2012 is considered a challenging year for all Vietnamese enterprises, with many already collapsed in this painful test. The number of corporate bankruptcies has not been as high as now. Without exception, Vissan Company has also undergone huge pressures. But, with its dynamism, sound business policies, humanities, and especially timely restructuring, Vissan has not only lived through difficulties but also achieved impressive business results.

General Director van Duc Muoi of vissan

 

Dynamically braving the storm

 

In the first six months of 2012, low economic growth, exorbitant interest rates, rising input costs, and particularly shrinking consumer demand left a huge effect on producers and distributors like Vissan. But, with its tireless efforts, Vissan Company obtained positive business results. Specifically, the total revenue in the first half of 2011 equalled 55 percent of the full-year plan and rose 5 percent over the same period of 2011.

 

Remarking on the company’s difficulties in the first six months of 2012, General Director Van Duc Muoi of Vissan said: “The above results do not mean that Vissan is free from impacts of general difficulties but we knew how to face with challenges like declining consumer spending. Notably, when the information about harmful lean-generating substances detected in animal feeds was full on mass media, many consumers boycotted pork. This has caused enormous impact on us.”

 

According to Mr Muoi, Vissan always approaches the market with food quality, hygiene and safety. And, with its well-established brand name on the market, investors still trust in evidenced by a 15 percent rise in sales of fresh meat and processed foods in the first six months. The very support of consumers makes our success.

 

Not to betray the trust of customers, the company continues expanding its network to meet their needs. Especially, it increases investments to expand distribution networks to rural areas to bring its quality products to consumers there. It also closely coordinates with manufacturers to improve product quality, apply many promotions and discounts to share difficulties with customers in the context of economic slowdown. Vissan actively participates in market stabilisation programme.

 

Success by right restructuring

 

In this difficult context, the Government has called for corporate restructuring. For Vissan, this matter was embarked 4 - 5 years ago when it saw economic difficulties. “As a wholly State-owned enterprise, we started with corporate restructuring five years ago to streamline the apparatus, functions, personnel and upgrade technologies to have synergic power as now,” said Mr Muoi.

 

Leaders of Ho Chi Minh People's Committee to visit Vissan company

Notably, Vissan has been carrying out a closed production process to ensure production efficiency and product quality. Importantly, the company successfully builds a chain link where it plays the major role and other partners play supplementary roles. It insists on human resource development objectives, reshuffles management apparatus, and restructures business policies applied to distributors and agents, and restructures the rate of returns in each stage.

 

Early deep restructuring helps the company reduce difficulties, enhance corporate operation, cut unnecessary costs, streamline apparatus, introduce market-based quality products, upholds sustainable development model, and ensure good employment and incomes for employees. Indeed, this is a lesson all companies can learn to apply in this rough time.

 

Vissan also always focuses on building the image of a strong and popular brand. It positions its brand name in relation to its competitors through consumer’s recognition to have timely appropriate strategy to dominate the domestic market and the overseas market in the future. And, no matter how you good at branding, you are unable to stand firmly on the market if your product quality is not good. Knowing this, the company has always put quality atop and built up the brand name on the basis of product quality. Vissan has done this very well in the past years. As food has a direct effect on human health and life, the company is committed to providing clean and best food for the market.

 

Therefore, Vissan has been voted “Vietnam high quality product” for 16 consecutive years by customers. This title also represents the absolute trust of customers in Vissan’s products. According to Mr Muoi, this is the happiness and pride of all staffs because their contributions have been recognised. And, the very customers are a great motivation for the company to develop further. Customers place their expectations on our products and our company will research and renovate to have best products not to undermine expectations of consumers.

 

In the future, apart from general goals like network development and product quality guarantee, the company has many new targets like introducing new customer-centred products to the market as aluminium-canned instant food which is served with a simple heating. Vissan’s food processing industrial complex, the largest of its kind in Vietnam, is expected to start operations in 2013. In the future, Vissan will approach new markets like Cambodia and Myanmar.

 

With exceptional achievements in labour and creativeness from 2001 to 2011, on May 30, 2012, State President Truong Tan Sang signed a decision to award Labour Hero title to Vissan. In the talks with us, Mr Muoi proudly said: Now, Vissan has nearly 5,000 professional, capable, skilled

and experienced employees trained in practical business environment. However, if we are unable to inspire pride or promote good points of employees or harmonise and realise the collective strength, success is only a pipe hope.

 

Therefore, the today’s success and happiness of Vissan cannot ignore great sacrifices and contributions of earlier generations who laid the first brick to build the company. And, they passed experience and bravery on later generations to brave waves and storms to steer the Vissan ship to the destination.

Van Luong