Operation Orientation Term III (2016 – 2020)

OPERATION ORIENTATION TERM IV (2021 – 2025)

In 2020, not only Vietnam but many countries around the world faced severe difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, e-commerce fundamentally stood firm, and Vietnam even witnessed breakthroughs in several sectors. Aggregating all factors, it is predicted that Vietnamese e-commerce in 2021 will achieve a growth rate equivalent to the average of the five-year period from 2016 to 2020. The year 2020 marked the midpoint of a 10-year period predicted to be the golden age of Vietnamese e-commerce, which is evaluated to potentially extend until 2025. Based on the review of activities set forth in the Operational Orientation for Tenure III and e-commerce development trends in the coming period, the Executive Committee proposes the Operational Orientation of the Association for Tenure IV (2021 – 2026) with the following contents:

A. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

I. Consultation, Criticism of E-commerce Policies and Laws

According to the Association's Charter, consultation and criticism of e-commerce policies and laws constitute a core task of the Association, aiming to create a favorable macro-environment for the strong and sustainable development of this sector nationwide. The Association performed this task well during Tenure III, and Tenure IV needs to place an even greater focus on it, as every change in state management policies will heavily impact whether a breakthrough in Vietnamese e-commerce can be achieved.

1. Consultation and Criticism of E-commerce-Related Legal Documents

In the coming period, VECOM’s top priority is to continue providing consultation and criticism on policies and draft amendments/supplements to circulars and decrees directly or indirectly related to e-commerce. This aims to maintain an open environment, contributing to the strong growth momentum of the entire 2021 – 2026 period and turning the objective of placing Vietnam among the top three e-commerce countries in ASEAN by 2025 into reality. The Association will accompany its members and the business community to regularly review and report regulations to state management agencies to ensure feasibility and alignment with practical realities. In 2021 and 2022, state agencies may issue new laws or amend/supplement several policies, laws, and decrees related to digital transformation, the digital economy, and e-commerce, such as amending and supplementing the Law on Electronic Transactions. The Association will actively participate in contributing comments and criticizing draft policies and laws directly related to e-commerce.

Activities related to specific policy and legal issues include:

The responsibilities of e-commerce marketplace service providers;

Online dispute resolution via mediation and arbitration;

Introduction and sales of goods on social networks;

Management of last-mile delivery and express delivery enterprises;

Customs regulations for cross-border imported goods;

Electronic money and cryptocurrency;

Tax management related to businesses and individuals in e-commerce;

Protection of personal information.

2. Law Enforcement Related to E-commerce

The Association needs to actively implement monitoring and supervision activities regarding compliance with e-commerce-related laws among member companies. On one hand, this supports members in complying with legal regulations, enabling them to operate more actively and effectively. On the other hand, it helps detect businesses inside and outside the Association that violate the law to propose appropriate handling measures to functional authorities, thereby protecting the legitimate interests of members while ensuring the supremacy of law.

Along with the development of e-commerce, the number of disputes and legal violations may increase rapidly, while growing in complexity and diversity. The Association needs to coordinate closely with market management agencies, competition and consumer protection authorities, information and communications technology inspectors, science and technology inspectors, the Vietnam Association for Consumer Protection, as well as other arbitration and law enforcement bodies to timely detect and handle violations by e-commerce participants. The Association will also proactively participate in programs to disseminate legal knowledge to members and the community, and call for a joint commitment to take action and abide by the law, especially when conducting business in an online environment.

II. Propaganda and Dissemination of E-commerce

As one of the highly important operational criteria of the Association, the propaganda and dissemination of e-commerce is highly valued and conducted regularly and continuously on its own communication channels as well as those of member businesses and partners.

1. On VECOM’s Communication Media

Currently, VECOM maintains official information channels including: Vietnamese and English websites (www.vecom.vn), Fanpage, and E-newsletters. The maintenance and operation of these communication channel systems in 2021 also need to be further stepped up to ensure they serve as reputable information channels in the e-commerce sector. In addition, many major events have websites with independent domains or appropriate third-level domains. Existing sites include: https://vobf.vecom.vn/, https://www.vomf.vn/, http://ebi.vecom.vn/, https://vbc.vecom.vn/, http://vbs.vecom.vn/, https://fs.vecom.vn/, https://otd.vecom.vn/, and http://voief.vecom.vn/. VECOM also establishes several other satellite sites to serve the Association's activities.

a) The Association's Website:

During Tenure IV, the Association's website will not just stop at being an important channel to disseminate information about the Association’s operations but needs to be upgraded to provide diverse information on domestic and global e-commerce. This includes information on policies, laws, market forecasts, technology trends, and success stories.

