【South Korea】Coupang Recognized as World’s Most Innovative Distribution Company, Surpassing Amazon

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Editor’s Note

This article highlights Coupang’s significant achievement in being ranked second globally for innovation in the distribution sector, a notable recognition that places it ahead of industry giants like Amazon.

[Photo source = Coupang]
Coupang Ranks Second in Global Innovation List

Coupang Inc. has been recognized as the most innovative distribution company in the world, surpassing Amazon.
According to the distribution industry on March 19, Coupang ranked second in the distribution category of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies 2025” list selected by the U.S. technology and economic media Fast Company.
Fast Company selected 609 companies that demonstrated innovative business performance across 58 industries, including automobiles, robotics, home appliances, and beauty.
Coupang was considered the second most innovative company in the distribution sector, following clothing retailer J.Crew which ranked first.

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IKEA, Pandora (the world’s largest jewelry maker), and Fast Retailing (parent company of Uniqlo) followed. Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company, ranked 8th, six places below Coupang.

Innovation Recognized in Logistics and Services

Fast Company evaluated Coupang as a “one-stop” e-commerce platform that combines Rocket Fresh, Coupang Play, Wow Membership, and free delivery benefits to drive customer retention.

“The solid logistics infrastructure we have built over the past 15 years is the essence of our explosive growth.”

Coupang’s business capabilities were also highly rated for its acquisition of the British luxury e-commerce platform Farfetch last year, achieving breakeven, and launching the beauty app R.lux, which offers innovative same-day delivery of luxury goods in Korea.

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While the platform’s overall sales (in dollar terms) increased by 24% last year, Fast Company also gave high scores for future growth potential, noting that sales of growth businesses such as Farfetch and Coupang Eats surged by 296%.

Technology and Infrastructure Investments

Coupang stated, “We have invested billions of dollars in building an end-to-end technology operating infrastructure that integrates cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and customized robotics,” adding, “We have expanded several innovative services over the past few years.”
Key examples of this technology include Rocket Delivery (which delivers products by dawn the next day for orders placed by midnight), the Coupang Eats service offering unlimited free restaurant food delivery, and Coupang Play’s streaming service.

“Coupang’s machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) systems are strengthening operations such as search, payment, and fulfillment with trillions of predictions every day,” said Wanjari, Vice President of Coupang Engineering. “Coupang has created a unique model that leads to the success of hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized business partners and tens of millions of customers around the world with technology investments.”
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Currently, Coupang holds 2,100 global patents, a number that has tripled over the past four years.
Previously, Coupang was selected as the second most innovative company in the Asia-Pacific region by Fast Company in 2020. At the end of last month, it was also named to the “2025 Global Top 100 Innovative Companies” list by U.S.-based global patent analysis company LexisNexis.

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⏰ Published on: March 19, 2025