Removing obstacles to digital transformation for small and medium enterprises

Disturbed

For many years, CPN Hai Duong branch on Nguyen Luong Bang street (Hai Duong city) under CPN Vietnam Transport and Trading Joint Stock Company has applied 3S ERP software to manage the business with many functions of sales management, warehouse management, finance-accounting and website management. Mr. Luong Huu Viet, branch director, said that every day CPN Hai Duong branch imports 30-40 orders, while the whole company has up to several hundred orders, but the system is not overloaded. The software manages products by serial code, so product information is quite detailed, convenient for tracking and warranty. "High efficiency but the investment cost to build this software is quite expensive. In addition to spending several hundred million VND to hire a software development unit, the company also has to invest in a server with strong configuration and large capacity to ensure the system operates smoothly," said Mr. Viet.

Some other enterprises in Hai Duong are also quite sensitive in accessing technology platforms and applying digital transformation quite early. However, this number is still very modest. According to the latest statistics of the Department of Industry and Trade, out of a total of over 19,000 enterprises in Hai Duong, there are only 266 digital technology enterprises and 187 digital platform enterprises. There are 8,330 small and medium-sized enterprises that have accessed the digital transformation support program, but not many enterprises can organize and implement it properly in practice.

Most small and medium-sized enterprises still have many concerns about costs, roadmaps, human resources and trust when implementing digital transformation. Talent Development and Education Company Limited in Tan Binh Ward (Hai Duong City) currently has 20 employees, providing performing arts services, life skills education and fingerprint biometrics... This company has only applied electronic invoices, digital signatures, electronic tax payments, and does not have a website or business management software. Ms. Mac Thi Minh, the company's director, said that small businesses with little capital would have a hard time if they had to "carry" an additional cost of renting or buying software. "We do fingerprint biometrics, so security must be a top concern. If I put this data on the software, I am not confident, afraid that important customer information will be leaked," Ms. Minh added.

Meanwhile, Ms. Vu Thi Hien, representative of Thien Loc Phat Construction Investment and Development Company Limited in Vu Van Uyen Street (Hai Duong City) is concerned about the time of digital transformation and the impact of digital transformation on the production and business activities of enterprises. Another difficulty hindering the digital transformation of enterprises is the lack of IT human resources.

Need more support policies

Before starting digital transformation projects, instead of focusing too much on technological capabilities, businesses need to help all employees see the shortcomings in current management methods, aiming for new achievements that can be achieved after applying digital technology. Removing this psychological barrier will help employees be ready to acquire new knowledge and habits to realize digital transformation projects.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hieu, Head of Base.vn Digital Transformation Consulting Department (FPT Corporation) said that to transform digitally, businesses need to carry out basic steps including: digitization, converting unstructured data into structured data; optimizing digitized operations and making decisions to change models and strategies based on optimized data. To create trust in efficiency and security, businesses need to choose digital transformation projects from reputable, verified suppliers.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Minh, Director of the Corporate Customer Department (VNPT Hai Duong) said that when applying digital transformation, businesses may have to restructure their organizations, arrange and assign redundant personnel from indirect positions to sales positions... thereby creating more revenue and profit.

Renting IT services and paying monthly or annually is also a solution proposed by small and medium enterprises. Ms. Mac Thi Minh, Director of Talent Development and Education Company Limited, suggested that the software provider let businesses try out the necessary services. If they find it effective, the business will rent the software and rent additional services. At the same time, support discounts for businesses in the first years of using the software.

Mr. Pham Huy Thang, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Communications, said that the unit will coordinate to advise on the issuance of the Plan for digital economic and digital social development to 2025, with a vision to 2030 of the province. Including many solutions to support small and medium enterprises. Consulting businesses on website building, registering ".vn" domain names. Organizing seminars and training sessions to help businesses change their mindset about the importance of digital transformation, supporting businesses and cooperatives to bring products to e-commerce platforms. Especially promoting digital government so that people and businesses can shorten the time to carry out online administrative procedures.