I am Bui Huu Suu, Executive Director of Minh Tam Production, Trading and Services Co., Ltd, producers of high-end car accessories. I participated in class 10 of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development program of YWAM Mercy which is sponsored by COM and Swiss Create. My local leader introduced me to this program it sounded very interesting so my wife, Lan, and I registered to attend. The program has helped me and my company make many significant steps toward achieving our current success.
I remember when we first established Minh Tam Company in 2011 with about 20 employees. However, due to my lack of business experience, we faced many obstacles. That was during the global economic crisis. There were many strong competitors and we depended on suppliers with no guaranteed prices. From time to time we were on the brink of failure because of this. Since attending the SME Development program in 2016, we began to change our mindset and to develop a business strategy.
Before we did not have any business strategy but ran our business day-to-day, making decisions based on our previous experience and intuition. My wife and I personally took charge of most aspects of the work from managing employees, to machines, to finance. This created a work overload and resulted in low efficiency. Since learning from YWAM Mercy’s training courses, I now understand the proper role and tasks of a business owner. We have set out long and short term goals, objectives and clear action plans. We have applied the Swiss Create management tools, and also created favorable conditions for our middle managers to attend YWAM Mercy’s training courses. Now tasks can be delegated to managers more easily and effectively, and many difficulties have been solved.
Workers now use the new job descriptions and work instructions we developed which makes their work processes more consistent and easier to supervise. Because of the training on 5S for our workers, and the related technical support from YWAM Mercy’s consultants and staff, our work environment is cleaner and safer due to the clear guidelines and regulations. We are currently providing jobs for over 70 local people and despite this increase, our management system is still running well. Increasing productivity helps employees improve their quality of life.
I now focus on managing the finances and developing people. We understand that employees are the key factor for sustainable business development. They spend more time at our company than their houses. If we always care about their lives and create a comfortable work environment without high pressure, this helps them feel that our company is their second home. When employees have a good life, they will produce well for the company.
In 2018, when Vietnam integrates into the global economy, Minh Tam will have new opportunities as well as challenges. Inexpensive, low- and medium-quality products made in China will threaten to saturate Vietnam’s markets. Because of this, we aim to build Minh Tam’s brand with high-quality products and unique designs that satisfy premium customers. We plan to open more stores and develop new services as well. With the very useful lessons learnt from YWAM Mercy’s program, Minh Tam is ready for this integration.
Thank you COM, Swiss Create and YWAM Mercy for your support of Minh Tam Company as well as other local businesses in recent years. I hope there will be more programs like the SME Development project in order for more Vietnamese businesses have the opportunity to gain from international knowledge and experience. I think the Swiss Create management tools are very useful for creating an effective internal management system.
