LG Uplus and Sodomall Partner on AI Tools for Small Businesses

LG Uplus has signed a memorandum of understanding with wholesale and retail distribution platform Sodomall to develop artificial intelligence solutions designed for small business owners in South Korea.

The partnership will combine LG Uplus' telecommunications and AI infrastructure with Sodomall's online and offline distribution data. The companies said they aim to create tools that small merchants can use in stores, expand sales channels and identify business opportunities in local commercial districts.

A central part of the collaboration will be product-demand forecasting. LG Uplus plans to integrate the commercial-district analysis function of its Uri Gage Package with Sodomall's regional sales and group-purchase information. Uri Gage Package is the telecom operator's communications and AI service for small businesses.

By bringing those datasets together, the companies intend to identify product categories that may experience stronger demand in a particular area or season. Such forecasts are expected to help merchants make more informed inventory and logistics decisions while improving the competitiveness of their product offerings. The companies will first test the combined service through a pilot program.

Sodomall operates online and offline distribution channels that supply groceries and everyday goods at wholesale prices through group-buying stores across the country. Its role in the project will include providing operational knowledge gained from managing its distribution and group-purchasing platform, as well as helping apply the jointly developed tools in actual retail settings.

The partners also plan to develop AI services for routine store operations. LG Uplus will contribute AI- and data-based capabilities for functions including customer service and store management. Sodomall will support their practical deployment among small merchants through its distribution network and field experience.

Lim Jang-hyuk, head of LG Uplus' Enterprise Customer Group, said the telecom company plans to expand cooperation that uses AI and communications technology to improve the competitiveness of small business owners and reduce the burden of managing their operations.

Sodomall CEO Seo Deok-ho described the agreement as a starting point for helping small merchants make practical use of AI and data in their businesses. The announcement did not specify a timetable for a commercial launch beyond the planned pilot, nor did it disclose the financial terms of the partnership.