USAID IPSC Project connects Vietnamese enterprises with e-commerce giants

From May 24 to June 30, the Vietnam Private Sector Competitiveness Enhancement Project (USAID IPSC), has organised a 5-week training course called “E-commerce – a must in Industry 4.0”, as part of its cross-cutting market expansion support package for Vietnamese businesses.

At the end of the course, participants attended the event “Connecting business with domestic and international e-commerce platforms” to learn from successful, real-world experiences from e-commerce platforms including Amazon Global Selling and Shopee.

According to Nguyen Thi To Uyen, head of the building business management capacity at USAID IPSC, the project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with the support of the Ministry of Planning and Investment as the government partner.

Lasting for five years, the project aims at improving the competitiveness of growing and small businesses, bringing Vietnamese products to international markets and helping businesses expand their customers and markets through sales channels, including e-commerce.

Natalie Thuan Ngo, business development manager of Amazon Global Selling, said that third-party sellers now account for 60 per cent of Amazon's e-commerce sales.

With more than 300 million customers in 200 countries and territories, Amazon opens great opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to expand and helps Vietnamese products go global. Currently, Vietnam is considered an emerging market that Amazon keeps an eye on, Thuan Ngo said.

Natalie Thuan Ngo, business development manager of Amazon Global Selling

At the event, participants were provided with specific and visual guidance on how to register an account, build an online store, and start selling on Amazon. The expert also showed participants how to use analysis tools from Amazon as well as other platforms for conducting market research and store management.

Van Phuong, representative of e-commerce company TIDISUN, asked how to boost traffic to stores on Amazon. Thuan Ngo suggested Amazon's sponsored products to promote product listing on Amazon. Other programmes like Amazone Vine, which invites the most trusted reviewers on Amazon to post opinions about new products, also enable selling partners to enhance traffic.

Highlighting the importance of research and development activities, Thuan Ngo cited a case study of a wooden furniture company struggling with exporting wooden beds to the US market due to high costs and competitors. After analysing consumer demand in the US, the business turned to the export of self-assembly wooden bed legs, which have been well received by this market.

Cao Thanh Thao Nguyen, training specialist of Shopee Academy

Cao Thanh Thao Nguyen, training specialist of Shopee Academy, noted that businesses should build product funnels, clearly dividing them into bait products (products that attract traffic); key products (products with stable revenue), and profit products (products with high profits).

Shopee’s experts also analysed how to optimise each key performance indicators that boost sale growth.

Each participant had the opportunity to introduce products and stores on Shopee and discuss their e-commerce challenges. Shopee’s experts visited each business's stores, analysing business indicators, then giving feedback and advice on market potential, pricing strategy, the brand identity, and how to make their stores more attractive.

The business matching event is one of the activities within the USAID IPSC Project.

The project will provide a network of leading consultants and prestigious domestic and international business development consulting firms to help Vietnamese businesses accelerate growth and bring Vietnamese products to international markets

Businesses can learn more about USAID IPSC Project and register for support packages at main.ipsc.vn.