Technology is becoming a new competitive race for businesses as demands for productivity, quality, and green production continue to rise.

Air-conditioning brackets produced by Phuoc Hung Mechanical Manufacturing Trading Co., Ltd. (Long Binh Ward).

In Dong Nai, many businesses are focusing on innovation to maintain competitiveness and find new room for growth.

Market Pressure for Innovation

Behind economic growth is the production and business activity of tens of thousands of enterprises. However, alongside opportunities to expand production, businesses are facing increasing pressure from costs, product quality, delivery schedules, environmental standards, and export market requirements.

In the past, advantages in production space, labor, and geographical location could help businesses compete. Today, these advantages are gradually narrowing. To retain customers, businesses must produce more consistently and quickly, with fewer defects and lower consumption of raw materials and energy.

This is why businesses are paying increasing attention to technological innovation. At the Nestlé Tri An Factory, Nestlé put a new glass-jar coffee packaging line into operation in August 2026. The line has an initial capacity of more than 350,000 jars per day and incorporates multiple stages of automation and quality control.

What is noteworthy is not the scale of a single production line but how businesses approach technology. Automated inspection, packaging, and quality control reduce dependence on manual operations while generating data to support production management.

Mr. Binu Jacob, General Director of Nestlé Vietnam, said that technology investment must be linked to improving workforce capabilities so employees can master new equipment and processes. Improving production capacity is not only aimed at meeting immediate demand but also at creating a foundation for increasing product value and participating more deeply in the value chain.

According to economic experts, businesses are gradually changing in response to market pressure. Modern machinery is no longer purchased simply to increase capacity. Technology must help businesses solve specific production challenges, including reducing defect rates, saving materials, shortening production time, controlling quality, and meeting new standards. For exporters, these requirements are becoming increasingly clear. Partners are not only concerned with whether products meet standards but also with production processes, traceability, energy consumption, and emissions.

Enhancing Competitiveness

Slow technological innovation means a growing risk of losing competitive advantages. Therefore, not only large businesses but also small and medium-sized enterprises are making significant efforts.

Ms. Nguyen La Anh Dao, Director of Phuoc Hung Mechanical Manufacturing Trading Co., Ltd. (Long Binh Ward), said that mechanical enterprises seeking deeper participation in the supply chain must continuously improve equipment and production processes. In particular, when working with major customers, requirements for precision, consistent quality, and delivery schedules are becoming increasingly demanding. Small and medium-sized enterprises cannot invest across the board but must select the areas that genuinely need improvement. This may involve new equipment, an automated production stage, or a management solution that reduces production time and costs.

In addition to attracting large-scale projects, Dong Nai is paying greater attention to improving the technological capabilities of businesses operating in the area. As domestic enterprises improve productivity and quality, their ability to participate in global supply chains will increase, allowing more value generated locally to remain in the region.

This is also the reality for many supporting-industry enterprises in Dong Nai. To become suppliers to major corporations, domestic businesses need not only products but also the ability to demonstrate stable production with appropriate quality and standards.

Dong Nai is implementing assessments of the technological level and capabilities of manufacturing enterprises, focusing on key processing and manufacturing industries such as mechanical engineering, food, electrical and electronics, plastics, rubber, chemicals, textiles, footwear, and others. This is a necessary step to determine where businesses currently stand, what they lack, and in which direction they need to innovate.

For small businesses, such assessments are even more important because funding for technological innovation is often limited. Choosing the wrong equipment or unsuitable technology can turn an investment into a burden rather than generate new productivity. Therefore, support policies also need to address actual business needs more deeply. Instead of only supporting businesses in purchasing machinery, it is necessary to help them identify suitable technologies and connect them with solution providers, research institutes, universities, and experts.

The Dong Nai Supporting Industry Development Program for 2026-2030, with a vision to 2035, is working toward this goal. By 2030, the city expects to have approximately 1,200 enterprises operating in supporting industries. The city will promote international cooperation programs, support businesses in expanding markets, connect supply and demand for products, and promote digital transformation and the application of smart factory solutions in production processes and business management to enhance competitiveness.

Vương Thế

Source: Báo Đồng Nai