ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF ABQ TRADING AND TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT JOINT STOCK COMPANY

BARCHELOR THESIS TOPIC ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF ABQ TRADING AND TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT JOINT STOCK COMPANY HANOI 2022 TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION 1 1 Rationale 1 2 Research objective 2 3 Rese.

BARCHELOR THESIS TOPIC: ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF ABQ TRADING AND TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT JOINT STOCK COMPANY HANOI - 2022 TABLE OF CONTENT INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Research objective Research scope Research structure CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF ENTERPRISE 1.1 General theory of competition and enterprise competitiveness 1.1.1 Definition of competition .4 1.1.2 The roles of competition 1.1.3 Definition of enterprise competitiveness 1.1.4 The necessity of enhancing the enterprises competitiveness 1.2 Factors affecting the competitiveness of enterprise 1.2.1 External factors .8 1.2.2 Internal factors 11 1.3 Criteria to assess the competitiveness for enterprise 14 1.3.1 Quantitative indicators 14 1.3.2 Qualitative indicators 17 1.3.3 Competitive strategies 19 1.4 Measures to enhance competitiveness of enterprise 22 1.4.1 Enhancing the competitiveness of primary activities 23 1.4.2 Enhancing the competitiveness of support activities 27 CHAPTER 2: CURRENT SITUATION OF ENHANCING COMPETITVENESS OF ABQ TRADING AND TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT JOINT STOCK COMPANY 31 2.1 Introduction of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company .31 2.1.1 Company formation and development 31 2.1.2 Organizational structure of the Company 32 2.1.3 Products and services 34 2.1.4 Business results over the period of 2017 – 2021 35 2.2 Factors affecting the competitiveness of the Company 36 2.2.1 External factors 36 2.2.2 Internal factors 44 2.3 Measures to enhance competitiveness applied by the Company 49 2.3.1 Enhancing the competitiveness of primary activities 49 2.3.2 Enhancing the competitiveness of support activities 54 2.4 Current situation of enhancing competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company 58 2.4.1 Quantitative indicators 58 2.4.2 Qualitative indicators 64 2.5 Evaluation of the current situation of enhancing competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company 67 2.5.1 Achievements .67 2.5.2 Limitations 68 2.5.3 Causes 69 CHAPTER 3: SOLUTIONS TO ENHANCE COMPETITIVENESS OF ABQ TRADING AND TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT JOINT STOCK COMPANY 72 3.1 Threats and Opportunities of enhancing competitiveness of the Company 72 3.1.1 Opportunities .72 3.1.2 Threats 73 3.2 Development orientation to enhance competitiveness of the Company 73 3.3 Solutions to enhance competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company .74 3.3.1 Solutions for the Company 74 3.3.2 Solutions for the State agencies 77 CONCLUSION .79 ABBREVIATIONS ABQ ABQ Trading and Investment Joint Stock Company B2B Business to Business CRM Customer relationship management HRM Human resource management IMF International Monetary Fund ISO International Organization for Standardization JSC Joint Stock Company OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development SME Small and medium-sized enterprise WMS Warehouse Management System WTO World Trade Organization LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Basic information of ABQ Joint Stock Company 31 Table 2.2 Business results of ABQ Joint Stock Company over the period of 2017 2021 (Unit: Million VND) .35 Table 2.3 Capital and asset of the Company in the period of 2017 – 2021 (Unit: Million VND) 45 Table 2.4 Number of employees working in Purchasing Unit and Project Management Unit in the period of 2017 – 2021 (Unit: Employee) 52 Table 2.5 Customer survey results on service quality in 2021 (Sample size: 42 enterprises) 65 Table 2.6 List of loyal customers of the Company in the period of 2017 – 2021 66 LIST OF FIGUR Figure 1.1 Porter's Five Forces Model 10 Figure 1.2 Ansoff Matrix .20 Figure 1.3 Porter's Value Chain .22 Y Figure 2.1 Organizational structure of ABQ Joint Stock Company .32 Figure 2.2 Number of employees by department of the Company in the period of 2017 – 2021 46 Figure 2.3 Number of employees by level of the Company in the period of 2017 – 2021 .47 Figure 2.4 Structure of educational qualifications of the Company's employees in 2021 .48 Figure 2.5 Revenue structure by business activities of the Company in the period of 2021 – 2017 50 Figure 2.6 Website advertising budget of the Company in the period of 2017 – 2022 (Unit: Million VND) .53 Figure 2.7 Number of suppliers by contract term of the Company in the period of 2017 – 2021 54 Figure 2.8 Number of suppliers by market of the Company in the period of 2017 – 2021 .55 Figure 2.9 Number of trained employees by level of the Company in the period of 2017 - 2021 56 Figure 2.10 Solvency ratios of ABQ Joint Stock Company in the period of 2017 – 2021 .57 Figure 2.11 Debt-to-Equity ratio of the Company in the period of 2017 – 2021 58 Figure 2.12 Revenue growth rate of the Company and competitors in the period of 2017 – 2021 59 Figure 2.13 Revenue of the Company by business activity in the period of 2017 – 2021 .60 Figure 2.14 Market share of the Company compared to competitors in the period of 2017 - 2021 61 Figure 2.15 Revenue of Information and Communication industry announced in the period 2016-2021 (Unit: Billion VND) 62 Figure 2.16 Profitability ratios of the Company in the period of 2017 - 2021 .63 