Customer Value Center serving as a communication channel with customers

Interviewee.
Seonjin Kim, Jeongchung Park, Minjae Lee, Woljae Park

“For customer satisfaction, we serve as the communication channel with our customers: CM Customer Value Center”

Planning: Junglim CM Strategy Office
Execution: Junglim Architects Content Lab Yoongyeom Son, Jaeuk Kim

In March of this year, Junglim CM established a “Customer Value Center” to enhance customer satisfaction at construction sites and with clients by supporting communication with client companies, including understanding coordination and mediation. The Customer Value Center is divided into the Customer Value Operations Center, which handles public, housing, and private sectors, and the Customer Value Technology Center, which manages industrial facilities and trust projects, providing integrated management for both construction sites and clients. We explored the specific roles of the Customer Value Center, actual improvement cases from the field, and its future vision. 

#1 INTRO: Customer Value Center and PD(Project Director)

Please provide a brief introduction to the Customer Value Center.

Seonjin Kim: The Customer Value Center is a newly transformed organization designed to respond to the rapidly changing modern market economy. It has introduced a Project Director system that breaks down departmental boundaries and empowers individual team members with decision-making authority. It aims to serve as a channel for dialogue and communication to enable swift, agile, customer-centric decision-making, while also acting as a facilitator for multi-party discussions and mediation.

Jeongchung Park: To elaborate, this newly established organization was created to build a swift decision-making system that aligns with customer-centric operations. Project Directors, or PDs, identify issues and challenges at each site, devise countermeasures, and simultaneously consider the client’s perspective as the ordering party. They serve as coordinators throughout the entire project. Additionally, they share internal site conditions and information with relevant departments and assist in ensuring smooth site management.

Woljae Park: The Customer Value Center employs a total of four PDs: two from the Customer Operations Center and two from the Customer Technology Center. They oversee every stage comprehensively, from project contracting through to post-completion risk management.

Minjae Lee: Companies create new value by meeting customers, which is made possible through securing business contracts. If they execute the secured projects, build strong relationships with customers, and create positive memories, a virtuous cycle is established, enabling the company to achieve sustainable growth. This is especially true for our company, as we are not a group that directly discovers and executes new ventures or manufactures and sells goods. We are solely a group that performs work through specialized technical services, making our customers particularly crucial to us. As society, the economy, and industry advance, customer demands inevitably diversify and expand. Consequently, the need for specialized technical expertise in CM has grown significantly compared to the past, and we have an obligation to meet these demands. To focus more intensely on our customers and fulfill their increasingly diverse needs, Jeonglim CM has taken the lead among competitors by establishing this center and implementing the PD system.

What exactly is the role of PDs at the Customer Value Center?

Seonjin Kim: As the Art of War states, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will win a hundred battles.” We must listen to what our customers want and provide reliable information. In this era of endless information, our role is to make customer-centric decisions, gather and deliver accurate and necessary information, and create new works based on trust.

Jeongchung Park: The Customer Value Center is a customized care system designed to respond most swiftly to the rapidly changing construction market and customer demands. Therefore, as a Project Director, I will strive to minimize on-site risks and dedicate my utmost efforts to customer management and satisfaction through a swift and efficient work support system.

Woljae Park: I am a Project Director responsible for the industrial facilities division at the Technology Center. As such, our primary clients are companies like SK, LG, and Samsung. In these cases, the key characteristic is that we cannot simply end the relationship after a single project; we need to manage it to foster continuous ties that lead to additional contracts.

Minjae Lee: Construction sites, where the value created for customers is directly realized, are also places where customers must be directly engaged and satisfied. PDs proactively collaborate with sites, meet with customers, and handle tasks more swiftly and efficiently. Additionally, from a Risk Management (RM) perspective, they classify and inspect each site monthly using traffic light colors, communicating and striving to resolve risks. They pay close attention to ensure all sites achieve a green traffic light status, conducting regular visits, reporting issues, and devising organizational solutions.

Another significant turning point was the KOICA project, which marked the beginning of our overseas ODA work. I participated as the project leader in constructing a 500-pyeong (approx. 1,650㎡) sewing vocational training center in Haiti, which had suffered a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. During this time, experiencing various CM sites in different countries made the role of CM, which I had previously only vaguely imagined, become crystal clear. The connection formed with KOICA then led to projects in Latin America and Africa. Overseas ODA projects expanded into EDCF projects, becoming a crucial pillar of Junglim CM’s business.

As a PD performing various roles, what is your top priority?

Seonjin Kim: First, the concept of ‘being one with the customer’ is essential. It means recognizing customers as family, interacting with them, sharing their concerns, and working together to find solutions. It’s also crucial to prepare for and assess risks in advance through practical training and seminars.

Jeongchung Park: Throughout all business processes, I mediate and coordinate between the field and the client, prioritizing risk management and enhancing customer satisfaction above all else. Project risk management, in particular, can impact future contracts, so as a PD, I strive to ensure the successful execution of every project I oversee.

Woljae Park: Our internal customers are Junglim members, while our external customers are our clients. When these customers utilize PD as a single point of contact, it not only boosts work efficiency but also leads to increased customer satisfaction.

