Comprehensive digital transformation, elevating the Vietnamese food value chain

In the context of Vietnam promoting national digital transformation, many food businesses are making efforts to build digital platforms.

According to a report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment , from 2023, 47% of Vietnamese enterprises will start the digital transformation process, while about 40% are building a green transformation plan. LC Foods Group is one of the food enterprises that constantly promotes digital transformation, applying technology to improve production and business efficiency and create sustainable value for consumers.

Building a digital platform: From the most practical things

As a food manufacturing enterprise, LC Foods does not choose to transform digitally in a massive way, but sticks to a step-by-step strategy - starting with practical actions to build a solid digital governance foundation.

Mr. Le Van Son - Permanent Deputy General Director of LC Foods - spoke at the signing and launching ceremony of the SAP Cloud ERP Enterprise Management Digital Transformation project in Ho Chi Minh City on October 20.

Right from the first steps in the digital transformation journey, LC Foods clearly identified the top priority as building a modern human resource management platform. “The modern human resource management software system was deployed synchronously to manage more than 5,500 electronic human resource records, evaluate KPIs, timekeeping and manage salaries and bonuses. This is a strategic step to help standardize operating processes, increase transparency and efficiency in human resource management,” said Mr. Le Van Son, Permanent Deputy General Director of LC Foods Group.

At the same time, the company gradually deployed ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning System) SAP Business One - serving financial management, supply chain and production. In addition, LC Foods also promoted operational streamlining by converting thousands of paper forms to digital signature systems and Paperless platforms developed by the company's IT team.

According to Decision 466 issued on March 28, 2023, the Government sets a target that by 2025, at least 80% of enterprises will use electronic contracts and move towards 100% by 2030. This is one of the key orientations in the National Strategy for Digital Economy and Digital Society Development.

Joining the transformation flow, LC Foods proactively promoted operational streamlining by converting hundreds of paper forms into electronic documents combined with digital signatures through the application of the Paperless platform - developed by the internal IT team. Mr. Son shared: "It is estimated that each year the business saves more than 1 million sheets of paper, optimizes thousands of hours of internal processing and contributes to realizing the sustainable development strategy, minimizing the impact on the environment."

Mr. Nguyen Cong Tan - General Director of Citek (left, center) and Ms. Huynh Vu Thi Minh Loan - General Director of LC Foods Group (right, center) at the signing and launching ceremony of the SAP Cloud ERP Enterprise Management Digital Transformation project in Ho Chi Minh City on October 20.

Turning Point: Investing in SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud System

2025 is not only a milestone marking the 15th anniversary of establishment and development, but also a pivotal year witnessing the strong transformation of LC Foods Group.

In addition to the two existing factories, LC Foods and KMS Vina, this year, the group completed the merger of three more strategic factories: Mekong Aqua Feed, Hoang Long Seafood and Cadovina (formerly Cadovimex II).

LC Foods Groups' 5-factory ecosystem operates in a closed model with the 3F value chain - "Feed - Farm - Food", from farm to table, creating a solid foundation for a sustainable development strategy and global expansion.

Currently, the Group supplies more than 400 products to the domestic market and exports to more than 30 countries and territories. With a team of more than 50 leading R&D experts, each product line of LC Foods meets strict international standards such as: HACCP, FSSC, BRC, Global GAP... The initiative in the entire value chain has created a special competitive advantage, maintaining quality, stability and outstanding innovation.

LC Foods not only invests heavily in modern technology systems and production lines (such as IQF fluidized bed freezing technology, Fessmann cooking and smoking ovens imported from Germany), but also promotes comprehensive digital transformation. Therefore, LC Foods Group decided to invest billions of VND to implement a comprehensive digital transformation project for SAP Cloud ERP (SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud).

On October 20, LC Foods Group and Citek Technology Joint Stock Company officially signed and launched the project. This is one of the largest digital transformation projects in the food and consumer goods industry in Vietnam by 2025.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Le Van Son said that the digital transformation project aims to optimize the operation of the 5-factory system, manage more than 5,500 employees along with the supply chain serving more than 35,000 partners and distributors. “LC Foods will completely convert to a real-time digital management platform. From production, logistics to finance, everything will be transparent and connected - helping the Board of Directors make faster, more accurate decisions, based on real data,” said Mr. Son.

In addition, Ms. Huynh Thi Than - Information Technology Director of LC Foods - said: "SAP is the world's leading ERP solution, providing the ability to standardize processes, data transparency and international standard management. LC Foods' SAP S/4HANA Public Cloud project is comprehensively deployed from finance, management accounting, purchasing - sales - distribution to production, quality control and logistics management. The goal is to complete the entire transformation in 2026, making LC Foods an international standard management enterprise."

Accompanying national strategy with long-term vision

Sharing about the long-term vision, Mr. Le Van Son affirmed: "Digital transformation is not just a trend - it is the minimum luggage for Vietnamese enterprises to be able to reach out internationally."

When digital transformation is identified as the foundation for national development according to Resolution No. 57 of the Politburo, LC Foods does not choose to go fast but chooses to go steady. The enterprise invests systematically and synchronously to build a solid governance foundation - a core factor to help increase competitiveness and sustainable development in the digital age.

Along with operational efficiency, LC Foods also focuses on sustainable development factors (ESG). Digital systems help reduce resource waste, make supply chains transparent, control food quality and increase traceability - factors that are increasingly important to international markets and modern consumers.

Mr. Son emphasized: "Digital transformation at LC Foods not only aims to maximize business efficiency, but also aims at a long-term goal: a responsible, modern and integrated food enterprise."

Ha An

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/chuyen-doi-so-toan-dien-nang-tam-chuoi-gia-tri-thuc-pham-viet-ar972259.html