INTRODUCTION Rationale In the trend of explosive international integration, our country has made strong development steps and achieved great economic achievements On the basis of signed agreements, as well as coordinated economic, scientific, technical, cultural and social development programs, Vietnam has had the opportunity and favorable conditions to exploit optimally national advantages, facilitate and strengthen the development of extensive trade relations with many countries in the world As a result, imports, exports, and other related activities are becoming more and more essential in the economy However, in recent years, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the global economy in general, as well as the Vietnamese economy in particular International business is one of the hardest hit sectors in the midst of significant supply chain disruptions, which have stymied the expansion of numerous organizations throughout the world Challenges are often opportunities in disguise, this is the golden time for enterprises to consolidate and affirm their competitiveness to survive and grow in the market On the other hand, unlike many other industries that have struggled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the field of technology products in all over the world has had the opportunity to grow significantly during the pandemic Digital transformation creeps into every corner of life, every aspect of society has changed rapidly The focus on digital transformation and the application of scientific and technological advances to all parts of life has boosted demand for technology products when their support became an indispensable part for online activities of all organizations and individuals Not to be outdone by the rest of the world, Vietnam sees digital transformation as a foregone conclusion, and has developed a national digital transformation program to 2025, with a vision to 2030, based on three pillars: digital economy, digital society, and digital government "We shall witness a country undergoing fast digital transformation Because of the impact of digital transformation, every element of our society will change, opening up a plethora of new options We shall be substantially different in the next ten years from where we are today, because then digital life will be inextricably integrationed to real life," Mr Nguyen Trung Chinh, Chairman of CMC Technology Group, stated The rapid development of the globalization and digital transformation trend not only brings opportunities but also challenges for businesses in the technology field Competition for Vietnamese firms is becoming increasingly tough, not only in the international market but also in the domestic market As more enterprises enter this potentially lucrative industry to meet the market's inevitable demand for technology items, the rivalry becomes increasingly severe Meanwhile, the majority of technological items utilized in Vietnam are distributed by Vietnamese trading companies and come from well-known global brands ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company, established in 2013, is one of Vietnam's most experienced SMEs in the areas of trading, logistics, and installation of electronic and telecommunications components With steady steps in the past 10 years, ABQ has affirmed its brand, bringing more and more products and services to serve projects across the country The context of the Covid19 epidemic has posed many challenges as well as opportunities for businesses to be able to maintain a smooth supply chain as well as compete with many other businesses when the technology industry is making great strides In order to achieve the goals, the company must establish its own effective strategies in every aspects As a result of my experience working at ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company, as well as the knowledge I gained at National Economics University, I have determined that a competitive and well-suited strategy for the company is required With the approval of the company's Board of Directors, I chose the topic as the research's subject for the reasons stated above: "Enhancing the competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company" Research objective The main purpose of this thesis is to analyse the competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company and suggest solutions to enhance competitiveness of up to 2025 Specific objectives of the thesis include: - Providing an analytical framework for studying the competitiveness of the firm; Analyzing the competiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company market in the period of 2017 to 2021; Proposing solutions to enhance the competitiveness of the company in the next years Research scope Subject of the thesis Based on the research objectives and mission, the topic identifies the research object of the topic as the competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company Scope of the thesis In terms of geographic scope, the thesis focuses on all activities, especially activities related to goods import, logistics and distribution, of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company In terms of time scope, the secondary data references used in the thesis is the statistical data for the period from 2017 to 2021 The recommendations to enhance competitiveness are expected to be applicable in the next years (the period 20222026) In terms of conceptual scope, the thesis researches on the competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company Research structure The thesis is divided into three chapters as follow: - Chapter 1: Theoretical framework of enhancing the competitiveness