to send their goods by land, sea or air can search forwarding companies on the online platform and get information on the best shipping routes, estimated times and fees.

“A lot of people are looking at logistics as a fairly traditional and old industry, but in the last two or three years, there was a tremendous amount of excitement in the industry as well as tremendous investments that are happening from venture capital perspective, start-up perspective and individual perspective,” said Shyam Pillalamarri, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Samsung SDS Research America during a press meeting in Seoul, emphasizing that convergence between IT technology and logistics was progressing rapidly.

Around 75 percent of shippers said logistics needed technology, according to data presented by the Korean firm at the meeting.

The senior vice president said the open platform was “unprecedented” because it enabled almost all market players in the global logistics sector to communicate with each other. The platform also features real-time risk assessment and management, designed to help shippers avoid, or minimize, the negative effects of shipment delays.

Deploying big data analytics systems for the risk assessment and management system, SDS’s logistics platform factors in a wide variety of issues including weather conditions and accidents to provide logistics solutions for users of the platform, an official from Samsung SDS said. 

By Kim Young-won  (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)