Businesses invest heavily in ERP

Vo Truong Son, deputy general director of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group (HAGL), said HAGL decided to boost investment in information technology infrastructure to serve the group’s development and management. "Investing heavily in information technology infrastructure is a long-term strategy of HAGL,” said Son. In early August, HAGL started operating the VND100 billion ERP system in a bid to unify corporate governance based on overall system analysis. This solution is adopted in the company’s four business sectors including mineral, energy, forestry and real estate with over 400 staff members in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In the coming time, HAGL will consider applying ERP solution at 20 affiliates of the group. Similarly, Imexpharm Pharmaceutical Co. early this month spent $1 million equipping an ERP system. The system will be implemented at Imexpharm’s headquarters in Dong Thap, two factories in Dong Thap and Binh Duong, and the distribution centre and sales branch in HCM City. Binh Minh Plastics Co. has invested VND10 billion in ERP, while Licogi 16 Co. has spent $800,000 buying an ERP solution from SAP. Licogi 16 general director Vu Cong Hung said his firm is active in the fields of construction, building equipment production, housing development and personnel training, with over 1,500 employees. The company’s operation scale is getting bigger, so it needs a modern administration system to facilitate business management and improve productivity. According to Pham The Truong, managing director of SAP, the ERP solutions market has not shrunk despite economic woes as many enterprises have still found ERP necessary for their business growth. Enterprises know ERP helps them improve operations and do business more efficiently, said Truong. "Given the volatile economic situation, a number of enterprises only focus on their main business lines to ride out tough times. Still, certain enterprises pay attention to upgrading information infrastructure systems to boost business efficiency.”