Hitachi Digital Services Advances Connected Smart Manufacturing at VSE 2026

On June 24, 2026, Mr. Nguyen Quan Vien, Vice President and Head of APAC Cloud & Data at Hitachi Digital Services, participated in the Vietnam Smart Factory Expo 2026 (VSE) sharing strategic insights on accelerating smart manufacturing transformation in Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen Quan Vien at Vietnam Smart Factory Expo 2026

The event held alongside the Vietnam Hardware Fair 2026 (VHF 2026) and Home Show Vietnam 2026 brought together global technology providers, manufacturers and policymakers. Co-organized by the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC) and Uninet Exhibition, the three exhibitions created a comprehensive platform to advance Industry 4.0 adoption and strengthen Vietnam’s role in global manufacturing value chains.

During the forum on “Innovation in the Development of Smart Factories in Vietnam”, Mr. Vien delivered a keynote on “Global Trends in Smart Factories: Opportunities and Lessons for Vietnam”, highlighting a fundamental shift from isolated automation toward connected, data-driven operations, where enterprise systems and shop-floor activities are integrated to enable faster and more reliable decision-making. He also underscored the increasing role of AI in industrial environments supporting predictive insights, guided actions, and responsive operations. Mr. Vien noted that Vietnam is positioned to accelerate this transition by building smart factory programs at scale from the start supported by connected data, clear governance, and integrated execution across business and factory environments.

Global Trends in Smart Factories

To illustrate this, he shared two practical case studies. In Vietnam, Hitachi Digital Services supported a leading cable manufacturer in deploying a MES solution across multiple plants, meeting stringent quality requirements with a 30% reduction in defects, full traceability, and the delivery of over 7,000km of cable with zero quality complaints. At the global level, he highlighted Rail digital factory initiatives where advanced technology such as AI-driven inspection and Digital Twin is being applied to enhance quality, safety and operational visibility. Notably, Vietnamese engineering teams are playing an active role in delivering these complex, global innovation projects reflecting both local expertise and a growing contribution from Vietnam to global smart manufacturing projects.

Following the keynote, Mr. Vien joined a panel discussion with industry leaders to address practical challenges of scaling smart factories. He highlighted that many manufactures face fragmented systems, limited scalability, and gaps between digital initiatives and daily operations. To address this, Hitachi Digital Services applies a structured ET-IT-OT approach, integrating engineering, IT and operations into a unified execution model. Through platforms such as Smart Manufacturing Operation Management (SMOM), combined with advanced AI and Agentic AI capabilities, Hitachi Digital Services enables enterprises to move beyond data visibility toward actionable insights improving productivity, quality, and responsiveness while scaling transformation across operations.

Industry leaders discuss scaling smart factories