October 23, 2026 | 18:22(0) user say
Combining traditional distribution with cross-border e-commerce can help Vietnamese businesses expand sales opportunities and reduce reliance on any single market or platform. However, they need to strengthen management capabilities, optimise logistics costs, and build closer supply chain links to ensure sustainable market access.
At a workshop organised by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency on October 22 in Hanoi, participants discussed opportunities, bottlenecks, and solutions to help businesses adapt to rapidly changing trade, distribution, and consumer behaviour.
Photo: congthuong.vn
Le Hoang Tai, deputy director general of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), highlighted the growing convergence of traditional distribution networks and digital commerce platforms. The expansion of cross-border e-commerce and social media is reshaping shopping habits, requiring businesses to innovate flexibly to maintain and strengthen their competitiveness.
“Relying on a single sales channel is no longer appropriate. Businesses need to connect physical stores with online shops, expand customer touchpoints, and improve operational efficiency to ensure stable outlets for their products,” he said.
However, many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), continue to face difficulties in building integrated technology systems, managing customer data, organising logistics, and developing effective sales strategies.
Alongside businesses’ own efforts to innovate, Tai said, coordination among state management agencies, industry associations, and digital platforms was needed to provide market information, strengthen technology adoption, and facilitate both online and offline Development under the MoIT, cautioned that presence across multiple distribution channels did not necessarily guarantee sustainable sales.
“A high-quality agricultural product with attractive packaging, a traceability code, and exposure at trade fairs, supermarkets, or e-commerce platforms may still struggle to maintain its market presence if supply is inconsistent, inventory is not updated, transport costs are high, and repeat orders are lacking,” she said.
According to Tam, distribution should be viewed as an integrated network connecting traditional markets, supermarkets, convenience stores, agents, digital platforms, and delivery services. The priority should not simply be to increase the number of sales outlets, but to improve market access, control distribution costs, ensure timely replenishment, and retain customers.
She also emphasised the need to move beyond short-term business-matching activities towards long-term supply relationships. The effectiveness of business connections should be monitored after 30, 60, and 90 days, based on orders generated, the ability to meet required standards, and progress in resolving issues related to pricing, packaging, transport, and payment.
For small-scale producers and products under the One Commune, One Product programme, shared services for collection, storage, and transportation could help reduce market access costs while enabling suppliers to better meet requirements for product specifications and delivery schedules.
Bui Ba Nghiem, senior expert at the MoIT’s Agency of Foreign Trade, said Vietnam’s merchandise exports reached approximately $434 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 24.5 per cent on-year.
However, foreign-invested enterprises continued to account for around 80 per cent of total export turnover, while domestic enterprises contributed approximately $83.89 billion.
“This highlights the need to strengthen the export capabilities of domestic businesses while deepening their links with foreign-invested enterprise supply chains to expand opportunities to participate in international markets,” he said.
Amid geopolitical volatility and rising transportation costs affecting global trade, diversifying export markets and distribution channels would also help businesses improve their resilience and adaptability, Nghiem added.
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