Taking logistics in Sri Lanka to greater heights: Insights from Hayleys Advantis

The recent launch of Hayleys Advantis’ Venus international distribution centre in the Katunayake Export Processing Zone marks the opening of the largest and most sophisticated facility of its kind in Sri Lanka. Sprawled over eight acres, the state-of-the-art facility is equipped with 26 loading bays and fully automated dock doors. All this comes from a powerhouse which has operated behind the scenes, ensuring the uninterrupted distribution of their clients’ goods across the globe. They are one of the most diversified transportation and logistics providers in Sri Lanka.  However, the company has maintained a low profile during its journey of five decades in the industry. In this way, Hayleys Advantis’ footprint has quietly grown to cover multiple industries, influencing everything from the soap we buy to the car we drive. 

To chart some of this progress, Hayleys Advantis Managing Director Ruwan Waidyaratne offered some insight into the corporate giant powering the profitability of Hayleys 

Q: Advantis has made a name for itself in the country as well as the region as one of the leading players in the Transportation and Logistics industry of Sri Lanka. How has the past year been?

A: It has been a stellar year, one of revenue growth and operational expansion. We have achieved a compounded annual growth rate of over 28% over the past five years, while expanding our service portfolio to ensure that we cater to complex logistics requirements both in Sri Lanka and across the region. 

This helped us become the most sought after logistics provider in the country providing end-to-end solutions and the highest contributor to the Hayleys Group, the number one listed company in Sri Lanka.

Q: Going beyond the numbers, how has 2016 been for Advantis so far?

A: It has been a great year. We’ve acquired a bunkering company which leaves us with the largest bunker capacity in the nation. We are also strategically working towards capitalising on the Government’s initiative of making Sri Lanka a logistics mega hub with the expansion of the port sector. 

In addition, we have also made significant contributions to infrastructure development projects with the handling of several megaprojects. We also have expertise in handling oil rig movements and during 2016 we handled several rig moves for multinational clients. 

However, it is in third party logistics that we have done really, really well. We are by far the number one in the industry in Sri Lanka. We cater to many multinationals, being their end-to-end logistics provider catering to both inventory management and distribution. Our warehousing footprint exceeds 2.5 million square feet, while our distribution mileage in the island alone exceeds 9 million kilometres per annum. 

We are also the leader in the container conversions market, catering to diverse industry requirements and winning awards in consecutive years for innovative space solutions through our brand Convertainers®. Our ship operations have also performed really well this year, catering to some niche markets in the region and the international freight management operations have also expanded their footing, establishing a wide network of operators. Overall it has been an exciting year for Advantis and our performance has been great so far.

Q: It would seem hard to improve on these successes. What do you see next for Advantis?

A: Well as you can see we’ve built up our expertise here in Sri Lanka, and the way forward as we see it is to take this expertise and experience overseas. The strategy is to focus on maximising the performance of the businesses we’re in, whilst looking out for new opportunities. 

By assessing key strategic opportunities and developments overseas we’ve made acquisitions that have helped improve our bottom line. Our plan is to operate in strategic markets that will help us cater to our existing clients as well as expand our client base.

"Well as you can see we’ve built up our expertise here in Sri Lanka, and the way forward as we see it is to take this expertise and experience overseas. The strategy is to focus on maximising the performance of the businesses we’re in, whilst looking out for new opportunities"

Q: What current trends are you seeing in the industry and what do you see as the future of the industry?

A: With Government initiatives and investment to make the country a logistics mega hub we see great potential for the growth of logistics in Sri Lanka. The expansion of the port and the introduction of Free Zones have also helped the industry’s development. This is the reason behind us moving into the Free Zone business. We foresee it being a game changer for the logistics industry. We recently opened a new Free Zone facility in Katunayake, with ease of access to the sea and airports, that will be able to cater to diverse industries and international players. This will enable our clients to carry out green channel operations with optimal security and ease. 

Further improvements are expected in the industry with discussions taking place on simplifying processes, with suggestions made to make amendments to the customs ordinance. 

Furthermore, we are working with our industry bodies to make every endeavour to highlight the need of creating a single window IT platform that connects all stakeholders, which is a dire need for supply chain solutions to work effectively. This, if effectively adopted, will help Sri Lanka reach a true hub status.

Q: How is Advantis preparing for this future?

A:We are preparing for it by making sure we have the right people on our team. One of our best competitive advantages in the past has been our people and we are certain this will be true in the future as well. 

Our people are the ones who have continuously helped us stay ahead of the competition. To start with it is important to get good people on board and then invest in their training and development. 

In parallel we are improving our technology and introducing a set of best practices to improve efficiency and ensure continued customer satisfaction. We are also committed to developing the logistics industry as a whole in Sri Lanka. We do this by working closely with all universities and institutes that offer logistics-related studies, to help develop the next generation of logisticians.

Venus loading operation at the Advantis Free Zone