AliExpress, Temu face supply chain challenges 알리익스프레스, 테무, 한국에서 공급망문제직면

[김우정]

중국의 알리익스프레스는 작년 11월말 기준 7백만명으로 1년전보다 2배증가했습니다.
작년 7월에 출시한 테무(Temu)도 월평균 350만명이 사용하고 있습니다.
싼 가격과 무료배송에도 불구하고 일부 품목은 2달까지 걸리는 배송시간이 문제가 되고있습니다.
이 중국회사들도 3일배송을 목표로 한국에서 가까운 웨이하이와 옌타이에 물류기지를 확장하고 있습니다.
앞으로 쿠팡, 지마켓 등 한국의 기존 업체와의 경쟁이 주목됩니다.
 
AliExpress, Temu face supply chain challenges in Korea
알리익스프레스, 테무, 한국에서 공급망 문제에 직면

By Ann Cao
Ann Cao is a tech reporter with the South China Morning Post. She is currently based in Seoul, reporting for both The Korea Times and the South China Morning Post under an exchange program.
앤 차오
Ann Cao는 사우스차이나모닝포스트의 테크 담당 기자이다. 그녀는 현재 서울에 기반을 두고 있으며 코리아 타임즈와 사우스차이나모닝포스트의 교환 프로그램으로 보도하고 있다.
Posted : 2024-01-06 09:56 Updated : 2024-01-06 10:42
Korea Times

AliExpress' recently launched Choice service is intended to provide consumers with delivery guarantees and more affordable prices. Screenshot from AliExpress' website 알리 익스프레스의 최근 출시된 초이스 서비스는 소비자들에게 배달 보증과 더 저렴한 가격을 제공하기 위한 것이다. 알리 익스프레스의 웹사이트 스크린샷

Consumers want faster delivery, higher product quality from Chinese e-commerce firms
소비자들은 중국 전자상거래 회사 들로부터 더 빠른 배송과 더 높은 품질의 제품을 원함

Chinese e-commerce giants are rising as the fastest-growing online platforms for Korean consumers, but they are still grappling with problems of long delivery time and unstable product quality, according to consumers and retail industry officials, Thursday.
중국 전자상거래 대기업들이 한국 소비자들을 위한 가장 빠르게 성장하는 온라인 플랫폼으로 부상하고 있지만, 여전히 긴 배송 시간과 불안정한 제품 품질 문제로 어려움을 겪고 있다고 소비자와 소매업계 관계자들이 목요일 전했다.

Alibaba and PDD, two of the largest e-commerce companies in China, have been expanding their footholds in Korea aggressively with prices of as low as $1 for some small gadgets on their overseas platforms — AliExpress and Temu, respectively.
중국에서 가장 큰 전자 상거래 회사인 알리바바와 PDD는 해외 플랫폼인 알리 익스프레스와 테무의 일부 소형 기기에 대해 각각 1달러까지 낮은 가격으로 한국에서 공격적으로 기반을 확장하고 있다.

AliExpress, launched in Korea in 2018, saw its monthly active users surpass 7 million as of last November, nearly doubling from the number seen a year earlier, according to mobile market research firm WiseApp. Temu, launched in July, averages 3.5 million users per month. Both were ranked as the fastest-growing apps in Korea in 2023.
모바일 시장 조사 기관 와이즈앱(WiseApp)에 따르면 2018년 한국에서 출시된 알리 익스프레스(AliExpress)는 지난 11월 기준 월간 활성 사용자 수가 700만 명을 돌파했으며, 이는 1년 전보다 거의 두 배 증가한 수치입니다. 지난 7월 출시된 테무(Temu)는 월 평균 350만 명의 사용자를 기록하고 있다. 둘 다 2023년 한국에서 가장 빠르게 성장한 앱으로 순위에 올랐다.

But on the flip side, some consumers in Korea are cautious of replacing local platforms such as Coupang and Gmarket, as the Chinese platforms still have a slew of supply chain problems such as longer delivery time and unstable product quality.
하지만 반대로, 중국 플랫폼들은 여전히 배송 시간이 길어지고 제품 품질이 불안정해지는 등 공급망 문제가 많기 때문에 국내 일부 소비자들은 쿠팡과 G마켓 등 현지 플랫폼을 대체하는 데 신중한 입장을 보이고 있다.