The website will also update more information on knowledge dissemination and e-commerce trends, providing new knowledge that the community can reference when engaging in online business.

The Association will continue to upgrade the E-newsletter with both Vietnamese and English versions, published twice a month to a wide audience interested in e-commerce. Campaigns will be organized to mobilize more partners to support resources for this newsletter.

The content channels will also continue to enhance content regarding community activities and the social responsibility of member businesses when doing business online.

b) Social Network Fanpage:

Social networks are an effective channel for information exchange, and this trend will persist throughout Tenure IV. The Association needs to exploit this trend well. In addition to Facebook, efforts will be made to deploy information provision on several other social networks.

With the strong growth trend of information transmitted via social networks, knowledge dissemination and e-commerce community connection content will be simultaneously updated through both the website and fanpage of the Association.

c) Businessmen and Market Magazine (Tạp chí Thương gia và Thị trường):

Despite many efforts, the circulation of the Magazine’s print edition remains low, the E-magazine is still in its early stages, and e-commerce-related content remains modest. Since the trend for online news is receiving more prompt attention than print newspapers, the magazine needs to undergo a comprehensive transformation.

During Tenure IV, the Magazine needs to improve its content quality, focusing on themes that closely follow the development of domestic and global e-commerce, reflecting the vitality and activities of the Association's members. It must truly become the voice of the Association, particularly regarding member opinions or policy criticism.

2. On Communication Channels of Partners and Members

Leveraging the strength of the Association's diverse membership across various service types for e-commerce activities, where many businesses regularly change and apply new technologies in advertising and communication, the Association will increase the integration of e-commerce propaganda and dissemination activities by partnering with its member entities.

Young startup business models are encouraged to actively participate in these activities to create inspiration and replicate success among other member companies and the community.

3. On Other Mass Media

Close cooperation with mass media to propagate and disseminate e-commerce is of great significance in building trust in online shopping, as well as introducing effective and safe online business models and enterprises.

Mass media channels such as television, print newspapers, and e-newspapers still hold a massive impact on large audiences nationwide. The Association needs to draw up annual cooperation plans with several major media agencies on specific topics, focusing on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in mountainous, rural, and remote provinces.

III. Training and Workshops on E-commerce and Digital Transformation

1. Training at Universities and Colleges to Develop E-commerce Human Resources

The Vietnam E-commerce Index Report 2020 and other years have emphasized that developing a workforce proficient in online business skills across hundreds of thousands of SMEs and millions of households nationwide is the key factor for the rapid and sustainable development of our country's e-commerce.

Human resources for e-commerce in the past period have not kept pace with demand and development. During Tenure IV, the Association will actively coordinate with and support universities and colleges in e-commerce training. To ensure a workforce capable of handling disputes and legal violations related to e-commerce in the medium and long term, the Association will cooperate more closely with schools such as the University of Economics and Law (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City), University of Commerce, National Economics University, and other universities looking to expand specializations in e-commerce and digital transformation.

This cooperation includes exchanging training curricula, supporting student internships, introducing lecturers, organizing exchanges, and connecting with e-commerce businesses to effectively implement the policy of linking training with societal needs. Additionally, the Association will organize exchange programs between students and successful e-commerce entrepreneurs, or e-commerce talent search competitions among students to encourage and attract them to study and pursue business passions in this field.

2. Seminars and Training Workshops on E-commerce for the Sustainable E-commerce Development Program

During Tenure III, the Association chaired or coordinated with central and local agencies, organizations, and businesses to hold seminars and training workshops on e-commerce. Priority cooperating entities include the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (iDEA) and other departments/bureaus under this Ministry (such as the Competition Authority, Market Management Authority, Trade Promotion Agency), and VCCI, aiming to support local businesses in effectively applying e-commerce.

In 2019, the Executive Committee approved the "Sustainable E-commerce Development Program for the 2019 – 2025 Period." During 2016-2020, the proportion of e-commerce in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City accounted for about 70%, while all remaining 61 provinces and cities accounted for only about 30%. The goal of the Program is that by 2025, the share of these 61 provinces and cities will reach 50%, while still maintaining a high annual average growth rate of over 25% for the two economic hubs of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2019, VECOM reported this major issue to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. With the endorsement of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the National E-commerce Development Master Plan for the 2021 – 2025 period set a target that by 2025, the e-commerce share of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will account for 50%, and other localities will account for 50%. The Plan also outlined many implementation solutions to achieve this major goal.

