On May 27, the appreciation programme was organised by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Unilever Vietnam left its footprint as it was awarded in the category of Top Industry 4.0 Enterprises thanks to successful, future-fit digital transformation projects for the building of smart factories and supply chain management.

Unilever is recognised at Indutrie 4.0 Awards

The digitalisation journey of Unilever Vietnam started in 2019 with the vision of becoming the nation's leading consumer goods company. In particular, the business set out a range of specific goals, roadmaps, and action plans to digitally transform its production and distribution chain.

First, it realised the goal of digitalising its entire production and supply chain. The Internet of Things system, AI, and super applications help connect all activities on the same platform, thereby facilitating a 10-fold rise in the speed of operations throughout the whole supply chain and accurately and efficiently processing an increasing volume of data.

As an important bridge between the business plan and the final product delivered to end consumers, Unilever’s factories are driving not only automation for production lines but also the smart factory and robotics model.

The smart factory and robotics model at Unilever’s manufacturing site

Additionally, the company is also moving towards a real-time operation model to be able to immediately respond to the needs of consumers and the market. This is considered an important goal for the supply chain that consumer goods companies around the world are aiming for.

To achieve those ambitious targets, Unilever Vietnam has invested in talent development, providing intensive training and implementing key projects. Vietnam is one of Unilever’s first markets to set up a dedicated digital transformation team, internally train more than 300 data analysts, and create a digital transformation movement across all departments.

Digital transformation in operation at Unilever’s factories

At Unilever, it is not just about working digital, but thinking digital as well. Digitalisation has become Unilever’s competitive advantage to drive superior performance and equip people with future-fit skills and knowledge.

Pham Manh Tri, supply chain vice president at Unilever Vietnam said, “From the perspective of a consumer goods business with millions of Vietnamese customers, digital transformation not only helps Unilever fuel most of our activities, it underpins our production capacity and allows us to efficiently serve our consumers and develop future-fit manpower. Being recognised at the Industrie 4.0 Awards is a great privilege for Unilever and our supply chain. It motivates us to continue to strive on the journey of digitalisation, reach the goal of smart factories and supply chains, and contribute to the National Digital Transformation Programme.”

Besides digitalising the factory and supply chain, Unilever Vietnam also drives digital transformation for its distribution channels through an omnichannel and data-connected sales model with new technologies such as machine learning, AI, and extended reality.

The Industrie 4.0 Awards is organised to contribute to proactively participating in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Prime Minister's National Digital Transformation Programme to 2025, with orientation to 2030. The initiative is implemented nationwide and has a final judging panel made up of many prestigious experts and scientists.

It consists of four categories, including Top Industry 4.0 Enterprises, Top Science, Technology, and Innovation Organisations or Enterprises, Top Enterprises with Smart Digital Products and Industry 4.0 Technology Solutions, and Top Organisations or Individuals Implementing Industry 4.0 and Digital Transformation.