This study is designed to set up a comprehensive management plan for the construction of a medicinal herbs distribution depot in Geumsan County. For this purpose, a feasibility study was conducted and a basic plan to efficiently construct and manage the depot was suggested.
Chapter 2 examines the current status and problems of the medicinal herb industry in Geumsan. A total of 818 farm households are engaged in the business of cultivating medicinal herbs on a cultivation area of 199 hectares. The figures account for 2.2% of total farm households and 1.5% of total cultivation area of the domestic medicinal herb industry. The problems of herb cultivation in Geumsan are that the production scale is too small and the production infrastructure is too poor. Also, even though Geumsan is a main producing district of medicinal herbs, there is no distribution center there and because of this most herbs produced in Geumsan are shipped out to other domestic markets first only to be brought back again.
Chapter 3 summarizes the construction direction and main functions of the herbs distribution depot. The distribution depot must have not only the basic transaction function but also the comprehensive distribution function of sorting, packing, processing, low-temperature storing, and shipping. On top of that, it is necessary for the depot to be a center of electronic commerce, collecting information about the herbs and performing the public functions of education, tourism, field trips, etc.
Chapter 4 suggests a proper volume of business and the suitable scale of the depot. According to the results of the analysis, the minimum volume of business to achieve the purpose of constructing the depot is 3,112 tons, which is a 7.7% market share of the domestic medicinal herb industry. In addition, the proper floor space of the depot is found at 4,612㎡.
Chapter 5 presents a management and operation plan. It is evaluated that since the organizations constructing and managing the depot after the construction are the same, the organization that builds the depot should also manage it directly, and the selling and buying of medicinal herbs at the depot should take the form of auctions or bids. In addition, the herbs distribution depot can operate efficiently if it opens once in every 5 days, opening on days that end with ones and sixes (1, 6, 11, 16, 21, and 26 of every month) and one day before the opening of the ginseng market in Geumsan.
Chapter 6 presents an economic analysis of constructing the distribution depot. According to the analysis, the financial rate of return (FRR) is found at a considerably high figure of 25.8%. However, this analysis is insignificant because the level of government subsidy is very high.
Chapter 7 suggests a basic architectural plan for the herbs distribution depot in Geumsan. The building area of the depot is 4,612㎡ (1,395 pyeong) and it is a two-story building with a basement. The main facilities of the depot are a low-temperature storehouse, sorting, packaging, and processing rooms, a loading dock, an auction house, various office rooms, a conference room, and an exhibition hall. The estimated construction cost is about 4,330 million won.