Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in leading industries, like garments and footwear, should upgrade their capacity in supply chain management to raise the value of their products, local and foreign experts said at a recent workshop in Ho Chi Minh City.
According to the Vietnamese media, experts at the workshop on supply chain readiness training and garment and footwear sectors, commented that with Vietnam having signed, or finalising, trade pacts with many foreign partners and economic blocs, upgrading capacity in supply chain management will help foster their competitiveness.
The event, co-organised by the US-ASEAN Business Council and the USAID was the first activity in a series to be conducted to help 30 SMEs in the two industries in Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia grasp opportunities for integration and development, the organising board said.
According to the US-ASEAN Business Council, 98 percent of Southeast Asian firms operating in the garment and footwear sectors are small and medium enterprises, which contribute significantly to the region’s turnover.
However, those SMEs are not actively involved in the world and the ASEAN market, and have yet to play a specific role in the global value chains.
According to reports unveiled at the workshop, in the context of global economic integration, one certain company will not produce a complete product as they did in the past, but they will only focus on making one or some parts with different levels of added value, which is part of the world’s value chain.
