Webinar "Relocating Supply Chains to Vietnam"

Organized by Dezan Shira and co-hosted by ICHAM on June 10, 2020, the webinar “Relocating Supply Chains to Vietnam’’ was held in order to provide manufactures with the latest updates on the supply chains in Vietnam and equip them with a winning methodology for supply chain relocation to the nation. Rebecca An, Business Intelligence Assistant Manager, discussed Vietnam’s supply chain network and the pull factors for investing in Vietnam as well as the different regions geared to specific industries in the country.

Discussing the drivers for relocating business supply to Vietnam, Rebecca pointed out that though the process of relocating has already happened, the main factor accelerating this shift included fast-growing middle and upper class, political stability, open economy thanks to 14 free trade agreements and Vietnam’s amazing ability to address the pandemic.

As Vietnam moves from agriculture to service to high-tech manufacturing, certain industries are becoming more prominent than others due to increased investment and government incentives. In this context, four industrial clusters primed for a supplychain shift were garment and textile cluster, automotive cluster, electronic cluster and lastly - food, beverage and feed processing cluster.

There is no one-size-fits-all procedure to decide on a location. Each industry, market, and location is different and thus each must go for a tailor-made approach to each business as per the specific requirement. Businesses should conduct thorough due diligence before embarking on the relocation process and are advised to seek professional help when considering a supply chain shift.

Processes that should be considered during a relocation include:

- Market study;

- Initial screening;

- Preliminary due diligence and long-list locations;

- Detailed due diligence;

- Comparison model development;

- Final site selections; and

- Organizing a visit.