Despite Covid hurdles, businesses strive to sustain production, supply of essential goods

October 18, 2021 - 10:29
The Vietnam Strong Brands 2021 awards ceremony was held in Hanoi recently. The programme, with the theme ‘Overcoming challenges ’this year, named Masan Group among the Top 10 Strong Brands in Vietnam for its ability to adapt, transform strongly and contribute to the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Vietnam Strong Brands 2021 awards ceremony was held in Hanoi recently. The programme, with the theme ‘Overcoming challenges ’this year, named Masan Group among the Top 10 Strong Brands in Vietnam for its ability to adapt, transform strongly and contribute to the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Representative of Masan Group receives the Vietnam Strong Brand Award 2021.

Vietnam Strong Brands is organised by Vietnam Economic Review to honour entrepreneurs and businesses for outstanding achievements in business performance, brand protection, product and service quality, leadership, human resources, corporate social responsibility, commitment to environmental protection, digital transformation, and adaptive business strategies in the new context. 
 
As a leading consumer – retail conglomerate, Masan Group was honored with a place amongVietnam Top 10 Strong Brands.
 
At the ceremony, Nguyen Thi Phuong, deputy general director of WinCommerce (formerlyVinCommerce), an affiliate of Masan Group, talked about the difficulties and challenges the company has faced as well as the initiatives it has taken to innovate and adapt in the new business environment.
 
She called on the National Assembly to continue to review and tweak economic policies to better align them with the new situation and create favourable conditions for building delivery centres in key economic regions and establishing logistics infrastructure to avoid supply chain disruptions. 
 
Masan on behalf of winners expressed gratitude for the support from the Party and the government to remove hurdles and create a favorable business environment amid the pandemic.

A wide range of products are available at VinMart and VinMArt+, meeting the needs of consumers.

Overcome difficulties to maintain production and supply necessities to consumers
 
On Oct 12 Politburo member and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue held a meeting with a delegation of business executives on the occasion of Vietnam Entrepreneurs Day (October 13).
 
He said: “The business community has upheld the spirit of solidarity, demonstrated a sense of responsibility and self-reliance and taken the initiative to adapt to difficult conditions. Many innovative models have been applied creatively.”
 
Masan Group, whose core businesses are production of essential consumer goods and retail, has more than 30 factories and a number of hi-tech livestock and crop farms in most of the country’s key economic regions. 
 
Every day Masan supplies essential items such as rice, noodles, soy sauce, fish sauce, beverages, pork, chicken, eggs, vegetables, and others to the market. 
 
Its consumer brands like CHIN-SU soy sauce, Nam Ngu fish sauce, MEATDeli meat, CHIN-SU pho, OMACHI noodles, and WinEco (formerly VinEco) clean vegetables are familiar names among Vietnamese families. 
 
As one of the few enterprises in the country capable of integrating the entire chain comprising production, supply, distribution, and retail, Masan has been serving the essential needs of a large number of customers all over Vietnam. 
 
Since the end of 2019 VinMart and VinMart+ retail chain has signed strategic agreements to provide essential goods and proactively control the supply chain comprising Masan Group’s affiliates to ensure sufficient supply of goods at stable prices.
 
There are nearly 500 VinMart/VinMart+ supermarkets and stores in HCM City. Each ward has at least one VinMart+ store capable of handling hundreds of orders per day.
 
During the stressful days of the pandemic, VinCommerce closely coordinated with local authorities in Ho Chi Minh City to quickly deliver essential goods to consumers. 
 
“We immediately contacted ward and neighborhood groups to draw up delivery plansand connect with local ‘grocery shopping and delivery programs’,” Phuong said. 
 
Masan Group has proactively implemented epidemic prevention measures to ensure the safety of production and retail chains. 
 
Thanks to well-managed anti-pandemic work and vaccination of employees, Masan's factories and supermarkets have remained open. All its factories, supermarkets, stores, and offices strictly follow 5K rules. The company also regularly organizes COVID-19 testing for certain of its departments.

Nguyen Thi Phuong, deputy general director of WinCommerce, an affiliate of Masan Group, speaks at a meeting with enterprises named among Vietnam Top 10 Strong Brands.
 
Support against the epidemic
 
In addition to supplying the market with essential products, since the beginning of 2020 Masan Group has contributed more than VND270 billion (US$11.9 million)for activities to help the public and frontline workers fight COVID. 
 
It has made direct monetary contributions, donated milk to patients being treated for COVID at 16 hospitals in the city, donated medical supplies and essential items worth VND16 billion to 312 communes/wards/towns in HCMC, and contributed VND60 billion to the Government's vaccine fund.
 
During the peak of the epidemic in July and August, Masan Group donated essential medical equipment to more than 15 field hospitals, COVID treatment hospitals, disease control agencies, the HCM City police department, and HCM City Military Command. 
 
The donations included2 ECMO machine & ELSA monitors, 31,000 Japanese/ Korean antigen rapid test kits, 7 HFNC high flow oxygen ventilators, 3 10L oxygen generators, 5 invasive ventilators,70,000personal protective equipment kits, 50 automatic infusion machines, 20 6-parameter patient monitors, 7,000 medical gloves, and 10,000 medical masks.
 
The company also donated ECMO systems, dozens of high-flow ventilators, tens of thousands of test kits and medical protective equipment to the health departments in Long An, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Hau Giang provinces, and provided accommodation for doctors and nurses at Trung Vuong Hospital. 
 
Before that, right since the beginning of the epidemic, essential products made by Masan such as KOKOMI noodles, OMACHI and MEATDeli meat were directly delivered to checkpoints, border guard stations, hospitals, and medical quarantine areas to frontline workers.
 

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