Salt company addresses sales and labour issues
Salt company addresses sales and labour issues
The ongoing labour shortage is still a major challenge for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) when it comes to boosting production and finding markets for their goods as part of the Asean Economic Community (AEC).
Along with the shortage of available skilled labour to expand commercial production, the sourcing of markets and effective advertising and distribution are also providing obstacles to business expansion in Laos.
A num ber of firms also lack the efficiency and accountability in administration required to thrive in a competitive regional economy where firms need to maximise their cost effectiveness and identify areas where expenses can be minimised.
The Veunkham Salt Co., Ltd is one of eight salt companies in Laos that requires more experienced marketing employees to take advantage of the opportunities that will come with integration.
The company's director, Mr Bounthavy Choulamany said the Veunkham Salt Company would like to source more information as to which countries are likely to have markets for their products as well as the related regulations they will have to comply with if they wish to export salt to different jurisdictions.
He added that marketing staff needed to do more work to identify the main product markets, distribution channels and major industry players in each of the respective markets.
This will require the company to hire and train highly qualified marketing and sales staff who have capabilities in terms of identifying market opportunities, building contacts and developing new relationships with customers, he added.
The Veunkham Salt Company was established in 1996, with its headquarters located in Sarmsa-art village, Xaythany district, Vientiane.
At the outset, the company comprised only 10 people with five administrators, while twenty years on the Veunkham Salt Company now has a total staff of some 94 employees, reflecting its consistent growth.
Currently its salt products are consumed largely on the domestic market but significant quantities are also exported to Japan and Taiwan.
The challenges it faces to future expansion and finding new markets include ensuring high quality production, competition and expensive transport fees due to a lack of sea port access.
For Lao salt products to compete on regional and international markets, the company needs to improve its organisation's administration especially the work systems employed by its staff, Mr Bounthavy said.
Veunkham Salt Co will also continue to strive to improve the quality of its product to satisfy customer demands in overseas markets where high quality salt commands a premium price.
Other areas where the company can improve include its transport and logistics arrangements as well setting aside revenue for capital expenditure to improve production and processing facilities.
It is anticipated that the inception of the AEC will bring both opportunities and challenges for the Veunkham Salt Company and it needs to be well placed to capitalise on the former and combat the latter.
China is among the top salt producers in the world, representing about 22.5 percent of world salt supply, followed by the United States, which produces about 14.5 percent and India 8.8 percent, according to the company's report.
