In his opening speech, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung said that over the decades, we have witnessed the formation and strong development of global supply chains. However, the current world context is changing more rapidly than ever.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with geopolitical upheavals and rising sustainability (ESG) demands, the global supply chain is facing a profound restructuring. Countries and large corporations are no longer just looking for cheap labor, but are looking for stability, sustainability, resilience and transparency.
Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung.
In that picture, Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular have been affirming their position as an important manufacturing center, a reliable link in the global supply chain. We have political stability, abundant human resources, and a strategic geographical location.
However, we are also facing significant challenges. Our manufacturing industry still relies largely on processing and assembly, with low added value; labor productivity needs to be improved further to catch up with international standards; pressure on green transformation is present. Major markets such as Europe and the US are applying new, stricter environmental "rules of the game", such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). If we do not "green" production, our goods will lose their competitive advantage.
"This context places an urgent requirement on Vietnamese enterprises to innovate. We cannot continue to compete with old advantages. It is time to change our production model," Mr. Dung emphasized.
The Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee shared that smart manufacturing, with the strong application of AI, IoT, Big Data, and automation, not only helps optimize operations and cut costs. It is also the key to "digitizing" the supply chain, helping with transparent traceability, and more importantly, is a tool to measure, control, and minimize carbon emissions, realizing the goal of "green manufacturing".
"Ho Chi Minh City is making every effort to pioneer this wave of transformation. The city identifies developing high-tech industry, applying science and technology, and promoting green economy and digital economy as the main growth drivers in the coming period," affirmed Mr. Nguyen Van Dung.
Delegates discuss smart manufacturing.
According to Mr. Stephan Mergenthaler - Executive Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the nature of the current transformation lies not in technology but in strategic thinking capacity.
“The smart economy is not only an engine of growth, but also a measure of leadership, demonstrating the ability to harness artificial intelligence in a responsible and inclusive way. If the transition is managed effectively, especially in improving productivity and operational efficiency, smart manufacturing and data analytics can help industry increase productivity by 20-30%. Supply chains will therefore become faster, cleaner and more transparent,” said Mr. Stephan Mergenthaler.
Artificial intelligence has already made a real impact in manufacturing. In Vietnam, automation is increasing, labor productivity per capita has increased by more than 50%, profits are expected to increase by more than 80% by 2025, but the number of employees has only increased by more than 20%. This shows that customers are increasingly demanding smart solutions, forcing businesses to continuously apply technology, seek new centers and build new generation factories.
Smart manufacturing not only impacts the factory but also spreads throughout the entire supply chain. According to WEF, the application of data analytics and smart manufacturing can help increase industrial productivity by 20-30%, while making the supply chain faster, cleaner and more transparent.
According to the speakers, smart manufacturing is not just about automating the production line but also about using data. Data has become the “new raw material” in modern industry. When operational data is collected in real time, businesses can optimize inventory, coordinate resources and increase the reliability of production plans. In particular, supply chain transparency is increasingly becoming an important competitive advantage in the context of the global market with increasing demands on environmental and social responsibility.
Mr. Kyriakos Triantafyllidis - Head of Growth and Strategy, WEF Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain, shared about the concept of Lighthouse Factory (pioneering smart factory) that has been popular in the world.
It is known that the Lighthouse Factory was proposed by WEF and McKinsey (a US management and strategy consulting firm) in 2018, to find typical factories in the 4.0 Industrial Revolution (4IR), they have taken advantage of digital technologies to improve production and operation productivity, and increase revenue growth.
Mr. Kyriakos Triantafyllidis added that WEF has also founded the Lighthouse Network, aiming to deploy large-scale technology application models in production.
After a period of operation, this network has brought about clear practical results in terms of productivity and sustainable development. These are two important indicators in assessing the efficiency of modern production.
In Vietnam, he said that the first center has joined this network and expects that in the future, more Lighthouse factories will be deployed.
Ms. Nguyen Da Quyen - Co-Leader of the Center for Smart Manufacturing and Global Supply Chain of HCMC C4IR said that 97% of Vietnamese enterprises are currently small and medium enterprises (SMEs), so the ability to apply technology is still limited.
According to Ms. Quyen, most of the enterprises that have effectively applied technology are FDI-invested, while only about 26% of domestic enterprises have used IoT (Internet of Things). “Vietnam is behind, but is gradually catching up with the world trend,” Ms. Quyen commented.
Mr. Tran Anh Tu - Deputy Director of the Department of Information Technology Industry (Ministry of Science and Technology) added that with the characteristics of most small and medium-sized enterprises, Vietnam cannot "go straight" into AI comprehensively. According to him, businesses need a suitable roadmap, implementing sequentially from data digitization, then moving to automation and more complex AI applications.
Experts agree that businesses cannot go it alone. Before implementing digital transformation, it is necessary to build a core team to work directly with local authorities. At the same time, it is necessary to have policies to support the development of digital infrastructure such as 5G, big data centers and smart industrial parks, the fundamental factors that help smart supply chains operate effectively and sustainably.
Bui Trung
Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/doanh-nhan/doanh-nghiep-tang-suc-canh-tranh-nho-san-xuat-thong-minh/20251127103937742
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