The inauguration of the new distribution centre in HCM City which will contribute to improving the competitiveness of SABECO’s supply chain. — Photo courtesy of SABECO

HCM CITY — Saigon Beer Trading Company Limited (SATRACO) - a member company of Saigon Beer – Alcohol – Beverage Corporation (SABECO), has officially inaugurated a new distribution centre in HCM City, marking the first milestone of the warehouse master plan in the 2022-24 period.

The project is one of the four key projects in the SABECO Supply Chain 4.0 strategic plan. This will contribute to improving the competitiveness of SABECO’s supply chain, increase the efficiency of distribution centres to support the market’s supply system in the best way, thereby, increasing the overall competitive advantage of SABECO.

The centre has a total area of 31,000sq.m and storage capacity of up to 30,000 pallets. — Photo courtesy of SABECO

After six months of implementation, the project has completed its phase 1 and successfully opened the first distribution centre in HCM City. With a total area of 31,000sq.m and storage capacity of up to 30,000 pallets, the centre will be operated with the support from Warehouse Management System (WMS) and Transport Management System (TMS) to ensure optimal storage and preservation of goods. At the same time, this will ensure the stability and continuity of supplies to meet the market demand in a timely manner.

Đặng Tân Phong, SATRACO director of Special Projects, said: “The HCM distribution centre project is a very new venture for SABECO. This project is confined not only to a company but is spread across three units: Brewery, SATRACO Company, Trading Company. It takes merely two months between the project's approval and start of implementation. During that period, we had to redesign the entire operating procedure and retrain all in-charged employees of the three units. The project started in August and is completed after six months, far ahead of the original schedule.”

The success of this project marked a significant step of the Supply Chain 4.0 project that has been deployed since 2020 in order to automate the transportation management process, order processing to better control goods and reduce delivery time, while optimising costs and improving operational efficiency. Up to now, SATRACO has applied TMS and WMS systems in nearly 70 warehouses and 26 factories.

Nguyễn Hoàng Giang, SATRACO general girector, said: “Supply Chain is one of the six pillars in the second phase of SABECO’s transformation strategy. To raise Supply Chain capacity, we have implemented the warehouse master plan project for the 2022-24 period. The project will help to optimise supply chain exploitation capacity and facilitate market penetration. We will continue invest strongly in supply chain and strengthen the capability of the management team to improve SABECO supply chain’ competitiveness in the future.”

Long-term vision of phase 2 transformation

Since 2022, SABECO has been enhancing its competitiveness and profitability through the launch of Phase 2 of its transformation, focusing on six key pillars of Sales, Brand/Marketing, Production, Supply Chain, People and Unlock, supported by SABECO 4.0 and governance initiatives.

To date, SABECO has recorded remarkable achievements with breakthrough results in business activities associated with sustainable development focusing on Environment, Society and Governance (ESG) initiatives to attain the dual goals of the corporation and of Việt Nam’s national strategies.

In May 2023, SABECO signed a co-operation agreement with Singapore Power Group (SP) to have rooftop solar power systems installed at nine breweries of SABECO, bringing the total number to 17 breweries adopting solar energy in the whole system by the end of 2023.

Upon completion, the project is estimated to efficiently provide almost 23 per cent of electricity consumption at the breweries, amounting to an electricity saving of 25 million kWh, which is equivalent to a reduction of 18,000 tonnes of emitted CO2 annually.

In addition, the corporation has reduced the amount of water used per litre of beer produced from five litres (in 2018) to below three litres (in 2022); applying the CIP wastewater treatment system and using sustainable packaging (down gauged our cans, light weighted our carton boxes and bottles) and reusing beer glasses and cans to minimise waste released into the environment. — VNS