[AI] - Webinar Recap: “Smart Factory Transformation – Start Small, Scale Big with AI” (11/09/2025)

On September 11, 2025, the webinar on smart manufacturing and digital transformation concluded with a series of valuable insights. While Vietnam is home to more than 900,000 enterprises, many are still struggling with digitalization. Against this backdrop, the program drew a clear picture of opportunities and challenges, and introduced a practical roadmap: “Start Small – Scale Big with AI.” The discussion combined forward-looking trends with real-world case studies, providing companies with concrete action steps.

1. Enterprises at a Crossroads: Opportunity or Setback?
Digital transformation in smart manufacturing is no longer a trend. It has become a matter of survival. Yet many Vietnamese enterprises face critical barriers: fragmented data across departments, outdated systems, inconsistent processes, and slow cultural change.

Mr. Ngô Việt Hải, Deputy CEO of Advantech, emphasized: “By 2030, if companies are still stuck at Industry 3.0, being left behind will be unavoidable.” His message underlined that transformation is not optional but essential to stay competitive globally.

The heart of a smart factory is not heavy investment in technology but seamless data management across production and business units. When done right, companies can lower costs, save energy, improve safety, and raise product quality. Mr. Hải highlighted applications such as:

Digital assistants for operations: monitoring output per shift, issuing alerts on performance drops, detecting defects, supervising electricity/water usage, and recommending ESG-driven savings.

AI in critical workflows: quality inspection, predictive maintenance, and energy optimization—helping detect problems early, minimize downtime, and reduce waste.
He pointed out common difficulties: fragmented data across departments, lack of standardized processes, legacy systems that are difficult to connect, and resistance to operational change. Therefore, the safest path for enterprises is to start with one high-impact bottleneck, set clear goals and KPIs, pilot in a limited scope, then standardize and expand step by step.

2. Expert Roadmap: Start Simple, Scale with Confidence
Adding to this, Ms. Nguyễn Thị Hoa, R&D Director of COMIT Corporation, recommended a four-step approach from real implementation experience:
“Start small → Learn fast → Prove value → Scale up.”

She noted two key questions every company must answer before deployment:

• WHY – Why implement, tied to business objectives.
• HOW – How to select a simple, easy-to-deploy, measurable first step to demonstrate short-term value.

Two practical case studies illustrated this approach:

Solving clock-in congestion during peak hours with optimized recognition, reducing queues and improving employee experience.

Automating manual payroll calculations, saving HR teams 3–5 working days each cycle.

Both initiatives were powered by aiTimelog®, COMIT Corporation’s AI-driven solution. Capable of recognizing up to six faces simultaneously (even masked or in motion) with 99.99% accuracy, aiTimelog® reduces bottlenecks, prevents fraud, and generates comprehensive HR reports. Flexible rules and automated payroll integration deliver immediate time savings—an embodiment of the “start small, measure impact instantly” principle.

3. From Strategy to Action
The consensus was clear: Vietnamese enterprises must act now. The path forward is not a massive overhaul but a series of small, transparent pilots, designed to build trust through measurable results and then scaled in an orderly way. Companies should:

• Begin with bottlenecks that create immediate impact.
• Define and measure KPIs before and after implementation.
• Standardize and replicate successful models across plants.