Over recent times, the COVID-19 pandemic has made the digital transformation trend stronger than ever. Pushing information technology applications has helped many businesses create added value, cut operating costs as well as enhance transparency and efficiency in corporate governance, thus growing further and reaching plenty of potential customers.

Digital transformation has facilitated the city-based Hikari Viet Huong Transport Logistics Co., Ltd to increase the number of customers by more than 200%. Photo T.Y

Diverse solutions

According to Nguyen Dinh Tuan, Technical Manager of Viettel IDC Company belonging to Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group, digital transformation is no longer a trend but an urgent must-do for businesses in the burgeoning Industry 4.0; otherwise they will be left behind.

During the past time, Viettel IDC has provided many technology solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI) for the retail industry, organised chain stores, change authentication and payment methods, enhance demand forecasting, intelligently monitor security, improve service activities in stores, automate consultation, boost the number of visitors and enhance customer experience.

Thanks to AI technology that recognizes customers' faces in just one second, employees can recognize loyal customers or new ones. In addition, the data collected on customer behaviour and habits also help managers optimise store space layout, improve services, reduce staffing costs, predict products favoured by individual shopping customers.

By optimising AI, stores not only save money and reduce losses, but also have the opportunity to expand their business, increase profits and customer retention.

In fact, COVID-19 has triggered the digital and e-commerce turning point. Nowhere else has unprecedented and unforeseen growth occurred as in the digital and e-commerce sectors, which have boomed amid the COVID-19 crisis. Many businesses have to adapt themselves to receiving online orders and handling feedback from customers via the internet.

Phan Nhu Yen, the Director of the locally popular Danavimart chain, said that “COVID-19 forced her business to increase online sales via Facebook, Zalo, Now app or e- payment via visa card, e-wallet, internet banking. Since 2020, our business has maintained a growth rate of nearly 500%, and our employee have received an average monthly income of mearly 7 million VND. We has also witnessed a stable and growing customer base.”

Meanwhile, Hai Van Nam Co., Ltd. uses e-Office software because “it has task assignment support features, comprehensively supports office management, helps save search time, reduce costs, increase efficiency. In addition, the company also ultilise software of accounting BRAVO to operate work remotely with the support of camera systems connecting with wifi, said Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet, Director of the company.

With the goal of promoting digital transformation, in recent times, businesses have operated digital transactions through e-contracts and invoices, and digital signatures. Since 2020, the Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) implemented the programme ‘VNPT Cloud - Solution to promote digital transformation using Viet Nam's cloud computing platform” to help customers establish large-scale computing infrastructure sharing with many services or expand configuration according to demands on VNPT's broadband internet platform.

To optimise this solution, VNPT is gradually improving the telecommunications -information technology infrastructure, integrating new technology services such as Bigdata, AI, Blockchain, Cloud and DPI capable of providing information and data processing on mobile platforms.

Many opportunities, major challenges

Mr. Nguyen Trung Truc, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hikari Viet Huong Transport Logistics Co., Ltd said digital transformation has helped his business increase the number of customers by more than 200%, save more than 850 hours for planning and coordinating, reduce from 10-30% of costs and time for logistics activities, increase revenue and optimise import and export services, change working habits, systematise data sources, transparent revenue and quickly make timely decisions.

Within 2 years, Hikari Viet Huong Transport Logistics Co., Ltd has poured about 1 billion VND in digital transformation so that the company can well manage a staff of more than 500 people, 7 representative offices and dozens of retail outlets across the country, as well as increasing the business competitiveness

While micro-businesses are still vague about the concept of digital transformation, small and medium-sized businesses have not had many opportunities to access effective business technology applications. It is believed that seeking financial resources for digital transformation are a tough problem without the support of the State and financial and credit institutions. The digital transformation process costs from VND 200 million to tens of billions of VND depending on the business’ size. This is a rather high cost for small, medium and micro-enterprises in Viet Nam.”

“A large number of domestic businesses are facing challenges and fierce competition from foreign ones with better service provision and financial potential. Therefore, domestic enterprises need to promote digital transformation. State management agencies should propagate and raise awareness about the digital transformation’s necessity, have preferential loan policies, create favorable conditions for small and medium enterprises, promote the role of digital transformation between State agencies and business associations, following the roadmap and business financial capacity”, said Mr. Truc.

Mr. Tran Ngoc Thach, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Communications, noted that one of the biggest challenges in digital transformation is changing corporate culture and information technology application capacity. Instead of hiring new technology-savvy workers, businesses need to have a plan to retrain current employees to save costs and create peace of mind for employees.
Tran Ngoc Thach affirmed that Danang is accompanying businesses through efforts to build a shared data warehouse so that businesses can use for the purposes of research, market analysis, and customer development.

For tourism, smart travel cards will be deployed associated with smart tourism; creating an ecosystem for users, service providers, management agencies; digitizing museums, and tourism monuments, attractions. For transportation and logistics, implementing smart applications to help people and tourists use public transports; as well as digitize traffic infrastructure; form automatic warehouses and parking lots. To gain successful digital transformation, it is high time for businesses to choose appropriate, economical and effective technology solutions, on the basis of analyzing and re-evaluating the entire existing capacity, "said Mr. Thach.

Reporting by TIEU YEN – Translating by T.VY