According to experts, a majority of local exporters still rely on traditional export channels, or exploit online business channels on a very basic level, such as via websites or email.Nguyen Ky Minh, Deputy Director of E-commerce Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said Vietnamese firms have two main channels for online export: looking for foreign partners through e-commerce trading floors and selling their goods directly to consumers abroad through the floors. "However, the online import-export channel is not popular because local businesses do not have enough skills to confidently sell their goods directly to consumers abroad," Minh said.
Through the online channel, local exporters are able to deal with customers
even while sitting in their offices. |
Meanwhile, Vietnam now has nearly 50 million internet users, accounting for over 53 percent of the population, 46.6 percent higher than the world average rate. This figure is particularly significant for online businesses, including online import and export.
The Vietnam E-commerce Report 2017 showed that making e-transactions will bring great returns to local importers and exporters. Accordingly, enterprises can save 15-30 percent, even up to 90 percent of time, as compared to the traditional method, besides saving on human resources, reducing errors, improving transparency of procedures and increasing the digitization ability.
"Meanwhile, with traditional trading methods, besides the cumbersome procedures, many businesses still have to bear the cost when looking for foreign partners or trade promotion. Therefore, the method of online import and export is a great opportunity to reduce the cost of time spent, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), looking for trade partners, trade promotion, product marketing and payment," Minh said.
According to the Vietnam Herbal Joint Stock Company, to carry out communication marketing, enterprises have to travel a lot to connect with and find customers. They even have to go abroad to participate in fairs. However, through the online channel, they are able to deal with customers even while sitting in their offices.
The company’s representative said that although the company has just applied the online import-export method for a year, it has 5-10 customers a day, on an average.
Tran Xuan Thuy, country manager of Alibaba to Vietnam, said e-commerce, including online export, is an indispensable business channel to efficiently find buyers and sellers.
"Trung Nguyen Coffee and Kangaroo, both companies with good financial potential, are our longtime customers. The new markets that the companies have acquired from e-commerce have increased significantly. Through e-commerce, they can find new buyers instead of having to use salesmen to go to markets as done earlier," said Thuy.
In developing new markets or looking for new buyers, large enterprises have a huge advantage as they have enough funds to open representative offices or take part in trade fairs. In contrast, small businesses find it difficult to do so.
According to Thuy, e-commerce on the B2B online business platform will solve all such problems for SMEs as they do not have to spend much money to participate in fairs. E-commerce has no limitations on the size of the business so it will create more opportunities for SMEs.
