Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong: Digital transformation support solutions for household businesses in Bac Ninh must be "substantive and accessible"

Digital transformation must generate substantive efficiency

Digital transformation for the household business sector is only truly meaningful when technology helps owners manage operations more conveniently, reduce costs, expand markets, and enhance business performance.

With the spirit of "an enabling State accompanying enterprises, with citizens and household businesses as the primary beneficiaries," the pilot program supporting wholesale and retail stores and household businesses in digital transformation in Bac Ninh aims for concrete, measurable, and scalable outcomes.

On August 20, 2026, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) collaborated with the People's Committee of Bac Ninh Province and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to organize a Conference on the Joint Implementation Plan for piloting digital transformation support for wholesale and retail stores and household businesses in Bac Ninh Province.

Bac Ninh is among the first localities selected to implement this program, aiming to translate digital transformation from guidelines and policies into the people's direct production and business activities.

Speaking at the conference, Alternate Member of the Central Committee, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui Hoang Phuong emphasized that digital transformation is not merely applying a few standalone software applications, nor is it simply digitizing tasks previously performed manually. Digital transformation must become a new development paradigm, creating new business models to boost competitiveness.

This approach is particularly significant for the household business sector - a large segment of the private economy characterized by small scale, limited resources, and uneven technology adoption levels.

While payments, invoicing, tax filing, revenue management, and customer reach are increasingly shifting to the digital environment, many household businesses still face challenges regarding digital tools and skills.

According to Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong, the implementation plan in Bac Ninh reflects the joint efforts of state agencies and digital technology enterprises in supporting citizens and household businesses through digital transformation.

The consistent orientation is defined as: "an enabling State accompanying enterprises, with citizens and household businesses as the primary beneficiaries. Through sales management software, e-invoices, digital payments, and e-commerce platforms, household businesses can better manage daily operations, saving time, costs, and labor.

The plan sets specific targets: 100% of wholesale and retail stores and household businesses in the province will have access to information about the program; 10,000 stores and household businesses will receive consultation, guidance, and support to access, experience, and use suitable digital tools and platforms, with the goal of having at least 50% install software and digital platforms. Household businesses in need will receive support in using digital signatures and registering the .biz.vn domain name.

The digital transformation gap among over 106,000 household businesses

According to information presented at the conference, the digital economy contributes approximately 46.3% to the province's GRDP, placing it among the highest nationwide, with significant contributions coming from the electronics industry, semiconductors, and high technology. However, a major gap remains in digital transformation levels between the industrial sector and the household business sector.

The province currently has 106,537 household businesses managed by tax authorities. Meanwhile, just over 2,000 of these businesses utilize sales management software, representing less than 2%. Although many have become accustomed to scanning QR codes and mobile bank transfers, sales management and tax filing still rely predominantly on manual bookkeeping.

Mr. Mai Son, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee, pointed out four main difficulties facing household businesses: resistance to change and fear of revenue transparency; limited digital skills; lack of knowledge in selecting solutions suitable for their business model; and concerns regarding initial costs and data security.

According to Permanent Vice Chairman Mai Son, these issues cannot be resolved through communication campaigns alone. They require direct, on-site guidance, simplified solutions, reasonable costs, and clear commitments from technology providers.

Notably, Bac Ninh Province has achieved positive results in tax management digitization. According to the Bac Ninh Provincial Tax Department, the rate of household businesses installing and using eTax Mobile reached 94%; the timely tax declaration rate reached 99%; and 100% of these businesses subject to e-invoices generated from cash registers have registered and utilized the system.

However, technology readiness and digital skills remain uneven across these businesses. A segment of household businesses requires direct assistance in registration, tax filing, e-invoice usage, electronic payments, and digital utilities. Sales management, invoicing, and payment solutions must also be further simplified and priced appropriately for the scale of these businesses.

From "entering the digital environment" to "doing business effectively on the digital environment"

Digital transformation for household businesses must not only serve management requirements but also generate market development opportunities.

The presentation by the MOIT representative at the conference raised a very specific issue: what store owners care about most is whether technology helps them sell more goods, acquire more customers, streamline management, and lower costs.

Under this approach, technology only holds meaning when it simplifies daily tasks and yields tangible benefits for business owners.

Bac Ninh possesses substantial potential for e-commerce growth. In July 2026 alone, total retail sales of consumer goods in the province reached an estimated 10.274 trillion VND, up 26.86% year-on-year. By the end of 2025, Bac Ninh hosted 179,038 active shops across Shopee and TikTok Shop. By mid-2026, the locality had 721 recognized OCOP products.

These figures demonstrate that the challenge is no longer simply bringing sellers onto digital platforms. The critical imperative is enabling them to effectively leverage online channels to attract customers, drive transactions, and boost revenue.

According to the MOIT presentation, the program should not stop at helping merchants "enter the digital environment," but must aim toward enabling them to genuinely "do business effectively in the digital environment."

This requires support strategies closely tailored to each household business's actual operations. For businesses requiring inventory and payment management, solutions should focus on POS software, warehouse management, and digital payments. For those with high-quality products but narrow market reach, support should encompass digital content, e-commerce, livestreaming, logistics, and customer care. The ultimate goal is that after the support period, household businesses can independently leverage technology to run their operations.

Taking effectiveness at each store as the benchmark

A notable feature of the program in Bac Ninh is the requirement to shift from input-based evaluation to assessing practical usage effectiveness.

Mr. Mai Son, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee, emphasized that practical results at each individual store must serve as the primary measurement metric. Accordingly, outcomes will not be measured merely by the number of conferences or training classes held, but by the number of household businesses actively using digital platforms and maintaining usage after the support program concludes. Awareness campaigns that fail to result in operational adoption cannot be deemed successful.

To achieve this goal, technological solutions must be user-friendly, minimizing repetitive data entry. Sales management software and tax filing tools need interoperability; costs must remain reasonable; and household business data must be easily portable when switching solution providers.

Echoing this perspective, Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong requested that support solutions be "substantive and accessible," intuitive, easy to use, and aligned with the scale and capability of household businesses. Immediate priority should be given to essential needs such as sales management, inventory control, and cashless payments. Implementation must strictly ensure "clear roles, clear tasks, clear timelines, clear responsibilities, and clear outcomes", while placing paramount emphasis on cybersecurity and data safety.

Another decisive factor is the role of grassroots local authorities. According to Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong, while technology enterprises visiting individual businesses to provide support is necessary, the participation of commune officials and community digital technology teams will foster greater trust among citizens, ensuring smoother execution.

Based on practical tax administration, the Bac Ninh Provincial Tax Department proposed establishing a unified coordination framework among tax authorities, Ward/Commune People's Committees, commercial banks, technology enterprises, and business support organizations. Under this framework, each entity handles a specific link, ranging from policy guidance and target group aggregation to solution provision and digital payment support.

Digital transformation for over 106,000 household businesses in Bac Ninh is therefore far more than an exercise in software installation. It represents a fundamental transformation in methods of management, sales execution, tax compliance, and market engagement.

If this pilot model delivers measurable results, sustains continuity post-support, and genuinely helps merchants boost operational efficiency, Bac Ninh can offer a vital practical framework to refine coordination mechanisms among state management bodies, technology enterprises, and household businesses, laying the groundwork for national replication./.

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