Thuan Pham, who recently concluded his tenure as Uber’s Chief Technology Officer and its longest-serving executive, has accepted a new position in South Korea. Coupang, the leading e-commerce business in the country based on market share, has announced the appointment of Pham as its new CTO.

For Pham, this move to Coupang, a SoftBank-supported unicorn with a 24.6% share of the South Korean market – the fifth-largest e-commerce market globally – represents a shift from his initial plans following his departure from Uber, where he began working in 2013. Following his decision to leave Uber, he conveyed a sense of relief in an interview with Bloomberg, characterizing his leadership of the ride-hailing company’s technology division as “an extremely demanding responsibility.” Pham had initially envisioned dedicating his time to educating university students and advising entrepreneurs, rather than rejoining another major technology firm.

“I anticipated a limited possibility of taking on another operational role, but the requirements for doing so would have been exceptionally high,” Pham stated to TechCrunch. “It would need to present an opportunity even more compelling than my experiences at Uber to motivate my involvement.”

However, after engaging with Coupang’s Chief Executive Officer, Bom Kim, who established the company in 2010, Pham became captivated by the prospect of leveraging his expertise from Uber within a different industry.

Coupang is highly regarded for its remarkably swift delivery services. This includes its Dawn Delivery service, which ensures customers receive packages, including fresh groceries, before 7:00 AM, provided orders are placed by midnight. Currently, this service is available in Seoul, where Coupang is headquartered, and several other cities. Pham highlighted Coupang’s capacity to guarantee these early morning deliveries as a significant attraction.

“I was immediately impressed by the genuine innovation on display. While it may not be a technological breakthrough, it’s certainly a novel business approach, and technology is essential to enabling it on a large scale,” he explained.

Pham clarified that he had no interest in joining another ridesharing company, but noted that “many of the underlying principles are comparable” in the realm of on-demand e-commerce. Both models require efficient routing of drivers to collect (or, in Coupang’s case, retrieve packages) and deliver to their destinations, and both utilize dynamic pricing to balance supply and demand, a factor Pham identified as particularly crucial for fresh grocery deliveries.

“There are numerous challenges to address, spanning talent acquisition, technological development, logistical processes, and more,” he said. “I believe much of what I learned at my previous company could be effectively applied to provide assistance, despite the difference in industry.”

Despite Coupang’s dominant position within one of the world’s largest e-commerce markets, Pham believes the company is “still in its formative stages.” He pointed to opportunities for expanding its logistics infrastructure, inventory management, and various business areas, including its third-party marketplace, which offers warehousing and fulfillment services for sellers.

Pham recently spent five weeks in Seoul before returning to California, during which he accompanied a delivery driver on a nighttime shift to gain firsthand insight into Coupang’s logistical operations. He was particularly struck by the high population density of Seoul, which presents both unique challenges and advantages for on-demand e-commerce businesses operating there.

“The truck carried several hundred items, yet operated within a very limited geographical area. We often entered an apartment building and delivered to just two or three residences within it,” he observed. “This level of density provides a substantial advantage for a logistics company, compared to my location in the United States.” [A Coupang representative noted that the company frequently delivers several dozen, or an entire truckload, of packages to a single building].

Leveraging technology to improve working conditions

Coupang initially relied on third-party carriers after its launch a decade ago, before establishing its own network of fulfillment centers. This included employing in-house drivers, initially known as “Coupang men” (now referred to as Coupang Friends, as the company also employs female delivery personnel), who also functioned as customer service representatives.

As the company grew, it increasingly turned to third-party logistics providers. Pham stated that Coupang currently employs tens of thousands of full-time delivery personnel, but also utilizes flexible workers to accommodate surges in demand, such as during holidays. He indicated that this is an area where his experience at Uber could prove beneficial to Coupang.

“Much of the work I undertook and the problems I solved at my previous company are directly applicable, as that environment was entirely based on flexible arrangements,” Pham said. “Here, however, you have a workforce that is on-demand, and the question becomes how to ensure appropriate incentives are in place. When demand exceeds capacity, it’s necessary to offer higher compensation for individuals to accept those jobs, routes, and time slots.”

However, for many companies whose business models depend on on-demand services, customer convenience can come at a cost to workers. Similar to Uber and Amazon, Coupang’s working conditions have faced criticism, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased delivery demand.

During the pandemic, Coupang received criticism for perceived shortcomings in preventing infections at two of its logistics centers. Working conditions at Coupang and other logistics companies, including CJ Logistics, came under scrutiny following worker fatalities, which labor organizations attributed to overwork (in response, a Coupang official informed the Korea Times that its delivery and distribution center staff are limited to 52-hour workweeks).

[In a statement provided to TechCrunch, a Coupang spokesperson stated, “Coupang owns and operates the largest fleet of delivery trucks and delivery personnel in Korea. We maintain rigorous safety protocols that we consistently adhere to. We actually doubled our number of drivers during COVID, largely due to our safety protocols which protected both our drivers and customers.”]

Pham stated that Coupang has invested significantly in COVID-19 safety measures, including disinfectants, increased spacing of goods in its warehouses, and the implementation of automated systems for tracking, picking, and packing inventory to facilitate social distancing.

To enhance working conditions for delivery personnel, Pham said the company is continually refining the algorithms that guide drivers to customer locations.

“From my experience at Uber, I know that clearer routing instructions reduce mental stress on drivers,” Pham said.

While accompanying a delivery driver on an overnight route, he identified opportunities to improve Coupang’s package sorting system, enabling drivers to spend less time searching for small packages at their destinations.

Pham believes that Coupang’s technology can ultimately empower drivers with greater control over their shifts, either by reducing their workload or, in the case of flexible workers, by allowing them to complete more deliveries and earn more income.

Updated with statements from Coupang