Logistics service industry is suitable for the "flow" of import and export goods.

In the "flow" of import and export goods, Vietnamese logistics service enterprises are changing strongly and supporting each other to develop together.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hung - Head of Logistics for E-commerce - Vietnam Logistics Service Association (VLA) - had an interview with reporters of Industry and Trade Newspaper about this issue.

How do you evaluate the role of the "blood vessel" of the economy - the logistics service industry - in import-export activities as well as domestic circulation of goods?

Currently, there are many businesses participating in providing logistics services for goods circulation activities, including import and export, and domestic freight transportation.

Logistics service industry is suitable for import and export goods flow.

Regarding the businesses in the Association, we see that businesses are having a strong transformation in connecting, bonding, and sharing. This is something new in the past 3 years.

Previously, we also heard about the challenges of Vietnam's logistics, international sea transport vehicles are in the hands of large foreign shipping companies. Domestic logistics infrastructure has difficulty in combining modes of transport by road, sea, waterway, rail, and air. The connection in the past was not interconnected and positive. However, in recent years, this connection, integration and sharing has improved.

The proof of this is that the Vietnamese logistics service industry has adapted to the flow of import and export goods, and more and more Vietnamese enterprises are deeply involved in the supply chain of import and export goods. And more and more Vietnamese enterprises are proving their capacity in providing logistics services in the domestic market.

This is one of the results of the efforts from the Government level in creating a legal corridor as well as creating conditions for businesses; the efforts and determination of domestic enterprises themselves when investing and participating in this field.

At the same time, it is the support and sharing of domestic manufacturing enterprises. When we have the support and consensus of all three of these groups, I believe that the Vietnamese logistics service industry will increasingly prove its role in the circulation of import and export goods as well as the circulation of domestic consumer goods.

However, according to calculations by the Vietnam Logistics Services Association, Vietnam's logistics costs average 16.8 - 17% of GDP, much higher than the world average of 10.6%. What is the reason, sir?

Vietnam's logistics costs account for a high proportion of GDP structure. We have heard this story from many experts, politicians, and foreign organizations who have researched, analyzed, evaluated, and pointed out 3 main reasons.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hung - Head of Logistics for E-commerce - Vietnam Logistics Services Association (VLA). Photo: Quoc Chuyen

First , infrastructure. Although there have been improvements in recent years, the infrastructure to help businesses deploy logistics services and circulate goods still has some huge challenges. Infrastructure here we talk a lot about synchronization and connectivity. This is a weakness, a bottleneck, not a problem of Vietnam alone. All countries face the same situation.

In particular, when we play a very important role in the supply chain, we also receive a lot of investment flows and production shifts. Along with that is the challenge of adapting to building infrastructure in time to receive investment flows and production flows.

Second , it is connectivity. We have many provinces and cities and are connected through many modes of transport. However, the connectivity between these modes is low. This is also one of the reasons for high logistics costs. Regarding services, it takes up to 7 days to transport a container of goods. Enterprises have optimized the domestic stage, however, the problem here is the service stage at both ends of the border. We still share and encourage logistics enterprises, that is, the appearance of logistics enterprises, most clearly reflects all the advantages and difficulties, thereby extending transportation time and increasing costs.

Third , when there is a vibrant market for production, import and export, this means that we have a vibrant market for logistics activities. This excitement also poses a big challenge to domestic logistics enterprises when foreign logistics enterprises are ready to be present in Vietnam. They invest and will exploit the weaknesses of domestic enterprises, thereby creating competitive advantages.

What solutions are proposed to improve the competitiveness of logistics enterprises in the current context of digital transformation, sir?

It can be seen that in the supply chain activities in digital transformation, Vietnamese logistics enterprises have also undergone a strong transformation. Many Vietnamese enterprises have built and developed their own information technology to adapt and connect with foreign enterprises.

The most obvious thing we see is logistics in e-commerce. If we cannot apply technology to logistics activities in e-commerce, we will have almost no competitive advantage in both domestic and international markets.

Because e-commerce itself is a business method that uses and exploits many technology platforms. Therefore, logistics companies are the same. It is necessary to adapt to two important factors, which are the immediacy of orders and the responsiveness of consumers to order status. This will create a competitive advantage for businesses.

According to the sharing of member enterprises, many traditional logistics enterprises have now also shifted and approached the method of technology transformation towards e-commerce to be able to adapt quickly and share data faster between platform providers as well as between logistics enterprises.

The reason for Vietnam's high logistics costs has been studied and evaluated in many ways, but from the Association's perspective, we have also put forward the key point and made it our motto, which is that in addition to the issue of promoting the role of contributing to the state's policy mechanism, connectivity is being raised by the Association throughout the past terms and in this term.

VLA's connecting role is not only in the domestic and regional business space, but we are playing a very important role in the region and the world.

The result we see is that the 2025 FIATA World Congress (FWC) will be held in Vietnam. This is a boost, and we also hope that when we organize a "World Cup in the freight forwarding industry" in Vietnam, it will create a new playground for Vietnamese businesses. This playground must be integration, must be cohesion, through which we can connect and cooperate with partners, with new business methods, thereby reducing logistics costs.

Hopefully, in the next few years, we will talk more about the business opportunities in logistics, the role of logistics in economic development, for the community and sustainable development instead of looking at the challenges in reducing logistics costs.

Thank you!

Source: https://congthuong.vn/nganh-dich-vu-logistics-thich-hop-voi-dong-chay-hang-hoa-xuat-nhap-khau-360492.html