But for Vietnam’ssmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) this could be a challenging prospect,they admitted.
In a survey byJapanese electronics giant Epson of 864 SMEs in six of Southeast Asia’s largestcountries by GDP, 62 percent of respondents in Vietnam cited cost as the reasonfor not updating technologies.
With SMEs contributing40 percent of Vietnam’s GDP, it is vital for them to be competitive in theregional and global markets. This means that business owners need to bebuilding sustainable businesses that can adapt easily to change from anoperation and environmental perspective.
SMEs are at the heartof the nation’s economy, employing 51 percent of the workforce and accountingfor 98 percent of all enterprises, and as such need to be empowered with theright tools to participate successfully in the emerging digital economy, thereport said.
Companies are alsobecoming increasingly aware of the need to act sustainably since this canpositively impact company efficiency, brand value and reputation, growth, andstakeholder relations.
From an operationsperspective, SMEs can benefit from the adoption of sustainable businesspractices through the reduction of operating costs by selecting hardware thatsupports business objectives and streamlines energy use.
Streamlining energyusage and reducing SMEs’ carbon footprint is an ideal way to lower operatingcosts in the long run and be better to the environment.
For example, retailerscan now deploy point-of-sale (POS) printers that connect easily with othertechnologies and make printing reliable and easy to use for business owners.
Eighty one percent ofVietnamese respondents saw this connectivity as a key benefit.
Offices can alsomanage printing costs more sustainably with environment-friendly heat-freeprinters, and on-demand colour label printers not only save costs but alsoreduce wastage – a boon for SME food manufacturers chasing product sales.
However, fosteringdigital transformation requires more than the adoption of new technologies.Today this means creating environments where businesses can leverage innovationto deliver meaningful change that drives positive business outcomes.
Epson believes thatsustainability can be addressed through investment in new technologies thatalso have a reduced environmental impact.
The company’senvironmental vision for 2050 sets out a goal to provide products and servicesthat contribute to the environment by making efficient use of energy andresources and reducing the environmental impacts of production processes andcustomers’ business processes./.