SMEs improve competitive edge to benefit from AEC

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have been urged to sharpen their productivity in the lead up to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) formation later this year, economic experts at a recent seminar in Hanoi said.

“Vietnam will face fierce competition from imported products on its home turf after the AEC officially comes into existence in December,” said economist Pham Chi Lan, a leading economist.

Photo for Illustration (Photo: Thai Thien).

I am concerned that far too many SMEs seem to be taking a lackadaisical attitude towards its creation and are not adequately preparing for the fierce competition they will be facing, Lan added.

As the nation enters a new era of regional and global integration, businesses have no options but be more productive, innovative, and competitive, other economists said at the seminar, and business need to grasp the three dimensional aspects of competition.

SMEs should strive and push to become competitive in producing a high-quality product and delivering it to the customer in a timely manner at a fair and profitable price if they are to be competitive in the AEC.

For enterprises to be able to compete and sustain their place or improve their positioning in the market, they will also have to continually aspire for enhanced productivity by streamlining business operations.

In addition, improving labour productivity, adopting new technologies and techniques, and developing new designs and products will also be pivotal to an effective competitive strategy.

This all must be done without losing sight of the need to optimize resources and increase gains without sacrificing quality and excellence, they said.

Hand in hand with the opportunity to succeed in the new regional marketplace goes the opportunity to fail and what will tilt the scales between winning and losing is productivity and innovation.
Meanwhile, they urged SMEs to participate in upcoming trade fairs and expositions for them to showcase their good practices and engage with other SMEs in the region.

(Source: VOV)