Minjae Lee: We engage in CM and CS (supervision) projects to build strong relationships with our clients. To sustain these relationships, we believe it is essential to go beyond the scope outlined in the contract. We must discern the underlying needs and deeply understand them to provide comprehensive services that meet those requirements. Even if this process is somewhat challenging and falls within the realm of specialized technical services, we consider such efforts absolutely necessary.

What sets the Junglim CM Customer Value Center apart?

Woljae Park: Typically, other companies appoint a PM, or project manager, who focuses more on project management than customer value. The PD system at the Customer Value Center, however, prioritizes the satisfaction of both internal and external customers above all else, not just project management. This integrated role, encompassing all project-related communication, is what sets us apart.

Minjae Lee: Junglim has established a new organization focused on customer value for the first time. In this field, we believe we have pioneered entry. Moving forward, we must not rest on our initial efforts. The entire organization must continuously move in the same direction toward the shared purpose of ‘customer’ through differentiated expertise and better service. Currently, the scope of CM services is expanding into areas like accounting, finance, and law. If Junglim CM proactively addresses diverse demands and fields, this too will become our unique differentiator and strength.

What advantages do the directors see since the Customer Value Center was established?

Jeongchung Park: Our PD team is the organization that supports the team leaders up close. Since the PD team was established, all field matters are now communicated and centralized through the PD channel. This has significantly reduced difficulties like field teams struggling to identify the right headquarters contact when issues arise. Furthermore, the unified communication system between PDs, field teams (team leaders), and headquarters enables the fastest and most efficient work, establishing a well-structured support system. I too recall my time as a field team leader, when I spent considerable time trying to find and process information—such as who the relevant headquarters contact was, whether they had changed, or how to resolve a problem. I believe the current PDs possess extensive field experience and methodologies, and having worked at Junglim CM for a long time, they have established a system that enables smooth communication.

Woljae Park: Previously, we had to contact each department representative at headquarters individually to handle tasks on-site. Now, we only need to report to the PD. Since the PD collaborates with relevant headquarters departments collectively and secures necessary cooperation to resolve issues, on-site satisfaction has increased. Improvements are also evident in enhanced work efficiency and reduced processing times.

#2. into Site, to the site

If there are any cases where external customers were satisfied at the site, please share them.

Woljae Park: In the early days after Junglim CM entered the industrial facilities sector, we were sometimes treated like subcontractor employees by several large corporations. However, clients like SK, LG, and Samsung SDI, who have worked with us on multiple projects, now recognize Junglim as an indispensable workforce and organization. We proactively engage in candid discussions to prevent risks, and at some completed sites, we received feedback indicating high trust and satisfaction with Junglim CM. This reinforces our belief that we are on the right path.

Is there a particular workplace that stands out in your memory during your career?

Jeongchung Park: I am currently responsible for 41 sites, including private residences. The Magok MICE site I recently visited, for instance, is an urban construction project, so most of the work proceeds using a top-down construction method, similar to urban development projects. While it appears from the exterior that above-ground floors are rising, underground construction is also partially underway concurrently, and the project is nearing completion. This site is an example where, thanks to customized management of client requirements and the efforts of the project manager, we secured an additional contract for road construction, which is part of the urban infrastructure. Another example is the Magok LT office building. It’s in the early construction phase, where equipment setup has just been completed and a safety prayer ceremony was held. The client’s specific request, significant enough for them to visit our CM headquarters directly, was to pay special attention to staffing to prevent any gaps in CM services on-site. This was challenging given the initial staffing plan and actual site conditions, but we successfully readjusted personnel allocations for architecture, electrical, fire protection, and communications per process, aligning them with the client’s needs and the construction timeline. This site stands out in my memory as one we successfully concluded through careful coordination between the site conditions and the client’s requirements. Excavation work begins next week, and I am confident and expect this will become the customized building the client needs. I wish for an accident-free and injury-free site.

Woljae Park: I’d like to introduce the SK Seonhyewon construction site . Before construction, it was the private residence of SK’s first chairman, Choi Jong-kun, and later a corporate training center. This site is currently being rebuilt as a hanok wooden house. Hanok wooden houses are not common in Korea, even for construction management and supervision companies. SK is showing great interest in this site, with Chairman Choi Tae-won and the entire owner’s family attending the groundbreaking ceremony held on June 4th. I’m also paying special attention to this site. Also,  the Samsung SDI site in Indiana, USA , which I visited in April, remains a vivid memory, as the sight of a massive automotive battery factory being built on a vast expanse of land was truly impressive.

Minjae Lee: Of the 17 projects currently under management,  I’d like to introduce the Sartorius site in Songdo, Incheon , and  the office site in the Insa-dong Gongpyeong District in Jongno-gu . The Sartorius site in Songdo is a bio-plant built with German capital. The client is highly satisfied with the company, as well as with the Junglim CM team and their staff. While the site is currently operating stably, I frequently communicate with the team to address any potential risks. Should any issues arise, we are fully prepared to respond calmly and promptly.  The Insa-dong Gongpyeong District project is no exception. This top-down approach to the basement project presented many challenges from the beginning. However, the client is particularly satisfied with Junglim CM, as the basement construction period was shortened by about four months. We hope this project will proceed smoothly without a large list of issues, and we continue to share and discuss anticipated risks with the team.