Delegates tour the smart factory model at Thăng Long Packing Import-Export and Production Joint Stock Company, located in Đình Bảng industrial cluster in Từ Sơn Ward, Bắc Ninh City. — Photos courtesy of Bắc Ninh's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism

BẮC NINH — The People's Committee of Bắc Ninh City, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Samsung Electronics Việt Nam Co., Ltd. recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the 2026-30 period, focussing on a smart factory development programme.

The signing ceremony took place during a conference that reviewed Samsung's support programme for Vietnamese enterprises in Bắc Ninh for the 2020-25 period.

The MoU, originally signed in September 2020, aimed to increase the contribution of Vietnamese enterprises operating in Bắc Ninh City to the industrial production value generated by Samsung through two key initiatives: business improvement consulting and supplier development.

After five years of implementation, many supporting industry enterprises in the city have enhanced their management capabilities, accelerated digital transformation, improved productivity and product quality, and gradually deepened their integration into Samsung's global supply chain.

Specifically, during the 2020-21 period, the programme focused on improving production floor operations for seven enterprises. From 2022 onwards, the focus shifted to supporting smart factory development, involving 19 consulting engagements with 16 enterprises.

By participating in the programme, many enterprises gradually digitised management operations, automated production, reduced defect rates, saved costs, shortened information processing times and boosted production efficiency.

Alongside consulting activities, the supplier development programme was implemented to identify potential suppliers for the Samsung ecosystem, which resulted in several enterprises in Bắc Ninh joining Samsung's supply chain.

During the 2026-30 period, Bắc Ninh City will continue to collaborate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Samsung to implement a smart factory development programme.

This involves surveying and selecting enterprises to participate in the Smart Mold consultancy project, aiming to enhance mold design and manufacturing capabilities while meeting global supply chain standards.

According to Quách Quang Đông, deputy director of the Department of Industry at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, between 2020 and 2025, the ministry and Samsung Việt Nam effectively implemented a joint project to train consultants and improve production processes for manufacturing and supporting industry enterprises.

Quách Quang Đông, deputy director of the Department of Industry at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, speaks at the MoU signing ceremony in Bắc Ninh City.

"To date, 379 Vietnamese enterprises have received consultancy support, and 406 experts have been trained, forming a core workforce that drives production improvements within these companies," he said.

Additionally, Samsung has supported the training of 209 Vietnamese experts in the mold sector and rolled out smart factory development programmes for 82 enterprises nationwide, involving 201 consultants.

These programmes have contributed to boosting productivity and quality, transforming management thinking and laying the foundation for sustainable business growth.

Following Hải Phòng, Bắc Ninh is the second city to proactively collaborate with Samsung Việt Nam and the trade ministry on initiatives designed to build capacity and improve Vietnamese enterprises' access to global production chains.

Bắc Ninh is also vigorously promoting business-matching activities to identify potential suppliers capable of joining Samsung Việt Nam’s production network across various sectors, which the trade ministry expected will spread positive impact and foster the development of Việt Nam's manufacturing and supporting industries.

Highly valuing Samsung Việt Nam’s role in supporting local enterprises, Phạm Văn Thịnh, vice chairman of the Bắc Ninh People's Committee, said that the company not only invests in production but also actively transfers management practices and production improvement expertise, while providing workforce training for Vietnamese businesses.

“This is a crucial factor enabling domestic enterprises to gradually meet international standards," he said. 

Bắc Ninh is an economically open locality, home to many of the world's leading technology corporations, he added.

"Amidst the continued growth of foreign investment attraction, the city aims not only to secure foreign-invested (FDI) projects but also to develop a network of domestic supporting industry enterprises capable of deeply integrating into the global value chain, therefore, raising localisation rates and increasing domestic production value." — VNS