A designer is using Gerber software.

VietNamNet Bridge – Around 90% of the software used at Vietnamese textile and garment companies is foreign. This industry is seen as a land of plenty for foreign software producers.

The software products most commonly used at Vietnamese textile-garment firms include Lectra (France), Gerber (the US), Gemini (Italy), Investronica (Spain), Optitex (US), G-Pro (Malaysia), besides PAD, StyleCad, AGMS, TorayCad, CyberCad, Tukatech, Assyt, Polytron, etc.

Most of the accounting, archiving and ERP software that these firms use is also imported.

Why are foreign software products so popular?

It is said that Vietnam is only good for software outsourcing, not for designing specialised products.

Nguyen Tan Thanh, Director of the Nhat Tin Technology Joint Stock Company, a provider of IT solutions for Vietnamese textile and garment companies, said that Lectra and Gerber are the most popular software items, followed by Gemini. The first two were introduced to Vietnam from 1991-1995 while Gemini has been in Vietnam for one year.

Gemini currently has good sales in Vietnam thanks to its reasonable price, equivalent to 25-30% of the price of Lectra and Gerber ($14,000-18,000/version).

Nguyen Nam, in charge of information technology at the Binh Duong Garment Company, said the gap between Vietnam and countries in Southeast Asia in software-making technology and skills is nearly zero but Vietnamese software firms have been making a mistake: They are too interested in technology and neglect the specific requirements of customers.

Some software companies have big teams of programmers but they don’t pay attention to systematic analysis and design teams. As a result, their products fail to meet customers’ needs. This oversight has created an opportunity for foreign software providers.

Ta Hoang Linh, Managing Director of CMC System Integrated Company, said his firm is providing software for many companies working in various areas but they don’t have any specific products for the textile and garment industry because this sector has specific requirements which software firms can’t fully satisfy.

Linh said software design is often done in a chain of software providers so Vietnamese software companies don’t have an opportunity in this market.

Locally-made software scarce

Garment SD is one of the rare specialised software products designed by a Vietnamese firm used in the textile-garment sector. This product is now being used at many big companies like Binh Duong, Viet Tien, Nha Be, Tay Do, and Thang Loi garment companies.

There is a very important operation in the textile-garment industry: calculating the area of cloth needed for a model. Without specific software, this task is very hard and time-consuming. Engineer Le Cong Nghiep from the Le Gia IT Company, who worked for years in textile-garment fields, designed the Garment SD.

While foreign software products cost several to tens of thousands of US dollars, Garment SD costs only VND15 million ($900).

Pham Dac Loi, Chief of Technical Division of Viet Tien Garment Company, praised this product, saying that it is really difficult to design such a software product. Many garment companies of Vietnam and other countries tried to find a substitute for this but they couldn’t – till Garment SD was introduced.

Nghiep said around 100 Garment SD copies have been sold while Vietnam has nearly 3,000 textile and garments enterprises, so the market for this software is huge. However, Garment SD needs more advertising.

Nguyen Tan Thanh said though Garment SD is a breakthrough in the textile-garment industry its sales have not matched those of foreign products because it focuses on just a small stage in the production process.

Though foreign companies design software solutions with just 10% of Garment SD’s capability, they integrate solutions into a comprehensive solution system for the textile and garment industry so their products sell very easily.

(Source: TBVTSG)