Given disruptions in global supply chains, how has DKSH Vietnam adapted to this, and helped its partners maintain growth?

Vietnam’s supply chain faces an added layer of complexity amid ongoing fluctuations across communities, markets, and industries. Many companies still operate independent logistics networks, limiting operational efficiency and increasing vulnerability to disruptions. These challenges share a common solution: building an integrated and resilient supply chain.

Pham Duy Khiem, head of Supply Chain Management of DKSH Vietnam. Photo: DKSH

DKSH’s role is to foster this connectivity through collaboration, enabling partners to leverage a shared network instead of managing operations independently. We operate under a business continuity and crisis management process that keeps supply chains running with minimal interruption. Our transport management systems provide end-to-end visibility, so orders are consolidated and routes adjusted as conditions change. Supply chain resilience in Vietnam cannot be achieved through isolated efforts. It relies on the scale and visibility that a unified network provides. Delivering these capabilities is our primary focus.

Beyond protecting against disruptions, resilience is also about enabling growth. Through our shared distribution network, partners can scale their business faster without having to invest in their own logistics infrastructure. Vietnam has diverse geographies, making network connectivity a critical advantage. During periods of volatility, the combination of nationwide infrastructure, contingency planning, and operational visibility has allowed us to maintain continuity while supporting our partners’ market expansion ambitions. We see supply chain resilience not only as a defensive capability, but increasingly as a growth enabler.

How are digital technologies improving visibility and risk management across the supply chain? For DKSH, to maintain a truly resilient supply chain, what is the most critical factor?

Digital technologies provide unprecedented visibility across our operations. By connecting data from sourcing to delivery, we gain a near real-time view of the entire supply chain. That transparency is essential for effective risk management, allowing us to address operational pressures before disruptions lead to shortages. Moreover, beyond visibility, digital technologies enable faster and better decisions. By identifying demand shifts, inventory risks, and transportation disruptions early, this helps us move from reactive problem-solving to proactive risk management.

At the group level, we position technology in the core of our supply chain management. DKSH is driving this transformation by integrating AI into its supply chain operations. We apply AI-supported analysis across sourcing, production, and logistics to detect potential disruptions and make data-driven decisions.

However, manpower remains a critical factor in maintaining a truly resilient supply chain. The true differentiator lies in the judgment and expertise of the teams managing it. Technology alone cannot navigate unexpected bottlenecks. It is a collective synergy, coupled with human experience that resolves operational challenges.

Therefore, network continuity relies on well-trained, empowered teams that can act quickly when disruptions happen with an effective business continuity plan, and on a shared sense of responsibility, so goods can keep moving reliably despite pressures.

Our role is to ensure technology and people work hand in hand. Digital platforms provide visibility across the supply chain, while our teams' expertise turns data into practical decisions that keep operations running smoothly.

Real-time operational monitoring creates a more connected view across the supply chain and allows faster responses to operational risks. While technology provides the visibility, it is ultimately our people who interpret the data, make informed decisions, and translate insights into actions that protect service reliability.

DKSH’s distribution centre in Vietnam supports resilient supply chain operations. Photo: DKSH

With sustainability becoming a key business requirement rather than a voluntary initiative, how is this changing supply chain management; and how do you work with partners to ensure responsible sourcing and sustainable practices?

One of our sustainability objectives is to build a sustainable value chain with our partners through clear standards. The diverse nature of our business and products requires a varied management approach rather than a one-size-fits-all model, while never compromising our standards. Our focus is on delivering a transparent, responsible, and sustainable supply chain. More importantly, sustainability must deliver measurable outcomes. We focus on turning sustainability commitments into practical operational improvements that reduce waste, improve efficiency, and create value for customers and partners.

Vietnamese regulation is also moving in the same direction, reshaping how supply chains are run. Procurement, transport and warehousing decisions now carry environmental and social weight. At DKSH Vietnam, we have replaced plastic shrink wrap in our warehouses with industrial rubber bands to secure loads, resulting in a 68 per cent cost saving, a 28 per cent decrease in processing time, and a 34 per cent total waste reduction in 2024 compared to 2023.

We also moved temperature-sensitive healthcare products to reusable cold-chain boxes, and converted distribution centres to LED lighting and paperless processes. Our Vietnam distribution centres hold ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certification, covering both environmental management and worker safety.

Sustainability must always go hand in hand with product quality and safety. As we work with suppliers and logistics partners, our objective is not only to reduce environmental impact but also to strengthen capabilities across the value chain. This includes encouraging responsible business practices, enhancing compliance standards, and encouraging continuous improvement in operational performance.

We believe sustainable supply chains are built through long-term partnerships where all stakeholders develop together and contribute to shared value creation.

Looking ahead, what will characterise a successful supply chain in 2030? How do you see the relationship between resilience and sustainability evolving in the coming years?

Looking ahead to 2030, we believe a successful supply chain will require running at scale through shared networks rather than fragmented private ones, being data-driven enough to anticipate disruption and adapt quickly, and being low-carbon by design. More importantly, resilience will become the new measure of efficiency, when leading organisations will be those that can balance efficiency, resilience, sustainability, and compliance simultaneously.

Our targets reflect the direction in driving sustainability within the value chain. With validation from the Science Based Targets initiative, we have committed to reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 71.2 per cent and significantly reducing Scope 3 emissions intensity. These commitments influence how we redesign routes, optimise load planning, electrify fleets, expand renewable electricity use, and improve energy efficiency across distribution centres.

Resilience and sustainability were once seen as competing priorities, based on the idea that going green meant higher costs or lower reliability. In practice, they support each other. Green choices often help protect operations during disruptions.

Resilience and sustainability are now converging into a single standard of operating well. Our role is to keep enabling that, so companies can reach the market reliably and grow with a lighter footprint.

As Vietnam continues to strengthen its role in global manufacturing and consumption networks, businesses will increasingly depend on collaborative supply chain ecosystems that provide visibility, flexibility, and trusted execution. DKSH is committed to collaborating with local partners to build connected and resilient supply chains that support long-term sustainable growth.