From the above target, during 2019 – 2020, VECOM coordinated with several members such as Lazada, Tiki, Shopee, IMGroup, Vinalink, Sapo, Haravan, Fado, and relevant units like Google, VnPost, and Visa Vietnam to pilot the program. They organized numerous activities to boost e-commerce in several provinces, including Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Thua Thien Hue, Long An, Ben Tre, Dong Thap, An Giang, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Ca Mau, Can Tho, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau. These programs created a foundation for VECOM to aggressively deploy this Program in the coming period with the following main contents:

a. Proactively invite Departments of Industry and Trade in localities to support and participate in the Program, providing practical support for local businesses to transform digitally and effectively implement e-commerce. Increase the number of localities participating in the Program, including provinces that piloted it in 2019 – 2020 and adding provinces neighboring Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the Central Highlands, and the Southwest region.

b. Coordinate closely with the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade) to deploy solutions to achieve the target of rapidly boosting local e-commerce as stated in the National E-commerce Development Master Plan for the 2021 – 2025 period.

c. Partner with Google and several VECOM members to implement the Retail University training program – Supporting Online Retail, aiming to execute training programs for management teams and staff at retail businesses, thereby boosting business activities in the online environment.

d. Coordinate with other organizations sharing the goal of supporting e-commerce development in localities. E-commerce is a useful tool that helps farmers and disadvantaged areas alleviate poverty. Therefore, several reputable organizations have specific activities to support these groups in doing business on online platforms. Based on the cooperation with UNDP in 2020 in Binh Thuan province, VECOM will continue to proactively cooperate with UNDP and other organizations like the World Bank and IMF to implement activities supporting localities in developing e-commerce.

IV. Other Professional Activity Programs

1. Cross-Border Online Import and Export

Cross-border e-commerce in the B2B form took place long before the Internet, mainly through Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). The B2C form has grown continuously alongside the popularization of the Internet. However, since 2015, cross-border e-commerce in both B2B and B2C forms has developed very strongly. Facing this trend, in 2017, VECOM organized the Online Import-Export Forum for the first time. Since 2018, many activities have been organized to support SMEs in exporting to the United States on the Amazon platform.

VECOM’s main objective is to boost online exports in both B2B and B2C forms. To achieve this, it is necessary to create a favorable environment and support enterprises in effectively utilizing platforms related to online export. In 2020, VECOM deployed many activities, including organizing the Forum on Digital Transformation in Import-Export, while cooperating closely with the Trade Promotion Agency and platforms like Alibaba, Amazon, and Google.

In 2021 and subsequent years, VECOM will continue to step up activities to boost online exports. When implementing this activity, close cooperation needs to be enhanced with the Trade Promotion Agency and the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Trade Promotion Agency mapped out the Export Promotion Action Plan for the 2021 – 2025 period to develop sustainable exports in the context of implementing new-generation free trade agreements such as the EVFTA and CPTPP. In this Plan, the Agency emphasized the application of IT and e-commerce development into trade promotion activities. The premise for aggressively deploying this content was demonstrated by specific regulations in Circular No. 40/2020/TT-BCT dated November 30, 2020. This Circular amends and supplements several articles of Circular No. 11/2019/TT-BCT dated July 30, 2019, of the Minister of Industry and Trade, guiding the implementation of trade promotion activities for foreign trade development under the National Program on Trade Promotion.

2. Personal Information Protection

Personal information protection is of vital importance to the development of online transactions in general, including e-commerce. Personal information protection has been regulated in the Vietnamese legal system regarding electronic transactions and information technology. In the e-commerce sector, Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP on e-commerce issued in 2013 contained many specific provisions detailing personal information protection and will be amended in 2021. Additionally, the Ministry of Public Security is currently drafting and collecting comments for the issuance of a new Decree on personal data protection.

Building trust in online shopping, including personal information protection, is crucial for sustainable e-commerce development and is a long-term activity. The Association will coordinate with agencies, organizations, and member businesses to implement specific activities to raise personal information protection awareness among the business community and consumers, while ensuring the avoidance of overlap between regulations, Decrees, or legal documents.

3. Developing E-commerce on Mobile Platforms and Linked Applications

Forecasts show that e-commerce on mobile platforms (referred to as mobile commerce or m-commerce) will grow very rapidly in the 2016-2020 period. Reality has proven this trend and created massive opportunities for businesses while meeting the rich and diverse needs of consumers.

