Logistics firms lose on home market
Logistics firms lose on home market
More than 1,300 Vietnamese firms in the logistics sector mainly act as agents for around 25 foreign logistics firms on the home market, heard the Vietnam Logistics Forum 2015 last week.
Data of Vietnam Supply Chain showed foreign enterprises dominate 70-80% of Vietnam’s logistics market.
The local logistics market has grown at an average annual rate of 15-20% but Vietnamese companies have not benefited much from this strong market expansion. Local logistics firms mainly operate on domestic routes and can compete on a small number of routes linking Vietnam and other regional markets.
Experts at the forum said more manufacturers have chosen companies active in different markets as their logistics service providers and Vietnamese firms have not benefited from this trend. The main reason is that only a small number of local firms have managed to join some stages of the logistics chain dominated by global companies and partner with agents in overseas markets but their partnership is not strong.
Therefore, local logistics firms cannot compete with foreign rivals even on the home market and they have to serve as agents for foreign companies in providing transport and warehouse services and competing customs procedures.
Julien Brun, co-founder of Vietnam Supply Chain, said logistics is regarded as important infrastructure of the economy and local logistics firms should quickly find solutions to their problems to minimize losses and make the most of opportunities from growing trading activity.
Brun said infrastructure, particularly in rural and remote areas, solutions for e-commerce, distribution channels in the future and risk management were among major challenges for Vietnam’s logistics sector.
To woo more clients in Vietnam, logistics companies including Gemadept have invested more in developing their services and offered integrated service packages for customers in different market segments.
