Recently, during the ASEAN Forum in Paris, at the invitation of the President of the French Senate, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, and Ambassador of Vietnam to France Dinh Toan Thang co-chaired a seminar on ‘Leveraging the Intellectual and Entrepreneurial Resources of the Overseas Vietnamese for the Development of Vietnam’s Industry, Energy, and Trade.’ AVSE Global’s representative, Assoc. Prof. Tran Phuong Tra, Director of the Economic Policy Network (EPNet), delivered a speech on ‘Vietnam’s Supply Chain – Global Competitive Potential.’
In her speech, Assoc. Prof. Tran Phuong Tra emphasized the crucial role of state-led guidance, leadership, and facilitation for the supply chain sector of a country to compete globally. She provided a specific example of Singapore’s success in becoming the world’s third-largest Fintech ecosystem in less than 10 years, attributing it to significant government guidance and facilitation. Singapore clearly identified five stakeholders in the Fintech ecosystem with distinct roles: Technology Developers, Startups, Customers, Financial Institutions, and the Government.
Regarding Vietnam’s opportunities, Assoc. Prof. Phuong Tra pointed out that the country is facing unprecedented opportunities as certain industries globally face disruptions due to reasons such as war, politics, etc. Vietnam has become an attractive destination for foreign businesses and critical industries. The question is, which industries should Vietnam strategically develop? Currently, Vietnam ranks in the top 30 of major cities in Asia for the Digital Twin technology index, encompassing technologies such as blockchain, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and vehicle automation, according to a World Bank report in April 2023.
Assoc. Prof. Phuong Tra highlighted two optimal conditions for applying technology in Vietnam: a sufficiently large market for testing Minimum Viable Products (MVP) and a flexible business culture that facilitates the rapid application of experimental solutions. She outlined three specific proposals for the state to lead and create conditions to unify and synergize the Vietnamese supply chain globally:
- Establish innovation startup platforms in the technology application field to the supply chain with the participation of major strategic enterprises, creating an innovative – business network. This includes platforms at the city and local levels, then national platforms, and finally regional markets where Vietnamese businesses operate.
- Seek major international partners for technology development along with skill transfer. For instance, when joint ventures like Dassault-Thales sell missiles to India or Singapore, it should be accompanied by training centers for local engineers to use the products, building quality and precision mindset for the local workforce.
- Align multidisciplinary training between technology development engineers, supply chain production management, and strategic management to ensure that technology is understood by managers from the training stage. This will create the ability to work together and collaborate across disciplines.
In conclusion, based on Assoc. Prof. Tran Phuong Tra’s speech, an efficient supply chain requires smooth operation like a skilled football team in a match – the government is the place to train players, providing conditions for players to practice together and engage with opponents as early as possible.