In recent years, along with applications developing at a breakneck speed on mobile platforms, the emergence of the linked application model – Super App – has begun. The Association will implement activities to support businesses in aggressively applying this form of business, raising the ratio of businesses with mobile-compatible websites, and developing mobile apps, mobile marketing, as well as omnichannel sales methods on mobile platforms.

4. Improving the Quality of Delivery Services and Fulfillment Services

In the 2011-2015 period, the number of enterprises engaging in postal and delivery services increased quite rapidly; however, according to the E-commerce Index Report, delivery services had not met the powerful development momentum of e-commerce. In the 2016-2020 period, the trend of outsourcing delivery services in particular and fulfillment services in general globally as well as in Vietnam increased rapidly. The development of information and communications technology, especially mobile technology and big data, will help e-commerce and fulfillment enterprises cooperate with each other more effectively, thereby increasing online customer satisfaction.

During Tenure IV, the Association will continue to coordinate with relevant parties to deploy activities to further improve delivery service quality as well as promote the formation and development of online fulfillment services, focusing on supporting delivery and fulfillment enterprises that possess advanced technological solutions. The Association will also participate in recommending state support policies to encourage the construction of intermediate warehousing infrastructures for agricultural products, and support delivery enterprises participating in the last-mile delivery phase in rural or remote areas.

5. E-commerce Index

The E-commerce Index (EBI) helps all stakeholders quickly evaluate the level of e-commerce application and compare progress across years nationwide and by each locality. It also supports the evaluation and comparison among localities based on a system of indexes.

In the context where reliable e-commerce statistics are not yet available, including statistics for individual provinces and centrally-run cities, during Tenures II and III, the Association identified building the annual E-commerce Index as one of its high-priority tasks.

During the 2016-2020 period, the Association steadily maintained the annual E-commerce Index reports, with updated information reflecting realistically the e-commerce development situation in each locality. It also pointed out issues to resolve, especially the imbalance of the index between the two major economic hubs and the remaining provinces and cities across the country. Starting from 2021, the e-commerce index report will also adjust several indicators to ensure better alignment with e-commerce development needs and continuously improve the quality of the report year by year.

B. COOPERATION ACTIVITIES

1. Domestic Cooperation Activities

During Tenure IV, VECOM continues to step up cooperative relationships with units, agencies, and organizations, and from there coordinates to organize many events and activities with the goal of boosting e-commerce development.

a) With State Agencies:

VECOM maintains close cooperation with many state management agencies at the department and bureau levels under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Science and Technology. For the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in addition to the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, cooperation needs to be expanded with the Trade Promotion Agency, the Import-Export Department, the Domestic Market Department, the General Department of Market Management, and the Competition and Consumer Protection Authority.

b) With Localities:

VECOM maintains close cooperative relations with many Departments of Industry and Trade in localities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Can Tho, Thanh Hoa, Nghệ An, Ben Tre, Long An, Dong Thap, An Giang, Ca Mau, etc. In 2021 and coming years, VECOM focuses on cooperating with other Departments of Industry and Trade in key economic regions or localities actively participating in boosting e-commerce development and transformation. It will coordinate with localities to organize seminars, talks, and training programs of appropriate scale to provide useful information for local state agencies and businesses.

c) With Universities and Colleges:

Coordinate with universities and colleges to contribute comments, supplement, and complete training curricula and startup activities within schools, under the Association's professional activity groups regarding e-commerce human resource development and digital transformation. Jointly organize research on the issues of "Online Dispute Resolution in E-commerce" as well as new topics in e-commerce.

d) With Media Units:

VECOM has been and will continue to cooperate closely with media units nationwide to serve the Association's e-commerce propaganda and dissemination plans, particularly mainstream communication channels, including television, to promote e-commerce more deeply and widely.

e) With Socio-Professional Organizations:

VECOM will continue to cooperate closely with associations related to the IT and communications sector such as the Vietnam Association for Information Processing (VAIP), the Vietnam Internet Association (VIA), or specialized fields like the Logistics Association, the Vietnam Tourism Association, the Vietnam Retailers Association, and the Vietnam Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Association (VBA). It will cooperate deeper with VCCI in activities supporting businesses and resolving disputes through arbitration.

f) With Members, Businesses, and Individuals:

Strengthen support for bilateral and multilateral connections among member businesses and partners of VECOM. Step up cooperation activities between VECOM and its members, encouraging members to have more practical activities for the community.