of enterprise Chapter 2: Current situation of enhancing competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company Chapter 3: Solutions to enhance competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF ENTERPRISE 1.1.General theory of competition and enterprise competitiveness 1.1.1 Definition of competition When the market economy first developed, the concept of competition was formed There have been many diverse perspectives on competition throughout the history of the global economy According to K.Marx: "Competition is a rivalry, fierce struggle between capitalists in order to win over favorable conditions in the production and consumption of goods in order to earn super-profits" Studying the capitalist production of goods and capitalist competition, Marx discovered that the result of competition in capitalism is the law of average rates of profit, thereby forming system of market prices and producer prices On the other hand, Michael Porter believes that wealth is more or less determined by the productivity of manufacturing enterprises Competition requires businesses to persistently improve production productivity by improving product quality, creating product differentiation, improving production techniques, etc On the other hand, when a country directly When participating in international competition, productivity standards for each industry not stop at domestic standards but also international standards In other words, competition is also globalized Globalization makes competition healthier, but at the same time more intense In Vietnam, referring to "what is competition", some scientists believe that competition is a matter of gaining an advantage in the prices of goods and services (buying and selling) Competition in the market of economic actors is to gain advantages to lower the prices of "input" factors in the production - business cycle and to raise the "output" prices, so as to gain a higher level of profit Highest profit at the most reasonable cost According to Le Danh Vinh et al (2006), competition is the driving force for development, resulting in healthy market activities; however, competition also has negative consequences Weakness must result in a win or a technology in managing customer information, helping to fully grasp customers' needs to promptly support as well as upsell customers In addition, by approaching customers with direct marketing and personal selling, ABQ can easily create a good relationship with customers, strictly control the quality of information received by customers without being affected by the influence of customers third-party Thanks to that, ABQ can also understand not only the surface needs of customers, but also understand the general situation of their business in order to be able to give the best advice to them Additional logistics and installation services also help ABQ's customers reduce effort in their business activities Third, ABQ has loyal customers who are all large enterprises with strong financial resources and constant demand A special point about ABQ's loyal customers is that they are all leading competitors in the industry with huge resources and great demand Thanks to ABQ's logistics and installation services, these large enterprises are able to reduce effort in their large contracting projects ABQ acts as a third party providing the most complete products to the projects of these large enterprises to their customers With ABQ's limited resources, being able to cooperate with major competitors helps ABQ also reduce the effort to find small customers to focus on product distribution This cooperation brings a great source of revenue for ABQ 2.5.2 Limitations First, ABQ has limited financial resources and faces numerous financial risks As a small business, ABQ has limited equity, and using a vertical supply chain which requires a large amount of capital, making ABQ partly dependent on liabilities When costs need to increase suddenly (like in 2021), ABQ is forced to increase its debt, putting the business at great risk In order to operate the vertical supply chain, it always requires a large and stable capital source When facing financial difficulties, ABQ may face supply chain disruptions, business interruptions, direct impacts on not only the source of income of the business, but also the image of the brand if it is not possible to properly perform the signed contract 69 Second, ABQ does not have a large market share to compete with major competitors in the industry A high market share means higher sales and if the market expands, the leading product will earn more profit than the rest With just over 0.01% market share in the industry, it is difficult for ABQ to become the top choice of the customer's, therefore ABQ always need to actively invest in finding and convincing customers In addition, for potential competitors, the barriers to entering this industry are relatively low, distribution enterprises not have many requirements in terms of both law and resources, which makes ABQ always need to be cautious Third, ABQ has a much more limited number of suppliers than its major competitors in the market Possessing limited resources and being too strict in selecting suppliers, ABQ's number of suppliers is limited This carries a great risk for ABQ as the supply may be unstable, the quantity and design of products provided to customers is not diversified In addition, the pressure from the supplier is therefore also greater, the switching cost of ABQ if it loses a supplier will be higher 2.5.3 Causes Subjective causes First, ABQ has not well managed the company's capital in its financial strategy Operating a vertical supply chain always requires a stable