E-commerce: Helping the private economic sector increase competitiveness

BAC NINH - E-commerce has now become an important key to help the private economic sector, especially small and medium enterprises and cooperatives, quickly approach customers at low cost to expand the market. In Bac Ninh, where there are tens of thousands of small and medium enterprises and cooperatives with a young workforce and high Internet usage rate, e-commerce has created opportunities for these entities to increase their competitiveness and integrate with the global market.

Expanding the market, increasing flexibility

Dai Thang Import-Export Trading Joint Stock Company (Viet Yen Ward) is a unit specializing in the production and export of processed agricultural products, including gac products to the US and Australian markets... with an output of hundreds of tons/year. To make the export effective, the Company has cooperated with many cooperatives, including Gac Viet Agricultural Cooperative (Viet Yen Ward) to develop a raw material area of ​​more than 200 hectares and process products. Along with export, in recent times, the unit has also focused on retail sales through e-commerce platforms San24h.vn and Shopee; promoting products on social networking sites Zalo, Facebook and the Company's website. Thanks to that, the company's products are known to many people, and consumption is increasing.

Processing fresh gac powder at Gac Viet Agricultural Cooperative.

Mr. Tran Van Nghi, Director of Dai Thang Import-Export Trading Joint Stock Company, shared: “E-commerce helps our business gain new customers. Sales do not need to go through intermediaries, so costs are significantly reduced, revenue increased by more than 20% compared to the time before participating in e-commerce platforms.”

Yen The Green Agriculture Cooperative has more than 10 types of deep-processed products (salt and pepper chicken, dried chicken with lemon leaves, chicken floss, chicken ham, vacuum-packed chicken...). On average, the Cooperative supplies the market with about 1,000 chickens per day. Along with traditional distribution channels, from 2024, the Cooperative will participate in sales on Shopee and Lazada e-commerce platforms. After only a few months, the "Yen The Hill Chicken" brand has become more widely known, and orders have also increased, ensuring jobs and stable income for more than 20 workers and about 150 households associated with the cooperative.

The spread of e-commerce not only contributes to changing consumer habits, but also opens up new ways of doing business. For example, Tru Huu Trade and Tourism Cooperative (Chu Ward), in addition to linking agricultural production of lychees, oranges, and grapefruits, this cooperative also organizes experiential tours, promotes local OCOP products on Facebook and online booths on the San24h.vn e-commerce platform, contributing to bringing livelihoods to many farmers. Thereby, helping to consume products and connect with experiential tourism, preserve identity, spread indigenous cultural values, and create sustainable income for people.

Actively support and proactively participate

In traditional craft villages, digital transformation and e-commerce development are becoming inevitable trends. If in the past, products were only available in local markets or depended on tourists, now thanks to online channels, Dong Ky fine art wooden products, Dai Bai bronze products, Dong Ho folk paintings, Xuan Lai bamboo... have been exported to many countries around the world .

According to economic experts, e-commerce brings 5 ​​great opportunities for small and medium enterprises and cooperatives in general. These are: Expanding the market, reducing business costs, building brands, improving competitiveness, promoting comprehensive digital transformation in management and production.

E-commerce also paves the way for industrial support businesses such as: Manufacturing electronic components, electrical appliances, robots... Previously, the partners of these businesses mainly depended on traditional customers. However, after building their own website and participating in the international trading floor, many domestic and foreign orders have come to establish business relationships. Mr. Han Jin Oh, Director of The One Technology Vina Limited Liability Company (Bac Ninh) said: "Thanks to searching for information and products on the website of Alpha Vina Mechanical and Automation Joint Stock Company (Bac Giang ward) or Yontech Vina Limited Liability Company (Tan My commune), we learned about and cooperated to produce many automated mechanical products such as: Product picking robots, automatic workpiece picking systems for lathes... of these businesses".

The success of the private economic sectors in the province in recent times does not come from chance, but is the result of the support and companionship of the authorities and localities at all levels when implementing the application of the province's e-commerce platform (San24h.vn). Thereby, creating a favorable environment for businesses and cooperatives to confidently enter the "digital economy".

According to the Department of Industry and Trade, the province has supported 410 enterprises, cooperatives, and production establishments (in the private economic sector) to participate in displaying and selling products with nearly 1,000 items on San24h.vn. In addition, the province also invited experts to "hold hands and show how" to guide livestream sellers on TikTok and Facebook; organize start-up programs for students, students, and small businesses.

Despite many achievements, the number of small and medium enterprises and cooperatives in the province that are supported to participate in e-commerce is still limited. The main reasons are that many entities lack initial investment costs and operate in cyberspace; lack management skills and experience; encounter difficulties in logistics and transportation (especially for fresh products); and barriers in information technology and security. In addition, building reputation in the digital market, price competition and lack of professionalism in packaging design and product marketing are also challenges. The source of funding support from the State for digital transformation in the private economic sector is still limited.

According to economic experts, e-commerce brings five great opportunities for small and medium enterprises and cooperatives in general. These are: Expanding the market, reducing business costs, building brands, improving competitiveness, promoting comprehensive digital transformation in management and production.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, Deputy Director of the Center for Information Technology and Communications (Department of Science and Technology), an expert on e-commerce, said that in order to make a breakthrough, businesses and cooperatives need to invest in digital human resources and build appropriate business strategies. Cooperate with large e-commerce platforms and take advantage of increasingly complete logistics infrastructure. On the government side, it is necessary to maintain and upgrade local e-commerce platforms; support digital skills training, standardize labels, traceability to logistics connections and online payments for entities... From there, help the province's private economic sectors keep up with the "digital economy", reach out to the international market, contributing to building a modern, civilized and sustainable trade and service industry.

Article and photos: The Dai

Source: https://baobacninhtv.vn/thuong-mai-dien-tu-giup-khu-vuc-kinh-te-tu-nhan-tang-suc-canh-tranh-postid430065.bbg