2. International Cooperation

a) Cooperation with Countries:

Focus on relations with organizations and businesses from countries that have close ties in the e-commerce sector with Vietnam, such as Japan, the United States, South Korea, Singapore, and several other countries like China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Indonesia.

b) Cooperation with International Organizations:

In 2020, VECOM successfully coordinated with Cites-USAID to execute integrated communication activities to raise awareness and change community behavior in combating the illegal trade and consumption of wild fauna and flora in the online environment. Continuing to leverage this achievement, in 2021 and subsequent years of Tenure IV, VECOM will cooperate with TRAFFIC and other organizations such as USAID and WWF to propagate the protection of wildlife.

Large organizations like the WB and UNDP have poverty alleviation activities in several provinces. VECOM needs to explore cooperation opportunities to integrate e-commerce development content into rural, deep, and remote areas. The model of cooperating with UNDP in supporting farmers in Binh Thuan will be replicated with other agricultural products under the project's activities to promote clean and sustainable agricultural development. Additionally, there will be cooperation programs with funds like USAID or other international organizations regarding personal data protection programs in e-commerce.

C. INTERNAL ACTIVITIES

1. Member Affairs

During Tenure IV, VECOM's member affairs need to place an even greater focus on member support activities. Maintain regular quarterly member exchange meetings in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Frequently update the contact list of old members, and concurrently pay attention to developing new members, particularly expanding member recruitment in Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Can Tho. The VECOM Executive Committee for Tenure IV needs to build a specific plan for member affairs to ensure it attracts more quality members while bringing high connectivity value among VECOM members.

2. Website and Internal Newsletters

As mentioned in the section regarding the Association's communication activities, VECOM currently maintains official information channels including: Vietnamese and English websites (www.vecom.vn), Fanpage, and E-newsletters. The maintenance and operation of these communication channel systems in 2021 also need to be further stepped up to ensure they serve as reputable information channels in the e-commerce sector. In addition, many major events have websites with independent domains or appropriate third-level domains. The informational content on the pages needs to be updated regularly and fully with VECOM events along a timeline. Along with that is maintaining the construction and sending of internal newsletters to members through the Association's email system.

3. Subordinate Units and Organizations

During Tenure IV, the VECOM Executive Committee needs to consolidate and improve the operational efficiency of established units and consider establishing or sponsoring new organizations.

a) Businessmen and Market Magazine (Tạp chí Thương gia và Thị trường):

Despite many efforts, the magazine's e-commerce-related content is not yet rich and does not reflect well e-commerce activities. VECOM has requested the Magazine to innovate its operations. From 2021 onwards, content directly related to e-commerce must account for at least two-thirds of the magazine's content (both print and electronic editions), while fulfilling obligations to the Association better.

The Tenure III Executive Committee will evaluate the entire operations of the Magazine and report to the new Executive Committee regarding the operational orientation of the Magazine in the next tenure.

b) E-commerce Support Alliance (VESA):

During the initial phase, the Alliance had some activities, but its status was not yet prominent. In 2021, the Alliance needs to have practical activities that demonstrate its influence. If there are no activities creating a positive impact on the community related to import-export, dissolution may be considered.

c) Blockchain Chapter (Chi Hội Blockchain):

Since its establishment, the Chapter has not had any outstanding activities. In 2021, the Blockchain Chapter needs to establish an operational plan to report to the Executive Committee. Concurrently, leadership personnel for the Chapter can be reinforced.

d) E-commerce Chapter in Da Nang:

Despite being newly established, the Chapter operates actively. However, the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak in Da Nang in the second half of 2020 prevented most of the Chapter's activities in Da Nang and the Central region.

In 2021, VECOM will push forward e-commerce development activities in Da Nang and several Central provinces. The Chapter needs to draw up specific plans to support VECOM's general activities in this region.

e) Digital Technology and Marketing Chapter (Chi hội Tiếp thị và Công nghệ số):

Along with the development of e-commerce, the digital marketing sector is developing rapidly with high value. However, there is currently no digital marketing association. Digital marketing enterprises usually operate alongside several organizations such as the E-commerce Association, Internet Association, Advertising Association, etc.

Based on the close link between digital marketing and e-commerce and the proposals of several VECOM member enterprises, the "Digital Technology and Marketing Chapter - MTD" was decided to be established in April 2021.

The newly established Chapter is building its operational orientation with specific events on digital technology and marketing in 2021 as well as subsequent years.

Along with other units in the Association, the MTD Chapter will play an important role in VECOM's series of activities/events regarding digital marketing and technology.