HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Leadership plays a key role in ensuring thesuccessful operation of a business during digital transition, speakers said atthe “Industry 3.0 to Industry 4.0” forum held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 3.

Nguyen Duc Thuan, CEO of TBS Group (Thai Binh Shoes), said the Internet ofThings (IoT) was changing the business world, creating an important foundationbased on databases that can be analysed to help make decisions and periodicadjustments.

“You need to find solutions that will lower production costs and prices inorder to be more competitive,” he said.

Leaders of companies must clearly define their business strategy, especiallyproducts and services on which they are focused, Thuan said, adding thatproductivity must be increased as well.

To choose the right path, businesses, especially small-and medium-sizedenterprises SMEs, must identify their challenges before pursuing goals.

Leaders, investors and entrepreneurs should be willing to keep up with newbusiness trends, he said, adding that enterprises need to change theirtraditional mindset to ensure efficiency.

Women’s roles

More than 70 percent of the delegates at the forum were women, according to theorganiser, the HCM City Association for Women Executives and Entrepreneurs(HAWEE).

More than 31 percent of businesses in Vietnam are owned by women, according toa recent MasterCard study.

When women participate in entrepreneurial pursuits, their companies are oftensmaller compared to men’s and in fields more prone to economic instability, thestudy found.

Women are also more likely to own retail and wholesale businesses as opposed tomanufacturing.

Because technology has become more critical for success, it is even moreimportant for women to be involved in this male-dominant area and stayinformed.

“We aim to offer practical tips and a can-do spirit as the ky takeaways for ourparticipants,” said the organiser of the forum.

The exponential growth of technology-enabled solutions has createdunprecedented opportunities for an inclusive and sustainable economy acrossborders, according to HAWEE.

SMEs and family-run businesses may initially feel vulnerable and wait for thenext shoe to drop or for a tech-enabled disruptive model to take over theirmarket.

But, instead, they should learn howtechnology can help them build on their fundamental strengths of being agile,cost-effective and efficient, with enviable customer relationships.

More than 400 delegates from SMEs, family-run businesses and start-ups of Vietnamand regional countries attended the event.

The forum also discussed how data series could be analysed to learn new trendsthat could increase competitive advantages. Other topics included artificialintelligence (AI), robotics, blockchain, and social media and communication.-VNS/VNA