Abans Group’s digital initiatives in logistics with KloudIP wins 1st Place at Telematics Conference

The Telematics Conference in Colombo, held on 22 January, saw Abans Group of Companies being awarded 1st Place for driving innovation in the use of telematics and for optimal utilisation of KloudIP’s wide array of platforms. KloudIP is a comprehensive suite of telematics solutions, being used across diverse sectors and over five hundred businesses in 

Sri Lanka.

Abans Group Digital Lead Jerastin Dubash delivered an address at this event, touching upon Abans Group’s strategy to utilise digital tools and platforms to streamline fleet management operations. Jerastin further stressed on the importance for Abans Group, as a leading Sri Lankan conglomerate, to keep pace with technological revolutions, and so the digital evolution of the Group is considered as a key strategic priority. In 2011, Abans Logistics was the first to embark on an experimental partnership with KloudIP. Now, over 200 vehicles are being monitored across all of the Group’s companies through KloudIP’s GPS tracking and fuel tracking platforms. Abans PLC, the Group’s parent company, has 393 electronics and household appliance showrooms around the country, and over 150 authorised dealers. So, at any given time, there are over 70 vehicles conducting deliveries. Inevitably, delivery delays take place due to traffic, weather conditions, unavailability of store and showroom staff, etc.

In July 2019, Abans PLC commenced work with KloudIP to implement an automated delivery SMS that would be sent to showroom managers once a vehicle has been dispatched from the warehouse, and to subsequent showroom delivery locations. The SMS communication, which includes a live tracking option for the delivery vehicle, gives showroom staff enough time and information to get their unloading teams assembled. This SMS communication, enabled through the KloudIP FiOS system, has gone on to drastically reduce the amount of phone calls and e-mails which the warehouse teams have to send while conducting deliveries on-route.

The size and mix of delivery loads can vary a great deal in the electronics and household goods retail business – some loads can include large side-by-side refrigerators along with small cartons of Pyrex glassware. Planning for these load variations is a major challenge for the warehouse personnel to ensure that showroom demand is met with vehicle availability. Using KloudIP’s Logistic platform’s load planning functionality has begun to help the Abans warehouse teams streamline deliveries and ensure maximum vehicle utilisation. 

For more than 50 years, Abans Group has worked on a simple vision to ‘Keep enhancing tomorrow for every Sri Lankan’. They have been able to do this through their vast array of products and services that have empowered people to their own unique Way To Life. To keep serving our customers better, Abans Group continues to evolve in the face of new technology and is dedicated to a journey of digital transformation. Abans Group’s unprecedented usage of KloudIP’s platforms is one of the ways the Group will continue to push the boundaries of telematics and fleet management in Sri Lanka.