According to Ipos Report, in 2024, Vietnam's F&B industry achieved a growth rate of 10-12% compared to 2023, and currently ranks third in Southeast Asia in terms of revenue.

This puts immense pressure on F&B businesses, as they must simultaneously expand production and ensure product quality amidst rising costs and labor shortages due to supply chain disruptions.

To remain competitive in the market, F&B businesses are prioritizing digital transformation and automation solutions to increase capacity, optimize investment and operating costs, and create high-quality products at competitive prices.

For 30 years in Vietnam, Tetra Pak has partnered with F&B businesses to address challenges in optimizing production costs and improving product quality through comprehensive packaging and processing solutions. Specifically, the company has introduced and implemented the Tetra Pak PlantMaster automation and digitalization solution and the Tetra Pak Plant Perform service, enabling businesses to easily control the entire factory operation from raw materials to the supply chain, ensuring consistent product quality, increased efficiency, and reasonable investment costs.

Manufacturing automation – the key to optimizing total cost of ownership (TCO).

Automation helps handle repetitive tasks, freeing up time for personnel to focus on more complex tasks. This technology not only saves time, reduces errors, and improves quality, but also helps reduce costs and limit overtime.

Specifically, in 2013, to meet the increasing demand for milk from the market, Tetra Pak, together with its leading Vietnamese dairy partner, introduced a factory with a capacity of up to 800 million liters of milk per year. All equipment and machinery, especially the LGV (Laser Guided Vehicle) robots, operate automatically and are controlled by a central computer system, allowing the factory to monitor the entire production process at every stage.

One of the core control systems is the Tetra Pak PlantMaster operating system, with its core being a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) that allows for continuous monitoring, control, and quality improvement. In addition, the Warehouse Management System (WMS) is integrated with the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which helps collect and analyze data in real time, supporting quick decision-making and reducing waste.

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Tetra Pak PlantMaster automation and digitalization solutions enable continuous monitoring, control, and quality improvement.

“This system provides comprehensive control over production processes, including formula management, production reporting, traceability, and quality control, ensuring that every step in the production process is optimized, from raw material preparation to product packaging,” said Mr. Ngo Minh Thanh, Director of Processing Solutions at Tetra Pak Vietnam.

To further enhance the production efficiency achieved through the application of these automation technologies, Tetra Pak has also developed the Tetra Pak Plant Perform service solution.

Ensuring that equipment in the factory is maintained in optimal condition improves operational efficiency.

Losses incurred in the plant, such as machine downtime due to malfunctions, lead to production delays, affecting plant capacity and placing a burden on overall production costs.

To promptly address technical issues and replace parts, in 2013 Tetra Pak introduced the Tetra Pak Plant Care solution, which includes a comprehensive maintenance plan, preventative maintenance, parts management, and 24/7 production support. This solution has helped plants achieve high operational stability.

Tetra Pak continues to develop the Tetra Pak Plant Perform solution to provide proactive maintenance services that anticipate potential machine risks, ensure continuous production line operation, and control operating costs through a fixed cost structure.

Tetra Pak Plant Perform's ability to manage performance through continuous improvement processes and a commitment to achieving output targets is a key feature. Tetra Pak and its manufacturers jointly define clear objectives, minimizing incidents and waste, and increasing productivity. Furthermore, the fixed cost structure makes it easier for businesses to forecast costs and manage budgets more effectively.

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Tetra Pak Plant Perform solutions ensure uninterrupted production line operation.

Specifically, this solution has proven effective for the Italac dairy plant in Brazil, reducing quality-related incidents by 46%, minimizing packaging losses by 20%, and increasing productivity by an additional 6 million cartons per year. Beyond improving operational efficiency, Tetra Pak Plant Perform has also generated additional revenue of up to €9.7 million through process optimization and reduced losses across the entire plant.

“Tetra Pak’s service solutions maintain current performance while driving continuous improvement through Total Productive Management (TPM), which includes reducing energy and water consumption, decreasing carbon emissions per product package, and enhancing overall operational efficiency by addressing losses in other stages of the plant,” added Mr. Nguyen Van, Director of Tetra Pak Vietnam’s Service Division.

With integrated automation and digitalization solutions, Tetra Pak pioneers in partnering with food and beverage manufacturers and brands to address production costs, plant-wide losses, and improve operational efficiency, thereby enhancing product quality to best meet consumer needs.

Learn more about Tetra Pak's comprehensive processing, packaging, and service solutions at: https://www.tetrapak.com/en-vn/solutions.

Doan Phong