Vietnam's proximity to China and logistical facilities with close access to parts supply via air, sea, or land, make it a natural destination for those looking to expand its operations or even establish a China+1 strategy. Most sourcing specialists have been on a mission to find alternative vendors outside China ever since the US imposed heavy tariffs in 2018. But in the preceding years, pricing of Chinese products had already began to ramp up leading many manufacturers to explore viable alternatives in Asia.
For over 20 years, audio companies established consistent operations in Vietnam, and manufacturing was consistently expanding until very recently, when there has been a tsunami of speaker and audio OEM/ODMs expanding satellite factories through the country. Purchasing departments everywhere have been given their marching orders to diversify the geopolitical mix of where products sourced from. Many welcome Chinese transplants in Vietnam and elsewhere, just without the tariffs.
Vietnam is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula and is bordered by China to the North, Laos and Cambodia to the West, and part of Thailand to the Southwest. Vietnam’s total population is 95 million. The capital city has been Hanoi since the reunification of North and South Vietnam in 1976, while the largest city is Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Da Nang city and port is in central Vietnam Since 2000, Vietnam’s economic growth rate has been among the highest in the world and Vietnam’s production base has matured. There are many international flights to Vietnam from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Philippines to the main airports in Hanoi and Saigon. In central Vietnam, Da Nang’s industrial parks are likely to attract audio factories. Vietnam is attracting over 40 Billion US dollars in foreign direct investment per year. South Korea, Singapore, Japan and China are the top investors in Vietnam.
What are the differences of manufacturing in Vietnam?
In this webinar, Mike Klasco, CEO, Menlo Scientific, and Dave Lindberg, CEO, DB Enterprises, will host Bruce Crompton from Hansong Technology Vietnam to discuss perspectives and experiences in the region for short and long term. Originally from Vancouver Canada but embedded in China manufacturing since 1995, Bruce Crompton quickly gained considerable experience in dealing with business development and product management in Asia. In 2015 he was hired by Hansong Technology in China as Product Development manager. Bruce has been on the ground in Hanoi, Vietnam building the Hansong Vietnam facility expansion for the last 3 years, and has deep insight on why audio companies are moving to Vietnam and the challenges plus benefits that brands, factories and the supply chain face in Vietnam.
The session will also debate the broad challenges in the supply chain caused by the pandemic lockdowns and rising cost of goods from China, the dynamics of the global logistics, and the challenges in finding parts suppliers and manufacturing outside of China. The webinar will be followed by a live Q&A sessions with all presenters.
AES Audio Product Education Institute
Supply Chain and Sourcing
Audio Manufacturing Options Outside China — Vietnam
August 31, 2022
9:00 AM Pacific - 12:00 PM Eastern
www.audioproducteducationinstitute.org
