Hanoi (VNA) –♍ Big investment should be made to accelerate digital transformation in the logistics sector, which plays a pivotal role in Vietnam’s socio-economic landscape, creating significant value addition and contributing to the nation's import-export growth, according to Deputy Director of the Agency for Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade Tran Thanh Hai.

At the workshop on digital transformation in the logistics sector held in Hanoi on January 9, he stressed that as Vietnam is deepening its international integration and actively participating in free trade agreements, coupled with consistent economic growth, the sector is poised for robust development and better engagement in global supply chains. Logistics has been one of the eight industries prioritised in the National Digital Transformation Programme until 2025 with a vision to 2030, he said, adding the application of advanced technologies will help cut logistics costs – a particularly crucial objective for Vietnam where logistics expenses are making up a substantial portion of business operational costs. According to Hai, over the recent past, the Government as well as ministries, sectors, and localities have worked to remove bottlenecks, improve the competitive edge, and create a favourable environment for logistics development. The sector has shown promising results with the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) reaching 3.3 points in 2023, ranking 43rd among 139 countries and territories and fifth in ASEAN. Besides, the industry maintained a high revenue growth rate of 14-16% annually, with a market size of some 40-42 billion USD a year. Besides, the quantity and quality of logistics services have been enhanced, helping promote the country’s trade value. A draft report on digital transformation in Vietnam’s logistics sector – current status and recommendations, presented by experts from the US Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Vietnam Digital Trade (VDT) project, revealed that while the awareness of digital transformation's significance is relatively high among logistics companies, most of them are still in the early stages of such transformation. Limited capital, resource investment, and shortage of skilled personnel remain major obstacles, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. Trevor O'Regan, an expert from the VDT project, recommended that Vietnam should develop competitive advantages in global supply chains by capitalising on AI, digital trade, logistics, and sustainability. He suggested setting up world-class Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to become a leading nation in logistics innovation, ensuring international standards implementation for digital transformation and e-commerce, and considering the establishment of a strategic investment fund for green logistics. Additionally, Vietnam should pay due attention to developing human resources and weighing the formation of a world-class university and research institute specialising on the area. Other specialists shared their logistics experience, highlighting the decisive role of businesses and the application of technologies in AI and big data in the industry./.