Outsourced Seafood Processing in Vietnam
Overseas seafood processing is the way forward
In all countries, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find workers for the seafood processing industry. In addition, demand for products that can be prepared without the necessity of cooking are steadily increasing. Due to the difficulty of producing products that meet the needs of the market due to cost, labor, and tech issues, the “overseas outsourced processing of seafood products” has been ongoing for some time.
Advantages of overseas
outsourced seafood processing
- An abundance of workers makes it possible to handle difficult processing.
- There is no need to hire workers or deal with personnel or labor issues.
- Risk can be reduced by decentralizing production bases.
- You can internationalize sales strategy by ordering only the products needed for your country, and selling the rest to third-party countries.
- Although overseas costs are rising, production is still inexpensive in the area of processing content.
- We can process our products in factories that have international certification, which is difficult to obtain.
Products handled
- Farmed and natural salmon and trout
- Mackerel, horse mackerel, and other bluefish
- Blue grenadier, cod, Greenland Halibut, Red Fish
- Octopus, squid, etc.
- Other general seafood raw material for processing
Type of processing
- Slices for heat processing
- Raw fish products for raw consumption
- Floured products such as fried and deep fried
- Cooked products such as flakes and baked products
Shipment destination
- Sushi restaurant chains
- Major convenience stores
- Supermarkets and co-ops
- Industrial food service and medical food
- Food service chains
Outsourced seafood processing in Vietnam
Dover Seafoods specializes in outsourced processing of seafood products in Vietnam.
Vietnam is a rapidly developing country with a young and abundant labor force. Vietnam is politically stable and free from terrorism and human rights issues such as child labor and ethnic minority oppression. In addition, they are a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and have concluded FTAs with several countries. It is also an atravctive trade base, from which you can consider the option of exporting from Vietnam to third-party countries.
The domestic market is growing rapidly and Vietnam is now attracting the most attention for its outsourced seafood processing.
Comparison of overseas outsourced processing by country
| Processing Country | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
 China |
Technical knowledge and stable quality |
High political risk, including intentional cargo stoppages and unilateral rule changes Lack of young labor force due to one-child policy Poor impression in the market. Income growth is remarkable and processing wages are rising All the leadership in terms of market size and technology has shifted to China |
 Thailand |
Long term experience and technical knowledge |
Shortage of labor force and procurement of workers from third countries. This sometimes leads to human rights issues. Cost is high due to rapid development |
 Vietnam |
Great trade advantages, such as membership in the TPP Very low political and religious risk Abundant young labor force. The country is developing and is willing to take on new work |
Cultural differences make it easy for miscommunication to occur Rapid increase in the number of non-fishery factories, resulting in a sharp rise in costs |
As you can see, the number of companies switching from third-party countries to outsourced seafood processing in Vietnam is increasing every year. The increase is due in large part to the following reasons: fewer restrictions than in China and Thailand; advantages in terms of tariffs and other bilaterla trade preferences, and political stability. With an eye on the future decline in the labor force, the number of companies outsourcing seafood processing to Vietnam is on the rise.
However, oursourced seafood processing in Vietnam does carry challenges. Some of the challenges include a language and time zone difference, as well as large cultural differences which can lead to problems in relation to the quality and delivery due to poor communication and/or misunderstandings.
Are you troubled by any of these issues?
- An end product that varies from the standard that was decided in advance.
- Products not arriving by the desired delivery date.
- The product cost being higher than originally expected.
- The yield rate being much lower than expected without a clear understanding of the cause.
- You have interest in overseas processing, but have no idea where to start.
here to help
What Dover Seafoods can do for you
01
"Go-between" between local factories and client
Throughout factories in Vietnam, we have local staff present during the production process. Our staff works to ensure there are no problems or misunderstandings during the production of our products.
02
Acting as your on-site representative
Our staff in Vietnam are well versed in quality control, product development, trade, and seafood processing. As such, we are able to bring your wishes to fruition utilizing our extensive skills in these areas. Please think of us as your company’s “Vietnam Branch”. We are easily available to discuss and resolve any potential problems or concerns via audio or video from our site.
03
Remote quality control, auditing, and inspection
Businesses have needed to adapt to the unique issues caused by COVID-19. We’re sure like most businesses, you have likely come across new difficulties in taking business trips whether they be domestic or abroad. We use the most advanced technology, such as ZOOM, for remote audits and inspections, meaning you no longer have to go through the pain of trying to conduct business travel during a global pandemic. Yes, you can directly see how your business is progressing in the field without ever having to leave your country.
04
Trade Support
There are a plethora of problems caused by trade operations and paperwork. Based on our many years of experience in Vietnam, we are now well versed in not only trade operations, but Vietnam-specific practices. We also provide general overseas processing services including trade operations on behalf of our customers, so even if you have not previously done overseas processing, you can rely on our services with confidence.
＼ We were able to solve the problem! ／
Trouble cases
CASE 01
Unable to products in accordance with desired specifications
Even after thorough discussions, products were not produced according to specifications.
Seafoods
We all know ways of communication and understanding vary across cultures, and with this in mind we have detailed discussions with clients about their specifications and relay those specifications clearly so that customers' wishes and the Vietnamese manufactuers are on the same page. Also, as we have previously stated, we are on site during production for added assurance.
CASE 02
Production schedules are not met
Production has not been able to keep up with sales, including delays with delivery dates.
Seafoods
Generally, factories produce products for multiple customers. An unfortunate aspect of this is that often customers with a large order of goods or a loud voice is given priority. Our local staff will negotiate directly with the factory in Vietnamese to ensure all customers are satisfied with their desired delivery date.
CASE 03
Slow product development
I want to renew an existing product, but the factory seems to not make much progress.
Seafoods
In the case of product renewal, we must assemble the product from scratch. In spite of this seeming difficuclty, our on-site staff will negotiate directly with the factory to find out how it can be done as quickly and efficiently as possible.
CASE 04
Poor yield rate of products
The production is low compared to the input of raw material, and until the cause is known, countermeasures cannot be put into effect.
Seafoods
Poor product yield can result from not only technological issues, but also from issues with raw materials themselves or a mismatch between the desired product standard and the raw material quality. By having our staff on site, we can report problems during the production process and work to quickly course correct.
CASE 05
Unable to respond to customers' factory audits
Customers typically desire regular audits of factories being used, but these audits do not always lead to improvements.
Seafoods
Do to cultural and language differences, it can be difficult for the Vietnamese side to understand details of the audits our customers request. For audits, it is imperative to not only carefully translate the contents, but also to explain them in a clear way to factory personnel. Our staff will take the lead in translation, pre-audit preparation, audit attendance, and post-audit improvement reporting.
With the growing demand for outsourced seafood processing in Vietnam, there have been many unexpected problems in the field.
Dover Seafoods has had success in solving or altogether avoiding many such problems. This is because our local staff are well versed in the Vietnamese language, culture, and seafood processing of both countries. We are able to act as your “representative” throughout the entire process. By entrusting your business to us, you can concentrate on the domestic side of your business without having to go to Vietnam.
“Dover Seafoods”.
[Video] All about Outsourced Seafood Processing in Vietnam
Vietnam Seafood Processing [Dover Seafoods Channel]
For those of you in the seafood processing industry who are having trouble getting to local factories on business. Dover Seafoods can do it for you!
