In a move signaling a significant leap for Vietnam’s food processing industry, Saigon Food JSC (SGF) has unveiled a generative AI translation platform, streamlining its global export operations and setting a new benchmark for regulatory compliance. The company’s embrace of Gen AI underscores a growing trend: Vietnamese firms are accelerating AI adoption amid untapped potential, seeking a competitive edge in the international market.
The new platform, developed in partnership with cloud and data transformation specialists Cloud Kinetics and powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), tackles a persistent challenge for exporters: the costly and error-prone translation of technical documents.
SGF, a prominent ready-to-eat food manufacturer and a member of the Maruha Nichiro Group (Japan), regularly juggles a mountain of multilingual documents. These range from production procedures and quality control reports to safety certifications like HACCP and ISO, all requiring accurate translation between Vietnamese, Japanese, and English.
Previously, manual translation processes bogged down operations, leading to delays, increased costs, and potential compliance risks due to terminology inconsistencies. This was especially critical given SGF’s planned expansion into demanding markets like the EU, US, and Korea.
The AI translation platform addresses these challenges head-on, leveraging several AWS technologies to deliver speed, accuracy, and control:
- Amazon Translate: Provides rapid, automated translations, drastically reducing turnaround times.
- Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.5 on Amazon Bedrock: Standardizes industry-specific terminology (e.g., HACCP, ISO) ensuring contextual accuracy and consistency across languages.
- OCR Technology and Automated Pipeline: Handles various file formats (DOCX, PDF, XLSX, PPTX, images) while preserving original document formatting.
The results have been impressive.
SGF reports significant improvements across several key areas:
- Operational Speed: Document translation and processing time slashed by 75%, enabling faster responses to international partners.
- Global Compliance: Consistent food terminology and safety standards across languages, minimizing legal risks.
- Cost Savings: Manual translation and editing costs reduced by 45%, freeing up resources for R&D and product improvement.
- Data Sovereignty: Internal AI system provides full control over language, data, and processes, maintaining corporate data security.
“The Gen AI solution…has enabled us to become faster, more accurate, more agile, and more efficient… This is a testament to how Vietnamese businesses can apply technology to constantly refine themselves and reach out to the world,” said Le Quoc Hung, vice general director of SGF.
Eric Yeo, country general manager of AWS Vietnam, echoed this sentiment, noting that “Gen AI and cloud technologies are emerging as critical enablers of transformation” for global food manufacturers facing increasing regulatory pressures and demands for faster time-to-market.
Phuc Anh Do, managing director for Vietnam at Cloud Kinetics, emphasized the strategic advantage gained: “Our goal was to provide the precise AI capabilities SGF needed to overcome complex export hurdles and build operational efficiency… [This] gives local companies a strong edge when competing on the world stage.”
This initiative not only boosts SGF’s competitiveness but also provides a model for other Vietnamese food processors looking to leverage AI to navigate the complexities of global trade. As Vietnamese firms accelerate AI adoption, expect to see more innovative applications of AI that streamline operations and drive growth in the international arena. Other examples of Vietnamese firms embracing cloud solutions include VPBank.
The broader impact of AI in the ASEAN region is also being felt with AWS making its largest-ever investment in ASEAN, demonstrating its strong commitment to providing customers with the most resilient and secure cloud infrastructure and AI-driven innovation.
