10 years in the lead: Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions in Vietnam

The year 2020 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Vietnam (RBVH). During this decade, this centre has become one of the best workplaces in the tech industry and a leading business solution provider in Vietnam.

Baskaran Rakklappan, managing director of Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Vietnam

The best workplaces of the tech industry

Starting off as an affiliate reporting to Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions India, the RBVH is expected to be the pioneer in terms of promoting innovation and enterprise solutions within Southeast Asia. In the last 10 years, the RBVH has witnessed growth beyond expectations and has become the region’s leading “innovation house” of nearly 2,200 highly qualified tech engineers.

In order to enhance innovation and productivity, the RBVH has soon implemented many internal activities to stimulate innovation such as Open Innovation, Hackathon contest, and employee engagement programmes such as RBVH Tech Talks, and leadership development programmes, among others. These diverse programmes have successfully built an innovative community of associates. There is a working environment where associates’ voice is “heard” and their professional knowledge development is the highest priority.

Not only does it aim at building a sophisticated working campus, the RBVH also actively makes creative spaces to inspire employees, including Flexible Working Corners and Creative Thinking Corners that could be used for brainstorming and Inspiring Meeting Corners that were designed based on careful research to improve the efficiency of thinking during teamwork.

In addition to creating an ideal working environment both physically and mentally, the quality of human resources has always been a key factor for a successful operating system. For 10 years, the RBVH has been proactively pioneering human resources training and development programmes to build a high-quality workforce.

The RBVH employs nearly 2.200 highly skilled engineers, 13 per cent of whom have Master’s or PhD certifications. Especially, female associates account for 28 per cent of the workforce, 9 per cent of whom are holding key positions although the technology field is not classically considered a “territory” for women.

A house of innovation

Innovation and creativity have always been top priorities in Bosch’s business strategy. For years, creative incentives for Bosch employees such as the Hackathon and Accelerator Program have been maintained in order to encourage innovative ideas among associates. This activity has green-lighted a series of new research and development projects, contributing to the creation of new business segments and adding values to domestic and international markets.

On a bigger scale, the RBVH has promoted innovation among young generation for many years. Since 2018, the centre has cooperated with Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) under Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology to hold startup competitions for the student community to seek innovative solutions regarding the Internet of Things (IoT).

In 2019, the RBVH accompanied Quang Trung Software City Incubator (QTSC Incubator) to launch the AIoT & Smart City Contest – a playground for startups in AI and IoT in Vietnam. In 2020, this centre has also sponsored the AI contest of Ho Chi Minh City (HAI-2020), seeking applicable AI solutions.

In addition, other innovation prgrammes for the young generation are carried out by the RBVH to fan their passion by providing creative playgrounds and cooperating with universities in training and incubating young talents.

10 years of quality in embedded software solutions

With the strength of automotive embedded software solutions, mechanical, and engineering solutions, software solutions, and digital solutions, the RBVH has developed and applied a series of big projects aimed at improving software for the automotive industry, building smart factories, digitising business processes, and keeping up with the 4.0 transformation process in Vietnam.

Notably, there are immediate solutions such as improving modern and smarter software solutions for cars, fast charging technology, and new materials, just to name a few. Consequently, the number of customers (loyal customers and new customers) and partners is already impressive and is increasing steadily each year, including SAP, Microsoft Dynamic 365, and some of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers.

The RBVH is providing engineering solutions, ideas for industrialisation, as well as expertise in all phases of product development.

Even in Vietnam, VinFast – a promising rookie in the car market – uses many accessories manufactured by Bosch thanks to their high quality, solutions, and customer service.

For many years, the growth rate of the RBVH has been consistently in the double digits, demonstrating the outstanding quality it delivers to customers and businesses in Vietnam and the region.

“In a decade of establishment, the combination of R&D efforts, innovation, high production capacity, and a dedicated workforce has leads us to success and created a home for nearly 2,200 engineers. In the upcoming years, we will continue driving growth, innovating products for Vietnam and the region, contributing to the 4.0 transformation, as well as building smart cities and bettering the quality of life for people,” said Baskaran Rakklappan, managing director of the RBVH.