According to Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Import-ExportDepartment, Vietnam has a young population with fast access to technologytogether with a digital economy market forecast at more than 50 billion USD,providing great potential for e-commerce and e-commerce logistics.
While logistics costs in Vietnam remain high, Hai said it wasnecessary to use technology to improve efficiency.
A report by global supply chain service provider Aligity last yearshowed the logistics cost in Vietnam was more than 20% ofGDP, compared to the world average of 11%.
Hai pointed out several problems in the logistics industry, including weaklinkage of the transport infrastructure system and heavy dependence onroads.
He said technology had been applied in logistics activities such asapps or platforms to share transport vehicles and optimise warehouseusage. AI was also used to automate warehouse management processes.
Applying technology in logistics would help lower costs and increaseefficiency, he said.
Especially in e-commerce with many delivery orders but in different locations,automation would help increase efficiency, reduce time and increase accuracy,Hai stressed.
In e-commerce, the difference between urban and rural areas created a costproblem for many logistics service providers.
Rural areas in Vietnam were characterised by a wide geographical range and lowpopulation density. Shopping rates were also not as high as in the city,so deliveries covered a long distance.
The cost factor might not lie in the success rate of the first delivery, but inthe distance travelled, Hai said, adding that enterprises could cooperateto build warehouses in nearby districts.
Automated delivery solutions such as drones should also be considered to helpshorten travel distance. Such technologies could operate regardless of terrain.
Phan Xuan Dung from logistics provider Ninja Van Vietnam said the numberof e-commerce delivery orders tripled in the past five years. Whenorders increased rapidly, if enterprises did not have solutions, thesystem would overload and costs increase.
Dung said technology would be the decisive factor in reducinglogistics costs and improving efficiency./.