Rising dragon: Amazon eyes Vietnam as key link in global supply chain
Rising dragon: Amazon eyes Vietnam as key link in global supply chain
Global e-retail giant Amazon will make Vietnam an emerging link in its global e-commerce supply chain, as the Southeast Asian country has become increasingly prominent as a major manufacturer regionally and internationally, said Eric Broussard, vice-president of worldwide Amazon global selling and international seller services.
Eric Broussard (L), vice-president of worldwide Amazon global selling and international seller services, visits a workshop of a company in Vietnam. Photo: Huu Duyen / Tuoi Tre |
Broussard made the statement after his business meetings with a number of Vietnamese entrepreneurs, sales partners, and service providers during his recent visit to Vietnam.
He pointed out that the expanding global retail e-commerce landscape is creating numerous opportunities for traders worldwide, including those from Vietnam.
Broussard highlighted the remarkable fact that in 2022, the export value of goods and services made up a substantial 91 percent of Vietnam's GDP, deeming this performance truly impressive.
Expressing his views in a recent interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, the Amazon vice-president noted that Vietnam has demonstrated positive growth potential in the B2C (business-to-consumer) e-commerce sector, thanks to government support policies and a robust ongoing digital transformation.
In such a context, Vietnam will contribute to bringing more diverse choices to hundreds of millions of Amazon customers, and this is the first reason that has inspired Amazon to support Vietnam to become a link in the group’s global supply chain, Broussard said.
Secondly, Vietnam is gradually asserting its role as an important emerging manufacturing center in Asia and the world, with its steady production capacity and a diverse portfolio of products, including furniture, electronics, textiles, and various consumer goods.
Vietnam has the ability to produce a host of products with excellent quality, innovation, and competitiveness.
Moreover, its products such as environmentally friendly straws and recycled plastic bags are capturing a lot of attention from developed markets like the U.S. and other countries.
Furthermore, the Amazon vice-president emphasized that Vietnamese sellers exhibit a robust entrepreneurial spirit.
He expressed great admiration for the enthusiasm and interest displayed by Vietnamese sellers in the realm of e-retail, highlighting their willingness to embrace new business opportunities on a larger scale.
Sharing his impressions of the dynamism and resilience of cross-border e-commerce in Vietnam during his visit to the country, Broussard expressed his belief that this form of e-commerce will persistently grow and emerge as a new driving force for development in Vietnam, overcoming any challenges that may arise.
With its manufacturing strength, entrepreneurial spirit, and rapid digital transformation, Vietnam can become an important supply chain in global e-commerce, the Amazon executive concluded.
Broussard offered advice, noting that traditionally, if a company in Vietnam possesses a promising idea or product and aims to sell it internationally, the conventional approach involves relinquishing control of the product, pricing, and product strategy to intermediaries.
He also noted that even small or micro businesses can proactively build their own brands on the market by taking advantage of the infrastructure provided by e-retail platforms such as Amazon, where customers can even find many products that have yet to be put for sale in bricks-and-mortar stores.
Asked about what Amazon has done to support Vietnamese retailers, Broussard said the group has launched the first Amazon Day-1 training center in Vietnam to help local traders who are still unfamiliar with Amazon to explore its operations, tools, services, and programs.
The group has also operated more than 400 order fulfillment centers worldwide, and Vietnamese sellers can use convenient services provided by them to market their products, among other supports, he added.
A total of 17 million products of various kinds were sold by Vietnamese small and medium businesses through Amazon in 2023, the group said.
Amazon.com Inc. is a multinational technology company focusing in e-commerce, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
It is considered one of the Big Five American technology companies, alongside Alphabet, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, according to the Canada-based International Institute of Marketing Professionals.