source of capital, but ABQ does not have specific financial strategies to secure this resource In particular, the issue of provisioning capital must be mentioned Due to the lack of provisioning capital, ABQ quickly fell into dependence on debt when facing difficult situations Using debt is especially risky for an enterprise like ABQ when it comes to debt repayment, if ABQ cannot have enough capital to pay the debt, all activities of the business will fall into a stagnation because they cannot have enough capital to operate the supply chain from top to bottom In addition, it can be seen that ABQ had to take last resort measures such as reducing personnel to fend off bad influences from external factors 70 Second, ABQ has not yet allocated suitable personnel for some core activities of the enterprise Due to too much focus on sales and supply chain management, ABQ does not have an appropriate human resource structure, especially for the finance department It is the lack of personnel in the financial sector that has prevented ABQ from having a vision and a financial strategy in line with the business's operations and goals In addition, in the field of supply management, ABQ has put too many human resources into quality management but lacks personnel with expertise in developing relationships with suppliers, causing ABQ's number of suppliers not diversified Third, ABQ has not have specific strategies to expand market share The number of ABQ's customers has not increased much over the years of operation, showing the lack of efforts of ABQ in expanding market share ABQ is somewhat dependent on existing customers and has not focused on finding new customers In addition, ABQ has not focused on developing more diverse technology product lines, with more prices and more uses to suit many different segments Fourth, ABQ has not have an appropriate supplier structure strategy Pursuing high quality products when ABQ's brand and resources are not strong enough, making it difficult for ABQ to find new customers The strategy of changing the supplier market, cutting low-cost suppliers such as those in China, makes ABQ's product lines lack of diversity This causes ABQ to lose customers who are small businesses, who need affordable products to match their operating situation Fifth, ABQ has not had the flexibility in operations to take advantage of the great demand for technology in the context of the epidemic The context of the Covid-19 epidemic has forced consumers around the world to get used to the trend of using technology more, creating great opportunities for businesses in the industry However, ABQ was not sensitive enough to promptly change the trend ABQ is used to providing telecom-oriented products for largescale infrastructure construction and installation projects These activities were severely stalled in the context of the epidemic The lack of acumen to shift some 71 business activities to the field of computer equipment, modems, wifi transmitters for businesses in all fields to help them in operating remote work For these products, ABQ can effectively utilize the available resources and suppliers to transform Objective causes First, the Covid-19 epidemic has an extremely large impact on business activities of the entire economy, especially SMEs In the context of implementing social distancing to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic, the production and business activities of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises are suffering significant impacts, such as: reduced demand According to statistics, the SME sector currently accounts for about 98% of the total number of enterprises operating in Vietnam, contributing to 45% of GDP, 31% of the total budget revenue and attracted more than million employees Although the number of SMEs is large, the size of small and micro enterprises accounts for a very large proportion, the number of medium-sized enterprises only accounts for 1.6% of the total number of SMEs In 2020, the SME community has to face the situation that manufactured goods cannot find output, the traditional market is narrowed due to social distancing, depends on intermediary supply and distribution networks, and maintenance costs and other costs incurred in epidemic prevention and control at enterprises have led to a reduction in investment scale and a decrease in total revenue of enterprises Second, some policies and laws of the State have not kept pace with the rapid development of the market in general and technology products in particular This affects the development orientation of our country's technology industry, which in turn also makes it more difficult for businesses in the technology sector to plan business programs For example, the IT Law No 67/2006/QH11 has created an important legal framework on state management for the development and application of IT, but after more than 15 years of operation, it has revealed but incomplete points, is quite weak in keeping up with the development of current technology It is not simply not keeping up, but the overlapping with later laws, or the overlapping, incompatibility has created numerous difficulties in the 72 implementation process, especially in the context of the need The need to use technology is increasingly essential 73 CHAPTER 3: SOLUTIONS TO ENHANCE COMPETITIVENESS OF ABQ TRADING AND TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT JOINT STOCK COMPANY 3.1.Threats and Opportunities of enhancing competitiveness of the Company 3.1.1 Opportunities Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and strict government measures, the trend of working and learning remotely has re-emerged and significantly accelerated the