International Trade · Supply Chain

Hi, I'm
Jeongmin Kim.

From import and customs clearance to distribution across the USMCA region, I keep Asian chemical products flowing to the manufacturers who depend on them, on time and through every disruption. That includes Korean SSBR, NBR, and 6PPD, plus PET resin from Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Get in Touch See My Work
Portrait of Jeongmin Kim
+60%Michelin supply volume growth, 2,500 → 4,000 MT/yr
9.3/10Supplier satisfaction rating from Michelin
2,600 MTNew annual contract won for Continental's mega plant
10Product lines across synthetic rubber, rubber chemicals, and plastic resins
About Me

Economics background,
supply chain on the front line.

I studied Economics at the University of Minnesota, and since 2023 I have worked at POSCO International America, supplying Korean synthetic rubber and rubber chemicals from Kumho Petrochemical and Kumho Polychem to manufacturers across North America and Mexico.

My work sits where purchasing meets logistics: managing inventory for some of the world's largest tire makers, coordinating manufacturers, forwarders, and customers, and solving problems when shipping lanes, tariffs, or costs suddenly change.

Before that, I interned at two of Korea's major public corporations, KEPCO and KOMSCO, working on vendor payments, contract review, international standardization, and market analysis.

Based in
Anaheim, California
Current
POSCO International America
Focus
Synthetic rubber & chemicals
Region
North America & Mexico
Education
B.A. Economics, UMN
Languages
Korean, English
Current Work

POSCO International America Corp. Current

Sales Assistant Manager, International Trade (Synthetic Rubber & Chemicals)
Anaheim, CA · 2023 – Present

Product Portfolio

6PPD KUMANOX-13 SSBR SOL-6270 BR KBR-820 SBS KTR-102 · 104 · 201P EPDM KEP980N · 750F · 370F NB-Latex NBR HIPS ABS PET Resin KR · TW · VN · ? MT

Key Customers

Michelin Continental Goodyear BASSTECH Corrie MacColl Cook Chemical WARCO Maxter Healthcare

What I Do

  • Develop new accounts in North America and Mexico
  • Negotiate pricing with customers
  • Track logistics and customs end to end
  • Run warehouses in multiple regions for JIT delivery
  • Investigate and resolve quality issues

Selected Work

Digital Transformation · Company-wide Task Force

One board for every order, from factory to final delivery

11 modulescompany-wide DX program · six-member task force
  • Served on the six-member task force digitizing logistics, customs, and inventory operations, working from development direction through testing on modules including the Integrated Status Board (ISB), Supply Chain Planning (SCP), Warehouse Inventory Management (WIM), and US Entry Management
  • Helped break operations into 11 modules and set a three-phase standard (analysis and design, development, unit testing) with a master schedule
  • Represented the business to the external development vendor, handling requirements, feasibility checks, testing, and audits, and supported user training and change management
  • For the ISB, consolidated order details, customs and duties, sales, credit/debit, inventory, and incidental costs that had been tracked separately by each business unit into one real-time board, with views tailored to each unit
  • Set up one view across factory release, vessel loading, customs clearance, discharge, and distribution or direct delivery; now partially launched, and expected to let one person handle status tracking that would otherwise take two
2026 Portfolio · First Three Quarters

Growing existing accounts across rubber, chemicals, and resins

~$45Mtransaction value · 18,000+ MT across five material groups
  • Doubled synthetic rubber volume and revenue quarter over quarter in Q3, to about 3,700 MT and $10M
  • Opened SBS sales at an existing account, reaching about 1,600 MT and $3.8M in the first quarter of supply, while scaling NBR to the same account about 6.6x from Q1 to Q3
  • Launched a new SSBR consignment program with a global tire manufacturer, securing about 530 MT and setting up local warehousing and JIT delivery
  • Restored 6PPD supply to a global tire manufacturer's Canadian operations after a 2025 suspension
  • Raised SBS pricing 19% per ton during a 28% volume decline at a key account, limiting the revenue decline to 14%
  • Increased HIPS/ABS supply 88% quarter over quarter to about 2,400 MT while reducing long-term inventory
Michelin · 6PPD

Stable supply through global disruption

2,500 → 4,000 MTannual volume, 2023 → 2026
  • Grew annual contract volume from 2,500 MT (2023) to 2,800 MT (2024), 3,000 MT (2025), and 4,000 MT (2026)
  • Kept supply stable through the Red Sea crisis, Panama Canal restrictions, oil price spikes, and freight and trucking cost surges, while competing suppliers struggled to meet Michelin's requirements
  • Built a multi-forwarder network across Korea, China, and Taiwan under service contracts, securing vessel space and rates
  • When Cape of Good Hope rerouting delayed back-to-back shipments, obtained actual consumption data from three Michelin plants and managed inventory on 3–4 day cycles until new stock arrived
Michelin · VMI

Vendor Managed Inventory with safety stock

9.3 / 10supplier satisfaction rating
  • Operated a VMI program under DDP terms, keeping two months of safety stock in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas warehouses
  • Earned a 9.3/10 rating in Michelin's supplier evaluation
  • Responded to 2025 U.S. tariff increases by designing a cost-sharing structure among the customer, POSCO International, and the manufacturer, creating a win-win for all three parties
Continental · 6PPD

