Digital transformation and e-commerce continue to drive the economic growth in Vietnam in 2021, creating opportunities for local companies to develop new business models, local experts said at the forum on digital economy and e-commerce on April 15 in Hanoi.

Delegates attend the forum on digital economy and e-commerce in Hanoi. Photo: Phi Nhat

In the first quarter of this year, Vietnamese startup Abivin, providing Al-powered supply chain optimization solutions for enterprises, saw a surging demand for its retail logistics services. 

“Covid-19 has boosted the demand for our services as on-site shopping was restricted to avoid the spread of the pandemic,” Pham Nam Long, founder and CEO of Abivin told Hanoitimes. “ Online buying and selling activities are booming, which required local businesses to push up their digital transformation process.”

Digital transformation helps them optimize resources, starting from digitizing documents and information, using digital data to improve business operations, Long said. 

Speaking at the forum, Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, Director of the Institute of Branding and Competition Strategy, said over the previous three years, more than 70% of 300 surveyed businesses in Hanoi showed their disbelief in the success of digital transformation of the country.  

However, since 2020, many Vietnamese companies became aware of the digital transformation necessity and started embarking on the process, Thanh said.

A recent survey conducted in 152,000 enterprises by the General Statistics Office in 2020, over 30% of Vietnamese enterprises invested in technology, especially digital technology, and changed their operation and production models at different levels.

Vinsmart's manufacturing factory in Hanoi's Hoa Lac High-tech Park. Photo: Vingroup

Thanh commented that digital transformation at each business is a combination of five pillars, including digital business culture and strategy, engaging and optimizing customer experience, process optimization, technology application, analysis and data management. 

In particular, Thanh noted three lessons for success in digital transformation including thinking big, doing something specifically and drastically from small, innovative, highly diffuse; deeply committed to integrating digital transformation with business development strategy and pioneering leadership.

According to Long, to successfully implement digital transformation, businesses need to review their capabilities and needs, find suitable solutions, and monitor the current performance of the company. “The plans should be carried out step by step alongside the its routine operation,” he said. 

“E-commerce is an opportunity to promote the digital economy, a favorable environment for the application of business models,” Le Duc Anh, Director of the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency’s Center for Informatics and Digital Technologies under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told Hanoitimes and added: “There are still challenges for the application of digital business model.”

“That’s why we are cooperating with big technology corporations to adopt solutions for supporting local small and medium enterprises to switch from traditional to online platforms in the coming time,” he said.