Cargo transported at Hai Phong port (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) – Digital transformation has become a crucial aspect for the logistics sector to go modern and sustainable, experts said at a conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi on April 27.
According to a report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s total import-export revenue was recorded at 500 billion USD in 2019, and the figure topped 545 billion USD in 2020. Notably, turnover reached nearly 670 billion USD in 2021, and surpassed 730 billion USD in 2022 despite critical impacts of COVID-19.
However, Vietnam’s logistics costs were equivalent to 16.8% of the country’s GDP, much higher than the global level, which stood at around 10%.
Speakers share experience in digital transformation to build a modern and sustainable logistics sector. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
With a view to keep up with the e-commerce boom, the logistics sector is forced to go digital to improve service quality, and meet the requirements of effective national goods transportation.
Nguyen Trieu Quang, Manager of Operations at Lazada Express, described uniform quality management as a challenge in e-commerce logistics.
It is necessary for the sector to ensure firm infrastructure to meet the increasing number of orders, as well as the customer requirements on product and service quality.
“The rising number of transport vehicles together with increasing delivery requirements could easily put pressure on the environment”, Quang said.
A report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed Vietnam’s logistics sector recorded impressive development in the past time, with growth ranging 14-16% annually. Better logistics service quality made contributions to the 2022 import-export revenue of 730.2 billion USD, up 9.1 percent year-on-year.
Phan Van Chinh, Director of the Foreign Trade Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said besides rosy achievements, the sector is facing a number of challenges, including high service costs, loose cooperation among logistics firms, and a lack of a network of large logistics enterprises who are able to develop the sector.
“Application of digital technologies has lagged far behind economic development in the new situation”, Chinh said, highlighting this among the reasons that curb development of the logistics sector.
Creating breakthroughs from digital transformation
Digital transformation with application of advanced technologies from delivery to smart storage has created substantial changes to logistics firms.
Truong Tan Loc, Marketing Director of Saigon Newport Corporation, said the ePort app is among successful projects on accelerating advanced technologies into businesses’ products and services.
The app allows users to declare information on containers and services, and make payment online for all services at Saigon Newport. As it has direct connection with the customs database, the app helps reduce customs clearance time to 2 minutes per container.
“With ePort, Saigon Newport saves some 30,000-50,000 documents per day. Besides, it also helps reduce traffic congestion at Cat Lai port”, Loc said.
Phan Van Chinh, Director of the Foreign Trade Agency, speaks at the conference. (Photo: VietnamPlus) Along with advanced technologies, the development of green transportation is also crucial to protect the environment.
According to Loc, barge transportation provides a viable solution that balances economic growth with environmental stewardship.
With a litre of fuel, a barge can carry one ton of freight for 85 kilometers, while a semi-trailer track is able to carry the same freight for a distance of only 10 kilometers, Loc said. He added that barge transport is suitable to urbanization planning, reducing noise and environmental pollution in residential areas.
Meawnhile, Dinh Hoai Nam, business director at SPL Company, said modern warehouses are replacing traditional ones to meet increasing customer demands.
Modern warehouses are equipped with advanced technologies such as automation system and a comprehensive surveillance system, helping improve delivery speed and efficiency.
Highlighting the efficiency of the world’s very first Net-zero warehouse developed in the UK, Nam said some 4,263 tonnes of carbon was reduced during the time when the warehouse was developed.
Sound planning for warehouses with advanced tools put in place for logistics services will help enterprises save costs while improving customer experience.
“Such new technologies as IoT, AI and automation have made great contributions to better warehouse capacity and their operation accuracy. A smart warehouse system is able to provide information on storage process, delivery and goods management.”, Nam stressed./.