process of updating technology Many experts believe that the COVID-19 epidemic has accelerated Vietnam's technology development for about 15 years, the technology usage level of Vietnamese people has improved rapidly in all ages, regions, fields Therefore, although the demand for technology products will decrease after a sudden increase in 2021, the consequences of the trend of using technology still open up an opportunity for businesses in the field of technology products potential development In addition, the digital transformation orientation of the government and of each enterprise in the market is a very favorable condition for commercial enterprises in technology products such as ABQ to business To achieve the goal of digital transformation, it is indispensable to invest in equipment, technology infrastructure, which is the basis and necessary condition that any organization must pay attention to Most importantly, governments, organizations, businesses or individuals are mostly aware that technology is the key to bridging the gap in the level of development between developing and developing countries developed in the world Therefore, Vietnam is seriously setting goals for the development of the country's technology, and the technology product market has a lot of potential for further growth Vietnam's political, economic, cultural and social advantages also contribute to promoting the development of the technology product market Stable political background, many supportive economic policies, deep international cooperation relationships, or young population structure, good adaptability to new technologies, 74 preferences and habits of using many devices technology, etc are factors that create great opportunities for businesses in this field to compete more prominently, at the same time increase revenue and earn profits 3.1.2 Threats Currently, technology product suppliers are always looking for more distribution partners, not choose to set up exclusive distribution agreements to avoid dependence, passivity and reduce risks Opportunities open up for more commercial enterprises, leading to fierce industry competition Experts predict the future will be more difficult for companies to distribute this product line, forcing companies to find a way out to continue to exist and develop In addition, although the State always tries to create the best conditions for businesses to develop, but currently, it is oriented to use technology products from Vietnamese suppliers for a number of fields to improve security are quite focused by the State Therefore, ABQ's business based only on importing products from abroad may need further consideration and adjustment to suit the actual situation 3.2.Development orientation to enhance competitiveness of the Company ABQ's goal in the period 2022 - 2027 is to be able to overcome difficulties during the epidemic, regain its position and have a growth rate of over 30%, profit margin maintained at over 10% In addition, the company also wants to increase its market share above 0.05% During 10 years of operation, ABQ has always focused on building quality products and services to provide projects of large technology enterprises In the next period, ABQ will continue to consolidate and invest in developing financial and human resources, to develop this competitive advantage, especially in vertical supply chain management in order to grow revenue and profit as set out goals In addition, in order to achieve strong market share growth, ABQ also aims to accelerate the development of the target market as well as the supplier market, building a market expansion strategy in line with the current situation of the enterprise 75 3.3.Solutions to enhance competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company 3.3.1 Solutions for the Company Basically ABQ company is an enterprise that has been operating for a long time, and has also made certain development steps Many of the company's strengths are sustainable competitive advantages that it can leverage over the long term However, it cannot be denied that there are still some weaknesses that need to be improved, and in order to improve competitiveness, the company needs to continue to promote the existing advantages, and at the same time overcome the remaining problems Focus on building the optimal financial strategy When faced with complex business problems that stifle growth, increase costs, and emergent risks, businesses need more than good practices or simple solutions To achieve profitable long-term growth and insights that add value, businesses need to rethink their resource strategy to drive transformative change In today's business environment, any business that delays or ignores transition requirements risks slowing business growth, losing competitive advantage, or having worse consequences Limit payment risk from debt For businesses operating on a vertical supply chain like ABQ, as analyzed above, short-term debt is very limited to reduce the risk of payment that can stall the entire operation of the business In the context that in 2021 ABQ is forced to use shortterm debt to overcome difficulties, in the upcoming period, ABQ needs to focus on minimizing payment risks as much as possible Strengthen provisioning The lack of provisioning caused a capital shortage in 2021 due to the adverse effects of the epidemic Therefore, increasing the provision structure in ABQ's capital is very necessary To this, businesses need to carefully recalculate essential costs, especially vertical supply chain operating costs In addition, risk prediction also needs to be enhanced to ensure that the capital shortage is minimized for key activities, which directly