Vietnam a Southeast Asia sourcing hub: Walmart

Vietnam is one of Walmart’s most important sourcing markets as also a sourcing hub in Southeast Asia, says Walmart executive vice president Avaneesh Gupta.

Gupta, who is in charge of sourcing textiles, garments and fast-moving consumer goods, was speaking at an event series on "Connecting the international supply chain of goods" held September 13-15 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC).

The events are co-chaired by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.

Gupta noted that Walmart was the world’s largest omnichannel retailer, bringing value to customers and communities around the globe through its stores and e-commerce businesses. Each week, more than 240 million customers visit the group’s 10,500 stores, clubs, and numerous websites in 19 countries, he said.

"We employ more than 2.1 million associates worldwide. None of this would be possible without great relationships with our suppliers and marketplace sellers. We value these partnerships and appreciate the opportunity for us to continue to strengthen resiliency in our supplier base by participating in events like this where we are able to meet and discuss opportunities to do business together," Gupta said.

Since Walmart established an office in HCMC in 2013, Vietnam has become one of Walmart’s most important sourcing markets and also a hub for sourcing around Southeast Asia, Gupta said.

Walmart’s sourcing teams facilitate the export of Vietnamese products around the globe, including to the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Chile, and China. The retail giant also sources food products, including seafood, cashews, soy milk, coffee, fresh fruit, and fruit snacks from Vietnam.

Gupta commented that Vietnam has the potential to grow exports of a variety of general merchandise and food products, such as footwear, home goods, toys, mango, durian and coconut.

"We look forward to speaking with many of you and exploring opportunities to source more products from Vietnam, whether that be for our private label or for our marketplaces around the world.

“Walmart’s commitment to help customers save money and live better starts with great products, made by great people. We always work with carefully selected partners who meet our high standards for quality, act with integrity, and respect their people."

Gupta said Vietnam’s importance as a sourcing market for Walmart will continue to grow in the coming years. The group appreciated the Vietnamese people, workers, businesses, and resources that make it possible to export products that are produced in a responsible and regenerative way around the globe.

Previously, the MoIT stated on its website that Walmart will focus on purchasing products in these six main industries and offered advice to domestic businesses that wish to participate in the group's value chain.

In order to join Walmart's billion-dollar global value chain, Vietnamese businesses need to pay special attention to three core issues: building strategies with long-term goals, solutions for supply chain and logistics, and product design and development capabilities, the ministry said.

In a meeting with the ministry, Walmart said that the most important factors when evaluating suppliers in Vietnam were capacity, financial stability, sustainable development, and fulfilment of with environment related commitments.