Internet economy

The newly released report also shares useful information on fresh trends occurring in cross-border e-commerce, the potential and prospects ahead for “Made in Vietnam” products, as well as efforts by Amazon to boost small and medium enterprises (SMEs)’s capacity to overcome this challenging period.

Recent months has seen thousands of domestic sellers, including renowned local brands such as Trung Nguyen coffee, Bitis shoes, domestic manufacturer MDK, and startups like Andre Gift Shop and Mary Craft, strive to expand their business globally through making the most of Amazon as a platform.

While enjoying an increase in profits, local firms have brought about a number of positive effects to the domestic economy by offering additional job opportunities, thereby providing a wide range of options for international customers based in the United States and other stores in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, and Singapore.

Amazon Global Selling recently announced plans to establish a seller centre in Vietnam, along with setting up a new global selling support team based in Hanoi.

Gijae Seong, head of the company’s global selling support team in Vietnam, said as one of the most dynamic emerging countries in Southeast Asia, the country is home to a strong manufacturing base.

“With an extended local support team, we hope to help Vietnamese businesses unleash their potential and promote made-in-Vietnam products through online Amazon stores,” Seong added.

The seller centre is set to be a localised dashboard that will open up easier access and provide a better experience for sellers throughout the selling process. In addition, it will also help to significantly improve overall operational efficiency, the company said.

The event, the first of its kind virtually held, aims to strengthen connectivity among businesses and create fresh opportunities for local retailers to introduce their “Made-in-Vietnam” products.

Addressing the event, Gijae Seong, Vietnam manager for Amazon Global Selling, emphasised that Vietnam represents one of the most dynamic economies in Southeast Asia, boasting an array of “Made-in-Vietnam” products such as home appliances, fashion accessories, kitchen utensils, and home gadgets on Amazon being popular among buyers globally.

Seong said the strong development of cross-border e-commerce over the course of this year has provided a golden opportunity for sellers to transform into global online businesses. He affirmed that Amazon will support firms in maximizing their growth potential and promoting “Made-in-Vietnam” products through Amazon’s online platforms worldwide.

Since establishing a dedicated team in Ho Chi Minh City last year, Amazon has devised a range of specialised solutions in an effort to assist sellers in each locality to do business through Amazon in a simple and efficient manner.

Furthermore, Amazon has also unveiled the launch of a dedicated team based in Hanoi aimed at providing additional training courses for sellers across different Vietnamese, while striving to expand its network of providers as a means of supporting local businesses nationwide.

By enjoying competitive advantages in terms of production and a promising domestic market, the country has great potential to develop cross-border e-commerce due to the range of diversified products of Vietnamese enterprises being favoured by consumers globally thanks to their high quality coupled with competitive prices.

During her opening speech at a recent seminar held to discuss cross-border e-commerce, Tran Thi Phuong Lan, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, said local businesses have encountered numerous difficulties caused by the delay of export orders, coupled with the slow progress of customs clearance.

Lan added that Hanoi’s export turnover during the opening ten months of the year has witnessed an annual increase of only 0.1% to US$13.194 million, the lowest figure over the past 10 years.

She also underlined the importance of online sales channels as a means of increasing exports for businesses amid this challenging period.

Sharing this point of view, Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen, deputy director of the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy, pointed that through e-commerce platforms domestic firms are able to gain access to customers based in fastidious markets such as North America, Japan, and Europe in a fast manner.

Tran Xuan Thuy, director of Amazon in Vietnam, outlined that cross-border e-commerce represents an effective channel for local enterprises, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as they export goods to the global market, especially in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Thuy therefore advised local firms to improve their knowledge relating to cross-border e-commerce channels, devise coherent business strategies, whilst simultaneously developing their brands in order to successfully export goods to these demanding markets.

Do Quang Vinh, CEO of T&T Group’s branch in the United States, emphasized that enterprises must devise plans based around the actual needs of each export market, their various tax incentives, and the online shopping habits of customers via Amazon to boost exports.

The event attracted roughly 300 businesses that are keen to increase their export of goods via Amazon’s online retail channel.

A notable example is An Nhien Coffee Tea Joint Stock Company of the Anni Coffee brand who joined the Amazon e-commerce floor in 2013, with its revenue and customers from this e-trading platform accounting for 80% of the firm’s sales and growth rates being maintained between 60% and 100% annually.

Furthermore, Green Diamond Production and Trading Joint Stock Company with the brand name Light Coffee also achieved numerous positive results through their business activities whilst participating in the international e-commerce trading floor of Alibaba.

Kuo Yiling, head of the Asia-Pacific region at Alibaba, said that Vietnam currently offers over 600,000 products on Alibaba, with these partners receiving more than 50,000 quotation requests from customers around the world on a daily basis.

He went on to reveal that the country has the ability to provide competitive goods through international e-commerce floors, noting that Alibaba has worked with several partners in the nation for over 10 years, with the number of reputable local suppliers increasing rapidly.

Vietnam has great potential for globalisation due to a strong capability in providing competitive goods coupled with a high-skilled workforce, he added.

The view was shared by experts at a seminar held on January 20 in the central highlands of Dak Lak aimed at discussing solutions to promote exports via Amazon’s e-commerce platform.

Huynh Ngoc Duong, deputy director of the Dak Lak province Department of Industry and Trade, said that in order to help local enterprises make use of e-commerce websites in the near future, the industry and trade sector must ramp up co-operation schemes with e-commerce channels. This is in addition to establishing a brand identity system on e-commerce platforms.

Since 2020, the Department of Industry and Trade has strived to arrange training courses in an effort to enhance the capacity of firms, helping them to gain greater insights into e-commerce activities, Duong added.

He also revealed that the department has been working alongside both Alibaba and Amazon to provide enterprises with specific instructions regarding participation in the online retail system.

During the seminar, experts also put forth a range of solutions aimed at promoting the export of goods and developing brands. They kept the participating businesses of market trends and necessary requirements to gain entry into the global market through Amazon’s e-commerce platform, as well as outlining issues relating to shipping goods to markets globally.