affects the maintenance of business operations 76 From there, businesses need to come up with a level of risk reserve capital that is most suitable for the business and strictly adhere to this level so that the vertical supply chain does not stagnate Manage cash flow rationally and strategically ABQ needs to build a tight cash flow plan based on expected activities along with the maturity of short-term debt Cash-intensive activities and their consequences should be carefully considered before making a decision Businesses must practice managing cash flow rationally and strategically This will prevent businesses from falling into unfavorable and difficult situations to pay short-term debt Monitoring the liquidity status of the business is the first step Tools such as the financial ratio that compares current assets with current liabilities need to be put to use and monitored regularly Build an optimal capital structure suitable for business activities At present, it can be seen that ABQ's capital structure is not reasonable with the business's operations, financial leverage has not shown its effectiveness when the ROE of the enterprise achieves very low results in 2021 Therefore, restructuring the ratio of debt and equity is very important Establishing the optimal capital structure will be based on determining the lowest cost of capital Based on statistical analysis, econometric models are often used to consider the factors affecting the capital structure of enterprises As a result, enterprises will determine the relationship and extent of influence of these factors on capital structure As long as the firm's capital structure has not reached its optimal level, the firm can continue to use more debt Conversely, when the capital structure of the enterprise has exceeded the optimal point, the use of more debt will be detrimental to the enterprise Establishing the optimal capital structure is an important content in the capital management policy of an enterprise Any business when formulating a capital management policy also aims at three goals: to raise capital at maximum scale, to determine the optimal capital structure, and to maintain the optimal capital structure All three of the above goals are directed towards the ultimate goal of building and ensuring an optimal capital structure in terms of scale and cost Only then will new 77 businesses have the opportunity to invest in an effective and diversified way, and effectively use mobilized capital Strengthen resources in the financial sector To be able to apply the above solutions to build the most effective financial strategy, ABQ needs to pay more attention to the human resource structure and increase resources for the finance department Businesses may also consider using a third-party consulting service to help establish an optimal financial strategy With ABQ's limited resources, outsourcing services will help businesses get a reasonable financial strategy more effectively Financial advisors with accounting and finance expertise, plus a background in applying technologies, help businesses capitalize on opportunities to grow, improve, and protect the business in present and future Maintain and expand market share Implementing solutions to maintain and expand market share, especially building separate solutions suitable for each market - according to customer segmentation is what ABQ can consider to achieve better competitiveness in the industry Maintain market share – Large technology enterprise segmentation Currently in the market, large technology enterprises all have long-term cooperation with ABQ Based on Ansoff's Market Development Theory (Figure 1.3), this is the company's existing market, and to continue to maintain and increase its market share here, the company can pursue a Market penetration strategy School or Product Development Specifically, ABQ can increase the value of products provided to customers by adding added values through services, brands, ; or diversify products, modify or innovate existing products to better meet customer needs Not only that, the company can also take advantage of its position here to develop products that capture future consumer trends, fill the market and create a sustainable competitive advantage, thereby enhancing the competitiveness in the market Expand market share – Non-technology SME segmentation In the context of a large increase in the demand for technology use in all industries in the market, accessing and providing solutions for small businesses 78 outside the industry should be considered by ABQ In particular, for the existing customer group, these are all large technology enterprises, capable of providing the products and services that ABQ currently has Therefore, expanding into new markets will help ABQ reduce the risk of losing customers This is an area that should develop its own policies so that ABQ can compete with rivals and increase its market share It can be considered that this is a relatively new market for the company, and the market development strategy will help the company expand its business The company should also aim to expand market share by taking over competitors' customers, by competing on price policies, because with technology products, especially selling to end users, price is the criterion important for new customers to choose products Expand supplier network To serve the expansion of market share, ABQ needs to promote the expansion of its supplier network to have a diversified and continuous supply, serving a larger number of customers Strengthen cooperation with low-cost suppliers Currently, ABQ's number of suppliers is quite limited, mainly high-quality suppliers in countries outside Southeast