How are Vietnamese logistics enterprises inferior to foreign 'giants'?

The latest report of the Import-Export Department ( Ministry of Industry and Trade ) on the development of Vietnam's logistics services shows that: Vietnam has 34,476 logistics service enterprises with a total of 563,354 employees working. The logistics market has the participation of more than 5,000 enterprises providing 3PL logistics services, including 100% foreign-owned enterprises providing cross-border logistics services, with big names in the list of the 50 largest logistics companies in the world such as DHL, Kuehne + Nagel, DSV, DB Schenker,...

Vietnamese logistics enterprises are still weak compared to foreign enterprises.

Vietnamese enterprises are mainly small enterprises, with limited scale in terms of capital and human resources as well as international operating experience. There is no connection between stages in the logistics supply chain and between logistics service enterprises and import-export enterprises.

Vietnamese logistics enterprises mainly provide domestic logistics services such as: domestic transportation, delivery, warehousing, customs declaration, cargo inspection, ship rental services, etc.

According to the Import-Export Department, compared to foreign enterprises, Vietnamese enterprises currently hold many infrastructures and assets serving logistics activities (logistics centers, warehouses, seaports, dry ports, airports, railways, wagons, trucks, etc.), and have the advantage of understanding business practices and domestic customers. However, their operations are still isolated, their financial and management capacity is limited, they only serve certain segments, and lack a seamless connection to provide integrated logistics services.

Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department, said: The poor market has affected the operations of logistics service enterprises. Competition for orders has become more fierce.

In addition to the competitive pressure on services, new international and domestic standards on the environment, traffic safety, and labor safety also put logistics service enterprises in front of the requirement for innovation. Global logistics enterprises when outsourcing services require emission standards, requiring logistics enterprises to proactively invest and transform production and business models towards "greening", improving competitiveness and ensuring sustainable development.

Vietnam Logistics Forum 2023 with the main theme "Logistics and Digital Transformation for the Mekong Delta" will be organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on December 1 and 2, 2023 in Can Tho city.

This year’s forum is held in a context with many new features. The implementation of new free trade agreements such as CPTPP, EVFTA, UKVFTA, RCEP, VIFTA requires businesses to make efforts to improve their competitiveness.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been controlled, but the socio -economic impacts after the pandemic, along with the war in Ukraine, have disrupted the supply chain, reduced demand for goods, and had a strong impact on businesses in general and logistics service businesses in particular. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is working with ministries, branches, and localities to focus on removing difficulties, boosting production and export of goods, thereby effectively utilizing new FTAs, reducing damage caused by the pandemic, and quickly restoring growth momentum.

Improving logistics capacity, promoting the formation of LNG supply chain To meet the formation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chain, PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (PV GAS) closely coordinates with related units to research and complete the plan to transport LNG to localities across the country.

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