Businesses are innovating to find opportunities during crisis

​(News Portal – Dong Nai) - The global economy is still "stagnant", the domestic situation is also facing many difficulties, requiring businesses to try harder than ever to maintain their production and business activities. 

Finding ways to adapt, continuously updating on consumer trends, finding appropriate innovation motives, and making changes to avoid having to leave the market are challenges that businesses are facing. 

Products of Kim Vinh Thang Company Limited displayed and introduced at Dong Nai Technology-Equipment and Trade Market 2023. 

Businesses' struggle to stay “alive"
Miss Truong Ly Hoang Phi, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Young Entrepreneurs Association believed that in the context of the world economy weakening due to political tensions and financial market fluctuations, hundreds of thousands of businesses are facing many difficulties. Many businesses were having trouble maintain their activities and have to shut down. 

According to the General Statistics Office, in the first 7 months of 2023, the whole country has had 113,3 thousand enterprises withdrawing from the market, or 16 thousand enterprises ceasing business a month on average, an increase of 19,8% compared to the same period in 2022. Meanwhile, the total number of enterprises in the country is still less than 1 million. The withdrawal of a large number of businesses showed the fierceness of the market, especially for small and medium-sized businesses with thin capital and no potential to maintain operations, so they are forced to temporarily withdraw from the market.

Similarly, in Dong Nai, businesses are also facing dual difficulties. As a locality with the country's leading export turnover, this year Dong Nai's export value decreased sharply compared to last year. The domestic market is also struggling as there are more and more businesses competing for the same piece of the pie and reducing consumer demand.  

Mr. Phan Van Tu, Director of Kim Vinh Thang Company Limited specializing in mechanical engineering and manufacturing, said that the past 2 years had been the most difficult time for the company. Currently, the company's production output and sales as well as the number of the company's customers have only recovered as half as before. What is worrying is that market demand is likely to continue to stagnate. These issues put small and medium-sized enterprises not only in Dong Nai but also in the entire country in dangerous situations.

Innovating to find opportunities in challenges  
Not only small businesses but also large companies and corporations are forced to change themselves. Mr. Tran Le Nguyen, General Director of Kido Group, assessed that after the pandemic, consumer behavior has changed, so "trend" is the key. In parallel, combining with technology to continuously measure to keep up with the market trends and changing business from the inside to create products that meet the needs of consumer behavior is a very necessary solution today. But to expand their thinking, businesses need to understand world trends.

Also according to Mr. Tran Le Nguyen, to be able to promote good innovation and motivation, it is necessary to consider company strategy and culture as the core, and collective work is the utmost important.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Thanh My, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Rynan Technology Vietnam Joint Stock Company (Tra Vinh province) assessed that thinking outside the box is one of the prerequisites that businessmen need to apply, especially in the current period. It is not limited to startups or small and medium-sized companies, but large corporations with long years of operation are also completely capable of "breaking the framework" and innovating. Because, according to experts, companies, big or small, all start from a "start-up".

Mr. Pham The Linh, Head of Bien Hoa Young Entrepreneurs Association, Director of The Linh Company Limited, shared that for business owners, the first priority is to maintain production. Surrounded by difficulties from all sides, if the market does not improve, businesses must find ways to adapt, otherwise it will be very difficult to survive, let alone recover. Even Mr. Linh's business and its affiliated companies have had to work hard to support each other in the period from the end of last year until now. ​