The ICA-AP Regional Workshop on “Management of Consumer Cooperatives” was held in Vietnam from November 4-7, 2019. The workshop was organized under the aegis of the ICA-AP Consumer Committee and hosted for the first time by the Saigon Union of Trading Co-operatives (Saigon Co.op). 33 co-operators and guests from India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam attended the three-day workshop.
The program commenced with a welcome address by Mr. Haruyoshi Amano, the Chair of the ICA-AP Consumer Committee / Manager, International Department, Japanese Consumer Cooperative Union (JCCU). He provided an overview of ICA, the Committees of ICA-AP and the consumer cooperative movement globally. The Deputy CEO of Saigon Co.op, Mr. Anh Duc Nguyen, in his opening remarks said the workshop is a continuation of the sharing of retail experiences among ICA members. He said the shared knowledge would be valuable to members in improving their business qualitatively.
During the first session on Day 1, reports from the 18 participating organizations were presented. The reports covered topics such as history, business, activities, and challenges faced by each organization. This was followed by lectures by representatives from Saigon Co.op. Mr. Le Truong Son (Director, Invest Consulting Department) provided an overview of Saigon Coop; Ms. Ngo Thi Bich Lien (Director, Concept Management Department) spoke about the retail operations; Mr. Vo Hoang Anh (Director, Private Label Department) shared the development strategy of the private Label; and Mr. Bui Quang Vinh (Director of Logistics Dept.) presented their supply chain management.
Day 2 began with participants going on a field trip to Saigon Co.op's distribution and product inspection centers and five cooperative stores. At the distribution center they learned about the logistics of Saigon Co.op and at the product inspection center, about the quality assurance policies. Their visits to stores at Co.op Xtra Phạm Văn Đồng, Co.opmart Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Co.op Food Pasteur, Cheers Gigamall, and Co.op Smile De Tham gave the participants an understanding of the scale and customer needs.
Participants at the Saigon Co.op distribution center.
On Day 3, participants were divided into four groups and each group was given the following questions to brainstorm:
- The key learning points from the workshop?
- The key recommendations to take back to their cooperative?
- Propose one project with an action plan to be implemented in the next six months.
Snapshots from the group discussions on day 3.
The groups then proceeded to share their thoughts and action plans with others. These presentations were followed by a debriefing conducted by Mr. Nguyen Long Trung (Director, Saigon Co.oop Training Center). The training workshop ended on an optimistic note with participants confident that they will be able to take back new ideas to be implemented in their cooperatives.
