General Director of Saigon Aquatic Products Trading JSC. Truong Tien Dung recalled how frustrated his organization felt during the six months of the fourth Covid-19 outbreak last year in HCMC.
At that time, when many provinces restricted product and material transport to the city, the supply chain to this company was immediately disturbed. After assuring employees and implementing the ‘3 on-site’ model, the management board submitted a request to HCMC Food and Foodstuff Association, HCMC People’s Committee to address congestions in material flow.
Having a more stable material source, the company moved on to tackle the problem of product distribution to city households when the outbreak was still wreaking havoc in the city. It decided to decrease products for foreign orders to help the domestic market, especially the one in HCMC. Thanks to that, the company is still able to maintain its development rate and was awarded ‘HCMC Golden Brand of 2021’.
Enduring a similar challenge from the supply chain interruption was Vinamilk – the ‘giant’ in the Vietnamese dairy production. Closely monitoring the market demands, it had to temporary increase its material inventory, contradictory to its regular policy, to satisfy the domestic market.
At the same time, Vinamilk decided to switch to online mode from raw material collection to product distribution for more effective management. Using advanced technologies like the e-Office platform, electronic signature, inner interaction system, it was able to ensure the health safety for its human resources and a stable work flow. Along with a proper employee benefit policy and the ‘3 on-site’ mode, the company made employees feel at ease working there.
President of Truong Hai Group Corp. Tran Ba Duong suggested that in order to maintain stable manufacturing activities and increase competitiveness for domestic businesses, the Government should promote and invest in the raw material production industry. This is expected to help companies reduce both their logistics cost and material supply disruption.
HCMC in particular should establish a raw material center for the mechanical engineering industry to avoid an unbalance of material inventory among enterprises, reduce working capital burden for each company, and share experience on technology implementation in manufacturing activities.