Lawrence Woo, a 38-year-old office worker in Seoul, started using AliExpress a year ago. He was lured by the unbeatable low prices, such as a laptop stand for 30,000 won, which he found to be around 50 percent cheaper than local platforms, with free shipping.
서울에 사는 38세의 회사원 로렌스 우(Lawrence Woo)는 1년 전부터 알리 익스프레스(Ali Express)를 사용하기 시작했다. 그는 무료배송과 함께 국내 플랫폼보다 약 50% 저렴한 3만 원대의 노트북 판매대와 같은 타의 추종을 불허하는 저렴한 가격에 매료되었다.

However, he was confused about the delivery time, mentioning that it took two months for him to receive a smartphone camera protection film that he purchased last autumn.
하지만 작년 가을에 구매한 스마트폰 카메라 보호 필름을 받기까지 두 달이 걸렸다고 언급하며 배송시간에 대해 혼란스러웠다.

“The delivery time is too long,” Woo said. “I tried to cancel the order but the customer service is not working.”
우씨는 "배송 시간이 너무 길다,"며 "주문을 취소하려 했지만 고객 서비스가 작동하지 않는다."고 말했다.

According to Temu’s website, the product's shipping time would range from six to 20 days. In comparison, Korean e-commerce giant Coupang is able to shorten the delivery time to within a day with its Rocket Delivery service. Both AliExpress and Temu are cooperating with local logistic companies such as CJ Logistics.
테무의 웹사이트에 따르면 제품의 배송 시간은 6일에서 20일 사이가 될 것이다. 이에 비해 한국의 거대 전자상거래 업체 쿠팡은 로켓배송 서비스를 통해 배송 시간을 하루 이내로 단축할 수 있다. 알리 익스프레스와 테무는 모두 CJ대한통운과 같은 현지 물류 회사와 협력하고 있다.
 
 

The logo of Temu is seen on a mobile phone displayed in front of its website in this April 2023 photo. Reuters-Yonhap 2023년 4월 사진에서 테무의 로고는 웹사이트 앞에 전시된 휴대폰에서 볼 수 있다. 로이터-연합

“It depends on their supply chain,” said Zhuang Shuai, founder and chief analyst at Chinese market consultancy Bailian. “For instance, whether the sellers are local merchants or Chinese merchants, and whether the platforms have their own warehouses.”
"그것은 그들의 공급망에 달려 있다."라고 중국 시장 컨설팅 회사인 Bailian의 설립자이자 수석 분석가인 좡솨이가 말했다. "예를 들어, 판매자가 현지 상인인지 중국 상인인지, 플랫폼이 자체 창고를 가지고 있는지 여부이다."

Zhuang added that Chinese platforms face both policy and cultural barriers in their overseas expansion. “Just like Amazon did not succeed in China, it is also not easy for Chinese companies to go overseas,” he said.
좡은 중국 플랫폼들이 해외 진출에 있어 정책적, 문화적 장벽에 직면해 있다고 덧붙였다. 그는 "아마존이 중국에서 성공하지 못했던 것처럼 중국 기업들이 해외로 나가는 것도 쉽지 않다,"고 말했다.

Despite such challenges, the platforms have been working to improve their supply chain efficiency.
이러한 어려움에도 불구하고 플랫폼은 공급망 효율성을 개선하기 위해 노력해 왔다.

Last March, AliExpress launched a new service called AliExpress Choice, aiming to provide consumers with "delivery guarantees and more affordable prices," while Korean users can expect “as fast as three-day delivery window.” It had also expanded the capacity of its warehouses in Weihai and Yantai, two cities in China’s Shandong province, which is close to Korea.
지난 3월, 알리 익스프레스는 소비자들에게 "배송보증과 더 저렴한 가격"을 제공하는 것을 목표로 알리 익스프레스 초이스라는 새로운 서비스를 시작했고, 반면 한국 사용자들은 "빠르면 3일의 배송"을 기대할 수 있다. 또한 한국과 가까운 중국 산동성의 두 도시인 웨이하이와 옌타이에 창고용량을 확장했다.

