Amazon says AI is reshaping Southeast Asia’s export model

This article summarizes an episode of Vietnam Innovator Digest’s video series  featuring Larry Hu, head of Amazon Global Selling for Southeast Asia.

Larry Hu, head of Amazon Global Selling for Southeast Asia / Photo credit: Vietnam Innovators Digest

The barrier to global trade has fallen so low that a single person using generative AI can now run a multinational export business. Larry Hu, head of Amazon Global Selling for Southeast Asia, argues that this “one-person exporter” model is reshaping traditional manufacturing hubs across the region.

For Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, the shift means stripping power away from foreign middlemen. It completely changes who manages the software, who speaks directly to the buyer, and, ultimately, who owns the name on the box.

While Vietnam serves as the case study for this transformation, its success offers a powerful blueprint for factories throughout the broader region to bypass legacy supply chains.

Owning a brand name is the new way to sell overseas

Taking ownership of that name on the box is becoming a survival tactic as factories in Vietnam watch traditional manufacturing margins shrink. The historical fear that building local brands would alienate foreign wholesale buyers is fading.

Protecting local brands is becoming increasingly important as Vietnam reaches a turning point in exports. Hu argues, “More export is actually driven by the B2C model,” noting that e-commerce platforms have removed many restrictions and significantly lowered the barriers to entry compared to traditional B2B trade.

Hu notes that Vietnamese enrollment in the Amazon Brand Registry jumped by 30% last year, driving a 60% surge in local sellers surpassing US$1 million in annual revenue.

Selling online cuts out the brokers

Operating under registered brands allows manufacturers to bypass middlemen and regain control over pricing and customer feedback. The shift is spreading across farming towns and industrial parks throughout Vietnam.

Selling directly also means raw materials must become consumer-ready products. Hu points to Vida Farm, which stopped exporting raw ingredients and instead branded Vietnamese herbal tea for Western buyers, helping the company better understand customer preferences.

Physical products often require redesigns for global delivery. Green Mekong, a longtime furniture manufacturer, reengineered how products were folded and packaged to fit standard delivery trucks, allowing the company to sell directly overseas.

Amazon data gives makers a clear plan for new products

Selling directly also means manufacturers can no longer rely on brokers to decide what products to build. Hu argues that instinct alone is no longer enough when platforms can reveal global shopping behavior in real time.

Replacing that intuition requires data-driven market research. Hu questions how a manufacturer starting from an OEM or B2B background would generate new product ideas.

“Traditionally, they come from foreign buyers, instructions from a procurement officer… or instinct. There hadn’t been a scientific framework for Vietnamese manufacturers to build products with the help of big data,” Hu says.

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