TeamFresh Halts Overnight Delivery — The Real Crisis Isn’t Logistics

Supply Chain Strategy Briefing

STREAMLINE: TeamFresh Halts Overnight Delivery — The Real Crisis Isn’t Logistics

(2025.05.29)

TeamFresh has come to a standstill.

Its overnight delivery and fulfillment services have both shut down, and key clients are walking away.

What’s unfolding isn’t a one-off logistics hiccup — it’s the collapse of a business model that ran on borrowed time and borrowed cash.

As one industry insider put it: “This is not a dip — this is a free fall.”

❶ Point of View | From Service Suspension to Business Breakdown

TeamFresh’s overnight delivery partially stopped on March 1.

By April 17, its nationwide fulfillment service had also been suspended.

Major fresh food clients like Wisely have already severed ties or are looking for alternatives.

As of May, TeamFresh is effectively offline — no delivery, no warehouses, no operations.

※ This isn’t a “pause.” It’s a platform shutdown.

❷ Inside the Move | No Funding, No Cash, No Way Back

A planned investment scheduled for March didn’t materialize.

That alone set off a chain reaction:

⊙ Delivery drivers didn’t get paid.

⊙ Vendors weren’t reimbursed.

⊙ A tentative service restart on April 21 fell through.

Internal sources confirm that asset sales, layoffs, and legal rehabilitation (court receivership) are being considered.

※ It’s not just liquidity. It’s strategic insolvency — investors no longer believe in the model.

❸ Business Playbook | The Growth Looked Good, Until It Didn’t

TeamFresh scaled fast on a "cold chain + delivery" promise.

In 2024, it posted ₩540 billion (approx. $400M) in revenue, up 68% YoY.

But operating losses widened from ₩54.1 billion in 2023 to ₩78.1 billion in 2024.

Over 60% of its revenue came from low-margin product sales, not logistics.

Delivery revenue stalled. Meanwhile, its cold chain infrastructure locked the company into massive fixed costs.

※ In short: high topline, zero cash flow. Scale with no sustainability.

❹ Market Impact | Trust Collapsed, and the Market Reacted Fast

Competitors like CJ Logistics, Lotte Global Logistics, and Oasis Market moved quickly to absorb abandoned shippers.

Oasis — known for profitable operations and its hybrid online-offline model — is scaling up fresh delivery services.

Inquiries from TeamFresh’s ex-clients have surged across the 3PL sector.

※ Platform logistics is not just about routing parcels.
It’s about building — and keeping — trust.

❺ Competitor Matrix | TeamFresh vs. the Field

Company	Strategy	Strengths	Risk Factors
TeamFresh	Overnight delivery + cold chain 3PL	Nationwide cold storage infrastructure	Full service halt, liquidity crisis
CJ Logistics	M&A + 7-day fresh B2B delivery	Scale, brand trust, nationwide reach	Unproven in high-frequency fresh delivery
Oasis Market	In-house delivery + physical stores	13 years of profitability, lean cost base	Limited capacity and national footprint
Lotte Global	Scheduled delivery + SME onboarding	Strong infra, growing client base	Weak cold chain track record, limited regions

❻ Beyond the Numbers | The Real Failure Was in Strategy, Not Speed

This is not about logistics execution.
TeamFresh’s fall stems from:

⊙ Overreliance on VC money

⊙ Low-margin contracts to win volume

⊙ Heavy fixed costs in a softening fresh food market

The pandemic boom faded. Demand for overnight groceries plateaued.
But TeamFresh didn’t adapt — it doubled down.

※ “There’s no margin in produce. Add fixed cold chain costs on top, and it’s game over.”
– Former TeamFresh executive

❼ Summary Insight | A Platform with No Margin, No Trust, and No Next Move

KT, its second-largest investor, has exited logistics.

New capital? Nowhere in sight.

What’s left: distressed asset sales, layoffs, and possibly a full M&A or court-led rehabilitation.

The lesson is clear:
In logistics, speed is not the moat.
Cash generation and long-term trust are.