4.0 businesses seize opportunities to overcome challenges

Businesses must seize opportunities to overcome challenges in the 4.0 era

In order to provide solutions for Vietnamese businesses and entrepreneurs to minimise negative impacts, seize opportunities, and apply 4.0 technology to processing and manufacturing, the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Economics and Forecast Magazine in collaboration with the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy organised the business and entrepreneur 4.0 conference on June 26.

At the conference, Phan Duc Hieu, vice general director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), said that Industry 4.0 has transformed the way people live and work.

Previously, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland’s Davos in early-2019 drawing the participation of 800 businesses, it was forecast that 21 technology tipping points would be reached in the next ten years, such as 90 per cent of the world’s population’s having unlimited and free data storage, 80 per cent having a digital presence on the internet, the first car manufactured by 3D printing, and the first robot pharmacist in the US, among others.

Taking about policy and solutions supporting businesses to approach science and technology, Nguyen Huu Xuyen, deputy general director of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Institute of Patent and Technology Exploitation, said that the government has already issued numerous policies to support businesses to catch up with Industry 4.0.

“We know how Industry 4.0 happens and are trying to catch up. However, we are still in the latency period. Thereby, businesses should be at the centre of innovation and step by step join global supply chains," said Xuyen.

He also emphasised that businesses should change their mindset and grow more aware of disruptive production methods and new business formats, shifting from static to dynamic competition. “Therefore, we must awaken our potential and do all to develop technology in the future. The ratio of businesses applying technology has been increasing rapidly, but the ratio of big corporations deploying their own research and development centres is only about 3 per cent," Xuyen added.

Digital transformation expert Trinh Minh Giang said that small- and medium-sized Vietnamese enterprises in big cities have already taken advantage of the internet and social media to do business and create value. However, big businesses seem to be slower in restructuring or embarking on digital transformation.

Vo Tri Thanh, general director of the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy, said that they need four factors to catch up with this trend, including the role of institutions, policies, and leadership. Policies should be favourable for business, leadership should be fast, strong, and assertive, and up to date to be able to make the right calls. Education and training should also be improved to supply high-quality human resources to the market.