Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Brand building must be the core of small-and medium-sizedenterprises’ (SMEs) competition strategies going into the fourth industrialrevolution, experts said at conference in Hanoi on January 16.
NguyenVan Nam, Director of the Institute for Brand and Competition Strategy, stressedthat the fourth industrial revolution was rapidly changing the ways of doingbusiness and significantly affecting SME operations.
However,most SMEs were reportedly using outdated technologies, Nam said, citingstatistics showing that only 10 percent of SMEs have applied moderntechnologies.
“UpdatingSME’s approaches is essential to their competitiveness,” Nam said.
Accordingto Nguyen Quoc Thinh, National Branding Programme consultant, SMEs should notaim at competing by price but by brand. “When asked, roughly 90 percent offirms said that improving competitiveness could be achieved through loweringprices and enhancing quality. However, SMEs should note that creating marketdemand should be the target.”
Economicexpert Vo Tri Thanh urged SMEs to link with each others to develop the valuechain. “This will be an efficient solution for SMEs to develop their brands.”
“Applyingtechnology in production is also vital, which will create pressure on firms touse resources efficiently and create high-added value products,” Thanh said.
LeVan Anh, Director of the Centre of Law Consultancy and Human ResourceDevelopment, said that only 21 percent of Vietnamese SMEs managed toparticipate in the global value chain, compared to 30 percent in Thailand and46 percent in Malaysia. Vietnamese SMEs are mainly services firms with a mere20 percent operating in manufacturing. About 85 percent of them have revenuebelow 2 billion VND (88,800 USD) per year.
Froma different angle, Nguyen Van Toan, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Associationof Foreign Invested Enterprises, said that SMEs’ credit access must beimproved.
Toansaid capital had been among the biggest difficulties for SMEs; they struggledto get credit due to a shortage of mortgaged assets and an ineligibility fortrust-based loans.
Hesaid that the Government should raise policies to promote venture capital tocreate resources for start-ups.
DoThuy Duong, Director of TalentPool, an SME operating in capacity training, saidthat the dynamics of SMEs were of significant important in competition. “SMEs,themselves, must be active. Competition is for development, not inhibition.”
Asurvey by the Association of SMEs revealed that SMEs accounted for 98 percentof the total number of firms in Vietnam. Just 2.2 percent of the firms were of mediumsize, while the rest were of small and super small sizes.
However,SMEs provided jobs for 51 percent of the country’s workforce and contributed to40 percent of the gross domestic product.
TheGovernment is drafting a law on supporting SMEs which is expected to give thema boost. The private sector is recognised as a main driver for Vietnamesegrowth.-VNA
NguyenVan Nam, Director of the Institute for Brand and Competition Strategy, stressedthat the fourth industrial revolution was rapidly changing the ways of doingbusiness and significantly affecting SME operations.
However,most SMEs were reportedly using outdated technologies, Nam said, citingstatistics showing that only 10 percent of SMEs have applied moderntechnologies.
“UpdatingSME’s approaches is essential to their competitiveness,” Nam said.
Accordingto Nguyen Quoc Thinh, National Branding Programme consultant, SMEs should notaim at competing by price but by brand. “When asked, roughly 90 percent offirms said that improving competitiveness could be achieved through loweringprices and enhancing quality. However, SMEs should note that creating marketdemand should be the target.”
Economicexpert Vo Tri Thanh urged SMEs to link with each others to develop the valuechain. “This will be an efficient solution for SMEs to develop their brands.”
“Applyingtechnology in production is also vital, which will create pressure on firms touse resources efficiently and create high-added value products,” Thanh said.
LeVan Anh, Director of the Centre of Law Consultancy and Human ResourceDevelopment, said that only 21 percent of Vietnamese SMEs managed toparticipate in the global value chain, compared to 30 percent in Thailand and46 percent in Malaysia. Vietnamese SMEs are mainly services firms with a mere20 percent operating in manufacturing. About 85 percent of them have revenuebelow 2 billion VND (88,800 USD) per year.
Froma different angle, Nguyen Van Toan, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Associationof Foreign Invested Enterprises, said that SMEs’ credit access must beimproved.
Toansaid capital had been among the biggest difficulties for SMEs; they struggledto get credit due to a shortage of mortgaged assets and an ineligibility fortrust-based loans.
Hesaid that the Government should raise policies to promote venture capital tocreate resources for start-ups.
DoThuy Duong, Director of TalentPool, an SME operating in capacity training, saidthat the dynamics of SMEs were of significant important in competition. “SMEs,themselves, must be active. Competition is for development, not inhibition.”
Asurvey by the Association of SMEs revealed that SMEs accounted for 98 percentof the total number of firms in Vietnam. Just 2.2 percent of the firms were of mediumsize, while the rest were of small and super small sizes.
However,SMEs provided jobs for 51 percent of the country’s workforce and contributed to40 percent of the gross domestic product.
TheGovernment is drafting a law on supporting SMEs which is expected to give thema boost. The private sector is recognised as a main driver for Vietnamesegrowth.-VNA
VNA