Asia This, although creating a competitive advantage in product quality, is not suitable for ABQ's limited resources Therefore, considering expanding the supplier network with the advantage of low cost and located in countries in the region such as China will help ABQ save resources and diversify products This product group will be especially suitable for expanding the market to non-technology SMEs and applying a competitive price strategy Invest resources to increase the number of suppliers Currently, ABQ's human resources in charge of the company's supply are mainly focused on product quality management With the experience, expertise and advantages available to high-quality suppliers, and at the same time applying the vertical supply chain to help ensure product quality, ABQ may consider shifting personnel to more focus on market survey and expansion This is similar to the use of capital and other resources in a business 79 3.3.2 Solutions for the State agencies Continually perfect laws and policies for businesses in the electronics and telecommunications industry The development and completion of supporting policies and legislation for technology businesses in Vietnam Currently, although there are a number of legal documents on the use of information technology, over the years it is quite outdated and has not caught up with the current trend Therefore, based on the old law issued in 2006, the State should have a reconstruction plan, introduce a more complete new law, with many supportive and preferential policies for technology enterprises with the goal of keeping up with trends and optimizing consumer access to new technologies Focus on both disease control and economic promotion Second, the State needs to pay special attention to the extremely complicated developments from the COVID-19 epidemic From one aspect, it can be affirmed that COVID-19 has accelerated the process of updating people's technology to meet the needs of learning and working remotely in the context of the epidemic; Suppliers and distributors of these products are facing a huge opportunity to develop the market However, the negative impacts of the epidemic on the economy in general and technology distribution businesses in particular cannot be denied COVID-19 has seriously affected personnel, supply chains and especially disrupted the process of transporting goods across countries Therefore, although COVID-19 has changed the market in favor of technology businesses, the most important thing that the State needs to is implement plans to reopen to the world, but it is necessary to maintain strict disease control measures, take tough action to ensure abundant human resources as well as strengthen the supply chain With that, businesses, especially those that distribute new technology products, can meet the huge needs of consumers now and in the future 80 CONCLUSION In recent years, technology has made great progress and has become an indispensable element in the daily lives of most people in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular This is a great opportunity as well as a challenge for commercial enterprises distributing technology products Through research and implementation of the topic "Enhancing the competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company", we can see the importance of competitiveness for each business in the context of increasingly fierce competition paralyzed as it is today Competitiveness is a decisive factor to help businesses maintain and expand market share, improve their position and earn profits The topic raised the current situation of activities to improve the competitiveness of ABQ JSC and analyzed the criteria to be able to evaluate in the most detail the existing competitiveness of the company in the period of 2017 – 2021 It can be seen that during this period, the company has achieved certain successes in creating competitive advantages, demonstrating its superiority in many factors compared to competitors However, there are still limitations and problems that negatively affect the company's competitiveness The topic is the result of an internship at ABQ, in which analyzing, evaluating and making recommendations for the company so that the company can conveniently promote its strengths and overcome existing weaknesses, thereby improving their competitiveness in the coming period In addition, in order for ABQ as well as other enterprises in the industry to compete more effectively, the State's participation is indispensable The topic has made a number of recommendations to the State on policies and legal frameworks for business activities as well as the desire to solve negative social issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby creating a favorable environment fair and favorable business, promoting the development of the economy in general and commercial enterprises in particular such as ABQ JSC 81 REFERENCES English references Brigham, E F., & Houston, J F (2015) Fundamentals of Financial Management (14th ed.) 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COMPETITVENESS OF ABQ TRADING AND TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT JOINT STOCK COMPANY 31 2.1 Introduction of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company .31 2.1.1 Company formation and. .. ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company" Research objective The main purpose of this thesis is to analyse the competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock. .. of the thesis Based on the research objectives and mission, the topic identifies the research object of the topic as the competitiveness of ABQ Trading and Technology Investment Joint Stock Company