Coupang Launches Smart Hub to Enable Domestic Stocking and Cross-Border Sales

【Ebrun Original】Coupang Rocket Growth has officially launched its Coupang Smart Hub solution. The solution, through a 'domestic stocking, cross-border sales' model, helps Chinese sellers enter and deepen their presence in the Korean market with lower risk and higher efficiency.

Specifically, sellers can first store goods at the first Coupang Smart Hub located in Weihai, and dynamically replenish inventory to Coupang Rocket Warehouses in Korea based on actual sales performance, achieving flexible and efficient inventory management. Generally, the Coupang Smart Hub can prepare 21 days of inventory, while Rocket Warehouses prepare 14 days of inventory, with replenishment adjusted in real time based on sales velocity and inventory alerts.

This solution addresses several pain points for merchants: First, it effectively reduces the cost and risk of product testing. The Coupang Smart Hub is located in China, so if products don't sell and need to be returned, there are no first-leg logistics or tariff costs—goods can be returned directly to the factory. Whether for new merchants starting out or established merchants expanding their product lines, the reduction in slow-moving inventory costs is significant. Second, the 'domestic stocking, cross-border sales' model ensures agile replenishment while minimizing stockouts and overstocking, optimizing inventory management. Additionally, in supply chain management, the Coupang Smart Hub uses algorithms to improve replenishment accuracy and provides end-to-end integrated managed services—sellers only need to deliver goods to the Coupang Smart Hub, and Coupang handles the rest, with full supply chain visibility.

Take Weihai Jiayuhe International Trading Co., Ltd., a women's apparel merchant, as an example. According to its general manager Zhang Yuliang, the company sources 40% of its products through custom pattern-making and 60% through external procurement. Previously, the company would send all custom-made items (1,000 pieces) to Korea; if sales were poor, the slow-moving inventory could only be cleared at a discount. After adopting the Smart Hub, they place 200 pieces in the Rocket Warehouse and the remaining 800 pieces in the domestic Smart Hub. If sales are strong, automatic replenishment can list products in as fast as 4.5 days; if sales are weak, the 800 pieces in the Smart Hub can be returned to the factory for redesign, effectively limiting losses.

At the Coupang Smart Hub solution launch event, merchants and Coupang shared a consensus: 'Coupang today is equivalent to Amazon in 2017 and 2018,' with overall competition being less intense by comparison. Platform recruitment documents show that traffic and consumer demand for Rocket Warehouses are gradually increasing, but product inventory in the warehouses is insufficient—on average, products begin receiving orders about 1.5 days after being stocked. Therefore, the platform continues to aggressively recruit Rocket Warehouse sellers this year.

Under the Rocket Warehouse model, sellers first ship goods through cross-border logistics providers to Coupang's official local warehouses in Korea (i.e., Rocket Warehouses). After consumers make purchases, Coupang handles picking, delivery, customer service, and returns processing.

Currently, Coupang offers two store-opening methods: one is the standard store, where a Chinese legal entity registers a Korean business license and opens a store using that license—suitable for sellers planning long-term development in the Korean market; the second is the express store-opening model, also known as an affiliated store, where sellers use a Chinese business license to open a store under the name of a third-party Korean agency. The store itself has the same permissions as a standard store, and the seller still retains ownership—this model is more suitable for novice sellers who want to try the market at low cost first.

Additionally, affiliated stores can be opened in just 1-3 working days, much faster than the 20-30 working days required for standard stores. In terms of costs, Coupang charges no store-opening fee, annual fee, or deposit—the express store-opening model enables zero-cost store setup.

According to iResearch's '2026 White Paper on Cross-Border E-Commerce Opportunities in the Korean Market,' Korea's e-commerce market reached $168.3 billion in 2025, making it the third-largest overseas e-commerce market for Chinese cross-border sellers. Moreover, Korean consumers' online shopping behavior is highly mature, with online channel penetration and per capita annual spending far exceeding global and other Asian country levels.

Notably, Korea's local logistics system is mature, with cross-border shipping times of approximately 3-5 days, and the domestic market has achieved a high proportion of same-day or next-day delivery. High-quality, efficient logistics services are also one of the factors consumers value most. For Chinese merchants, the distance between the two countries is only a few hundred kilometers—compared to the 1-2 month first-leg shipping times typical for European and American markets, only 5-10 days are needed. Weihai, where the Coupang Smart Hub is located, enjoys a geographical advantage: the straight-line distance from Weihai to Seoul is about 430 kilometers, closer than to Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province (455 kilometers), providing great convenience for cross-border stocking and replenishment.

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This article was first published on the official Ebrun website.