Lee Ye-seul, a 35-year-old in Seoul and a long-time user of AliExpress, noted that the speed of delivery has been improving, as some products she ordered recently arrived within four days. But she noted another major problem: the copycat designs widely seen on the platforms.
서울에 사는 35세로 알리 익스프레스의 오랜 사용자인 이예슬 씨는 최근에 주문한 몇몇 상품들이 4일 이내에 도착하면서 배송속도가 향상되고 있다고 언급했다. 그러나 그녀는 또 다른 주요문제인 플랫폼에서 널리 볼 수 있는 모방 디자인에 주목했다.

As characters from Korean and Japanese brands such as Sanrio have become popular, there are many sellers that are copying and selling phone cases with such characters on AliExpress, Lee said. “It's hard to tell if the product you're buying is a plagiarized or original design.”
이씨는 산리오 등 한국과 일본 브랜드의 캐릭터가 인기를 끌면서 알리 익스프레스에서 이런 캐릭터가 들어간 폰 케이스를 복사해 판매하는 판매자들이 많다며 "구매하는 제품이 표절인지 독창적인 디자인인지 구분하기 어렵다."고 말했다.

Her view was echoed by Woo, who also said it is hard to tell the authenticity of any branded products on the platforms. He suggested there could be a “patrol system” for these platforms to punish any counterfeiters.
그녀의 견해는 우씨에 의해 반복되었는데, 우씨는 플랫폼에서 어떤 브랜드 제품의 진위를 말하기가 어렵다고 말했다. 그는 이러한 플랫폼이 위조범을 처벌하는 "순찰시스템"이 있을 수 있다고 제안했다.

Kang Hyoung-goo, a professor of finance at Hanyang University, noted that products purchased from AliExpress are “unknowingly circulating” on Korean second-hand sales sites as counterfeits. “It is a stumbling block to expanding global outreach through K-fashion exports,” Kang said.
한양대학교 금융학과 강형구 교수는 알리 익스프레스에서 구매한 제품들이 위조품으로 한국 중고 판매 사이트에 "나도 모르게 유통되고 있다"고 언급했다. "이것은 K-패션 수출을 통해 글로벌 영역을 확대하는 데 장애물이다,"라고 강 교수는 말했다.

Both Alibaba and PDD are counting on the overseas market to maintain their growth momentum, amid a domestic slowing of user growth and a trend of consumption downgrading.
알리바바와 PDD 모두 국내 사용자 증가율이 둔화되고 소비가 하향 조정되는 추세 속에서 성장 모멘텀을 유지하기 위해 해외 시장에 기대를 걸고 있다.

Korea has become one of the major battlefields. According to a report from online database ECDB, the country is ranked as the fourth-largest market for e-commerce with a predicted revenue of $139.8 billion by 2023, followed by Japan.
한국은 주요 전장 중 하나가 되었다. 온라인 데이터베이스인 ECDB의 보고서에 따르면, 한국은 2023년까지 1,398억 달러의 예상 매출로 일본에 이어 4번째로 큰 전자 상거래 시장으로 평가된다.

Still, for many Korean consumers like Woo and Lee, although the online marketplaces made by Chinese companies offer ways for them to get direct access to China-made goods with extremely low prices, they noted such platforms might not become a major choice for online shopping.
그럼에도 불구하고, 우와 이씨와 같은 많은 한국 소비자들에게, 비록 중국 회사들이 만든 온라인 마켓 들이 그들이 극도로 낮은 가격으로 중국산 상품을 직접 이용할 수 있는 방법을 제공하지만, 그들은 그러한 플랫폼들이 온라인 쇼핑의 주요한 선택이 되지 않을 수도 있다고 지적했다.

“I will keep using such platforms, but for daily necessities or fashion items, I'd rather turn to Coupang or Naver Shopping,” Woo said.
"그런 플랫폼을 계속 사용할 것이지만, 생필품이나 패션 아이템 같은 경우에는 쿠팡이나 네이버 쇼핑 쪽으로 눈을 돌리고 싶다,"라고 우씨는 말했다.

#AliExpress알리익스프레스 #Tem테무 # Supplychainchallenge공급망문제 #Koreanconsumer한국소비자#E-commercegiants 전자상거래거물들 #Deliverytime배송시간 #Productquality제품품질# Alibab알리바바