Emergency supply that won a new plant

2,600 MT / yrnew contract · 12 containers per month
  • Continental received 6PPD directly at its plants under DDP terms, without warehousing, and faced an urgent shortage
  • Reallocated Michelin-dedicated inventory after reviewing delivery dates and pricing in detail
  • Confirmed with the manufacturer that product properties and packaging were identical, and reviewed Continental's material-feeding process to verify the slightly different packaging would work
  • Recognized for proactive response and customer service, leading to a new contract for Continental's second, mega-scale plant
WARCO · EPDM & NBR

A mixed container that won competitor share

70 / 30NBR–EPDM mixed container
  • WARCO, a small plant using 1–2 containers of NBR from a competing supplier and 0.5–1 container of EPDM per month, kept ending up with leftover EPDM
  • Proposed a 70/30 NBR–EPDM mixed container matched to its actual consumption ratio, made possible because Kumho Petrochemical (NBR) and Kumho Polychem (EPDM) are group affiliates
  • Coordinated two-site loading between Ulsan and Yeosu, solving errors caused by the two companies' separate shipping systems
  • Won over a significant share of WARCO's NBR volume from a competing supplier, earning internal recognition
Quality · NB-Latex

Root-cause analysis of container leakage

  • Investigated NB-Latex leakage found inside a container, determining whether the damage occurred at sea or during port discharge, and developed solutions with the manufacturer, carrier, and customer (Maxter Healthcare)
Experience

Before POSCO

Internships at Korean public corporations and work in the U.S. during university.

Bell Museum

Feb 2022 – May 2023
Visitor Services Associate · Saint Paul, MN
  • Led greeting and educating visitors, drawing on extensive knowledge of exhibits and historical and environmental topics, and handled gift shop sales and ticketing
  • Managed day-to-day museum operations, including opening on schedule and giving tours to visitors

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)

Mar 2021 – Jun 2021
Intern, Customer Management Department · Busan, South Korea
  • Established and implemented a "QR-code distribution board" project, reducing customers' electricity usage and fare-checking time by 30% and raising customer satisfaction by 20%
  • Developed and implemented a more efficient complaint response procedure, improving the satisfaction score by 35%
  • Identified potential risks in a subsidiary by reviewing business documents and contracts and conducting desk and field research
  • Worked with 100+ vendors to ensure all invoices were paid on time

Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. (KOMSCO)

Jul 2020 – Jan 2021
Intern, Global Strategy Consulting Department · Daejeon, South Korea
  • Assisted an international management standardization project by communicating with each department and entity
  • Developed and executed a consolidated management strategy based on an ISO standard (14298-2021) for implementation across departments
  • Organized and facilitated Visa qualification meetings for new payment system acquisitions, and managed defects identified during Visa standardization
  • Conducted market research and feasibility analysis using financial statements, industry analysis, and competitor analysis in Excel, R, and Python
Toolkit

What I work with

The terms, systems, and tools I use every day to move materials across borders.

◆

Trade & Incoterms

DDPDAPFCA CIPCIFFOB Customs TrackingService Contracts
▲

Supply Chain

VMISafety StockJIT Delivery Warehouse OperationsForwarder Management Quality Claims
●

Systems & Analysis

SAPOracle ERPSalesforce Microsoft OfficeExcelRPython
Beyond Work

A little more about me

5 · 2 · 2

Korea Para-Swimming Federation

Team Leader, Swimming Athlete · Daejeon · Mar 2015 – Apr 2016
  • Improved team swimming performance by 20% by managing the competition schedule for 10+ team members and establishing daily nutrition, physical, and mental conditioning routines
  • Won 5 gold, 2 silver, and 2 bronze medals in the 50m, 100m, and 400m freestyle at national and provincial disability swimming competitions
90+

Korean International Student Organization

President, Treasurer · UMN · Aug 2019 – May 2023
  • Spearheaded planning of a welcome session for 90+ freshman and transfer students
  • Identified and contacted sponsors and supporters to facilitate club growth
  • Organized a meeting for 20+ alumni and an alumni discussion panel, achieving the highest attendance rate through social media promotion
16+

Productive Surplus

President · UMN · Aug 2019 – May 2023
  • Facilitated weekly meetings of 16+ members for discussions and debates on international issues
  • Implemented a "UMN Feedback Board," collecting students' needs and feedback for the building maintenance department and faculty
  • Led the "Minnesota Living Tips" and "Road Trip Maps" projects to share practical information for living well in Minnesota
−50%

Climbing Team 'Crux Ducks'

Treasurer · UMN · Sep 2017 – May 2019
  • Implemented centralized purchasing, reducing team costs by 50%
  • Organized "Climbing Day" by reserving venues and equipment for outdoor climbing at various locations
  • Reviewed and analyzed operating budgets every four weeks
Education

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Bachelor of Arts, Economics

Minneapolis, MN · May 2023
Contact

Let's work together.

Open to procurement and purchasing roles in manufacturing. I'd be glad to hear from you.

Email Me