Launching the Digital Transformation Handbook for small and medium enterprises in the food processing and distribution sector

On June 28, the Digital Transformation Handbook for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the food processing and distribution sector was officially launched in Hanoi .

Ra mắt Sổ tay Chuyển đổi số cho doanh nghiệp nhỏ và vừa lĩnh vực chế biến và phân phối thực phẩm

Press conference to announce the Digital Transformation Handbook for SMEs in the food processing and distribution sector. (Photo: Van Chi)

The event is within the framework of the Program to Support Enterprises in Digital Transformation for the 2021-2025 period organized by the Department of Enterprise Development (Ministry of Planning and Investment) in coordination with the Center for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics ( Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Vietnam through the Project to Promote Reform and Enhance Connectivity of Small and Medium Enterprises (USAID LinkSME).

Speaking at the event, Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung, Deputy Director of the Department of Enterprise Development said that in the context of the digital age, digital economy and the 4th Industrial Revolution taking place strongly, innovation and digital transformation are considered effective ways to create new impulses and new values for national economic development, as well as enhance the competitiveness of enterprises instead of traditional competitive advantages based on exploiting natural resources and cheap labor that are gradually being replaced.

Mr. Trung emphasized that the issue of digital transformation is becoming increasingly urgent as the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the lives and habits of people and the whole society; requiring organizations, individuals and businesses to urgently change and adapt.

Over the past time, the Government has always identified digital transformation as a top priority task to support businesses in improving their capacity and competitiveness in line with new trends and new situations; at the same time, this is also an important factor to improve productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness of the economy.

Implementing the Party and Government's policies, since January 2021, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has issued Decision No. 12/QD-BKHDT to deploy the Program to support enterprises in digital transformation for the period 2021-2025 to support enterprises in transforming their awareness, vision and strategy; support the digitalization of business activities; support the digitalization of management processes; and support comprehensive digital transformation to create new products, services and models for enterprises.

In the first phase (2021-2022), the Program focuses on raising awareness and training basic knowledge and skills on digital transformation to help businesses transform awareness, standardize processes, and prepare for effective and correct digital transformation implementation.

“We are very pleased that the Digital Transformation Handbooks issued by the Program in the past have received positive feedback from the business community, training consultants, and digital transformation solution providers. Many contents in the Handbooks have been applied by the parties as a guideline, thereby continuing to develop to jointly improve the quality of the ecosystem and activities to support businesses in digital transformation,” Mr. Trung affirmed.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan, Director of the Center for Digital Transformation and Agricultural Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Handbook will be useful in supporting SMEs, directors of cooperatives and farmers to refer to updated information on digital transformation, approaches, and specific solutions to be able to build a suitable digital transformation strategy in the field of food processing and agriculture, as well as other related fields.

"In the context of strong digital transformation in the post-Covid-19 period with the rapid recovery of the economy and the increasingly effective application of new production and business methods associated with digital transformation, any enterprise that grasps and soon has an effective and methodical digital transformation strategy will seize development opportunities to make a breakthrough, especially in the fields of agriculture and food processing. Therefore, the Digital Transformation Handbook can be considered a very important handbook to effectively support businesses and farmers in this process," said Mr. Toan.

Digital Transformation Handbook for Small and Medium Enterprises in the Food Processing and Distribution Sector. (Source: Ministry of Planning & Investment)

According to the 2022 report of EMIS - an international organization specializing in research and data, the global processed food market is estimated to achieve a compound growth rate (CAGR) of 3.8% from 2023 to 2028. A similar growth trend is also seen in the Vietnamese market as the Government considers this as one of the priority industries for development to increase the output and export value of domestic agricultural and processed food products.

Experts from the Digital Transformation Support Program for Enterprises for the 2021-2025 period also proposed specific digital transformation solutions applied in the value chain of the food processing and distribution industry, including: Data collection and analysis solutions; traceability solutions; transportation management; warehouse and inventory management; product quality management solutions; multi-channel sales management solutions.

Based on the characteristics of the food processing and distribution industry, this Handbook introduces technological solutions that are appropriately applied to different stages in the enterprise's value chain. The application of technological solutions can be carried out sequentially or in parallel, depending on the enterprise's potential. In particular, the two solutions that enterprises need to prioritize are:

The handbook also provides suggestions on building a roadmap for digital transformation implementation for food processing and distribution enterprises in domestic and export market consumption. In particular, building a roadmap depends on the priority of the enterprise for factors related to the goals and nature of business activities. Factors that enterprises need to consider when building a digital transformation plan include: Compliance with state regulations and regulations, standards of export markets; expanding markets, attracting customers and optimizing costs.

In particular, experts from the Program believe that when transforming digitally, businesses need to pay attention to strict regulations from major markets around the world related to environment, society and governance (ESG).

In Vietnam, on March 28, 2023, the Prime Minister also approved the "National Action Plan for Transforming the Food System to be Transparent, Responsible and Sustainable by 2030" which will require businesses in the coming time to consider applying technological solutions to support the management and compliance with these requirements.

The program to support businesses in digital transformation for the 2021-2025 period is chaired by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and coordinated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The program aims to achieve the following goals by 2025: 100% of businesses have their awareness of digital transformation raised; at least 100,000 businesses receive technical support for digital transformation; at least 100 businesses are supported as successful typical digital transformation models for dissemination and replication; establish a network of experts including at least 100 organizations and individuals to consult and provide solutions to promote digital transformation for businesses, and support the development of digital platforms.

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