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COVER STORY

supply chains, from manufacturers and this, Loship aims to provide the greatest
distributors to grocers and end-consumers, We are working convenience and sourcing of goods at the
offering B2B2C. “OMD not only focuses hard to make our most reasonable price, helping ensure that
on e-commerce activities, selling to grocery platform be a part of the sources are not interrupted and that busi-
store owners (e-B2B), but also uses a series ness conducted with Loship is efficient
of tech solutions and invests in a support daily lives of traditional and seamless.
system to help grocers manage their stores businesses.” There are three main pain points that
better and provide more value-added serv- Kilo wants to resolve for customers: access
ices to end-consumers, so that grocers can Mr. Kartick Narayan, to new customers, revenue growth, and
improve their competitiveness and increase Founder and CEO of Kilo increasing profits. “In developing e-B2B,
their earnings,” said Mr. Vu Quang Tung, within just a short amount of time, we
Head of the Strategy Division at the One round led by Altos Ventures, and is con- have been able to resolve these pain points
Mount Group, owner of OMD. nected to customers in 42 cities and for over 30,000 traditional businesses in
OMD will continue to develop its people, provinces. Backing has come from some 42 cities and provinces in Vietnam,” said
partners, technology, and data, build a of the world’s best consumer technology- Mr. Narayan. “We are working hard to
modern supply chain network, and work focused investors in North America, South make our platform be a part of the daily
to better understand customers. It has Korea, and Singapore. “This will allow us lives of traditional businesses.”
introduced a warehousing network, includ- to further accelerate our mission,” said Mr. Vietnam holds many advantages for
ing 25,000 sq m of central warehousing Narayan. “I grew up in India, and I see the development of e-B2B, which promises
and 10,000 sq m of satellite warehousing many parallels between e-B2B models in to be a trend of the future. According to
in 20 cities and provinces around the coun- India and in Vietnam. Our strategy is to the Vietnam E-commerce White Paper
try. More than 1,000 tons of goods are create a sustainable ecosystem for businesses released by the Vietnam E-commerce and
transported every day, with vehicles being by using technology that will allow them Digital Economy Agency, Vietnam is
up to 98 per cent full. to grow faster and run more efficiently.” expected to become the fastest-growing
Another in the game is startup Kilo, Although e-B2B is still quite new in e-commerce market in Southeast Asia,
which was founded in 2020. Mr. Kartick Vietnam, the market has witnessed the with total e-commerce gross merchandise
Narayan, Founder and CEO, told VET development of a number of solutions that value (GMV) to reach $56 billion by 2026.
that traditional businesses, which are micro, are truly changing traditional distribution Covid-19 has helped propel the omni-
small and medium-sized enterprises and sales networks. channel commerce industry, with an omni-
(MSMEs), are the backbone of the econ- channel sales system focused on providing
omy. “Our mission is to take millions of TRENDS FOR THE FUTURE a seamless experience for customers,
traditional businesses online, so they find Losupply’s e-B2B business model helps whether they’re shopping online from a
new customers and discover new products,” make the most of its available resources mobile or computer or at a physical store.
he explained. in terms of customers, drivers, and shop There are also many potential opportu-
Kilo allows its partners to manage busi- owner partners, and especially its ability nities for e-B2B to grow. “Vietnam is geo-
nesses across multiple sales channels, such to supply goods, with delivery within the graphically big and there are many layers of
as Kilo, Facebook, and Zalo apps, while hour. Its store owner partners can now middle-players for wide distribution,” said
optimizing inventory turnover to save costs import more than 10,000 daily business Mr. Kurokawa. “The opportunity is from
and reduce risks in the long term. It recently essentials on the store owner app and have suppliers and buyers being directly connected
raised $5 million in a Series A funding them delivered almost instantly. Through for better cost, speed, and products.”

B2B TRANSACTIONS, 2021

Ho Chi Minh City 1 94,693

Hanoi 2 83,856
Binh Duong 3 37,000

Da Nang 4 35,000

Dong Nai 5 33,921

Hai Phong 6 31,686
Can Tho 7 24,282

Khanh Hoa 8 23,747

Vinh Phuc 9 23,236

Ba Ria-Vung Tau 10 23,058
Source: Vietnam E-Business Index (EBI) 2022 Report, released by Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM) in May

16 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | JUNE 2022 www.en.vneconomy.vn