Ruwan Waidyaratne, Managing Director of the Advantis Group, a leading provider of transportation and logistics services to multinational and major Sri Lankan companies, shares insights into its successes amidst challenging global and domestic economic headwinds.
Advantis, initially established as the shipping arm of Hayleys PLC, has significantly expanded its service offerings to cater to the growing demands of its clients. Today, Advantis provides endto-end solutions in Integrated Logistics, Projects & Engineering, Marine & Energy, International Freight Management and Travel & Aviation to clients across multiple regional markets. The Company’s diverse range of services caters to various sectors, making it an ideal partner for businesses seeking comprehensive transportation and logistics solutions.
“The decision to diversify into third-party logistics and expand regionally were crucial turning points for Advantis, allowing us to move beyond our traditional agency business model and better serve the needs of our key clients across diverse markets,” Waidyaratne ponders.
In this interview with Echelon, Waidyaratne discusses how Advantis today is a robust end-to-end logistics solutions provider, underpinned by a purpose-driven ethos and an unwavering commitment to meeting the needs of its clients, marking its success as a leading player in its respective sector. Excerpts of the interview are as follows, and he begins by defining Advantis’ purpose:
Advantis shifted its focus from a vision-based to a purpose-driven organization a few years ago. This decision was based on the understanding that a vision tends to primarily cater to a few stakeholders, focusing on creating shareholder value. In contrast, a purpose is more inspiring to the majority of our stakeholders, including our employees, customers, suppliers, and partners.
After careful consideration, we established that our purpose would be to Inspire, Connect and Enrich. Our purpose permeates every aspect of our business as we strive to provide inspired solutions for the complex and diverse needs of our stakeholders, connect people with growth opportunities and enrich every life we touch by going beyond. This was especially evident during crisis times when our employees continued to serve our clients amidst a myriad of challenges to ensure that supply chains never faltered and continued to function seamlessly. At Advantis, meeting the needs of our customers is our top priority. We are not simply selling products or services, but rather, providing comprehensive solutions that are unique and tailored to our clientele.
Overall, this shift towards a purpose-driven organization has resonated with all of our stakeholders, from our employees to our customers and shareholders. By prioritising our purpose, we have created a sense of inspiration and fulfilment that sets us apart from other businesses.
How has Advantis contributed to transforming our economy over the years, and how is it continuing to do so today?
Let me start with an example, particularly one that transpired during the pandemic when the entire supply chain was thrown into disarray. Despite the harsh economic conditions and fuel shortages, our Company provided uninterrupted services to our customers throughout the lockdown period, thereby highlighting the essentiality of supply chains, not just locally but globally, and the ease with which they can be disrupted. These events underscore the significance of the services we provide and our noteworthy contributions to the economy.
If we reflect on the shipping and freight forwarding vertical of our business, our role in bolstering the transshipment volumes handled in Sri Lanka and the import-export industry, in general, has been pivotal. We are a significant player in the industry because we represent a few main lines in Sri Lanka, contributing to a large portion of the throughput handled by the Port of Colombo. We have not only provided exceptional services but also served as a thought leader by participating in industry bodies, contributing to government policies, and sharing best practices with other organizations and peers, which has contributed significantly to the economy.
Furthermore, our regional expansion has had a profound impact on the economy by infusing much-needed foreign exchange into the country. We were one of the first logistics companies in Sri Lanka to expand globally, and our presence in the region has been a major contributor to the economy. In conclusion, our efforts have made a tangible difference, and we remain committed to providing indispensable services that will help drive the economy forward.
As a global company, you frequently confront and contend with challenges on a global scale. What are the challenges confronting you today, and how have you built resilience into the Company to deal with these, driving growth and unlocking opportunities with innovation?
Globally, the economy is in a state of lull, with a slowdown particularly noticeable in China and the US. This has led to an oversupply of capacity, particularly in shipping, and as a result, freight rates have dropped dramatically. However, analysts predict that by the end of the year, the situation will gradually improve. While the global climate may be negative, in the regional markets where we operate, we see growth potential. Economies such as India and Bangladesh are projected to grow by over 5% in the next couple of years, presenting an opportunity for us.
Another global phenomenon that we have observed is nearshoring, particularly in the US and Europe. Brands are seeking to relocate their production closer to home, and we are well-positioned to facilitate such initiatives, including factory relocations. Through our Projects and Engineering Cluster, we have provided project logistics for multiple factory relocations, demonstrating our capacity to serve this market. Agility is key in addressing these challenges, and our clients expect flexibility in the supply chain. Gone are the days when we could depend on a single market; we must be nimble, ready to adapt our strategies and respond quickly.
The pandemic highlighted the importance of agility in supply chains. During this period, we had to move quickly to transport personal protective equipment from Sri Lanka to markets in Europe and the US. With no regular passenger airline services available, we converted passenger aircraft into cargo carriers, allowing us to transport goods effectively. Our clients expect nothing less from a logistics provider, particularly one that specialises in inspired solutions. We remain vigilant, keeping an ear to the ground, and responding rapidly to the needs of our clients.
What do you think gives you the edge in these markets?
In the freight forwarding industry, there are many other global players operating in these markets as well. However, our success in regional markets lies in our ability to localise as much as possible from the beginning. This is an advantage that many global companies do not have. We can adapt to the local environment quickly because of our localisation strategy.
Our approach in most markets is to go in with a local partner, such as a joint venture partner. Additionally, a significant portion of our staff members in regional markets are locals, not Sri Lankans. This allows us to respond to local environmental factors expeditiously.
Two more key competitive advantages we have are our people and our diversity. As an organisation, we are diverse and operate in multiple verticals, which some global companies do not. Our people become a key differentiating factor in all the businesses we operate in. It is always the right people that make the difference.
In summary, our ability to localise in regional markets, our diverse and talented team, and our operation in multiple verticals are key differentiators that set us apart from the competition.
How are you steering the Company through the crisis, and can you tell us how Advantis is making a difference by doing what it does best?
The Company’s commitment to innovation and efficiency is deeply ingrained in our DNA, helping us unlock opportunities for our customers in the markets we operate. To maintain our competitive edge, we continually strive to provide our customers with value-added services to help them push their boundaries, reduce costs, increase efficiency, and ultimately serve their end consumers better.
Crises inevitably affect our people the most, so we have taken steps to alleviate hardships, providing affordable transportation and essential goods to our employees. By taking care of our people, they can focus on taking care of our customers’ needs. Our commitment to employees, and encouraging and empowering them to embrace change, seize opportunities, and think creatively are key to our success.
As an organization, our top priority is to take care of our people by providing constant training, motivation, and encouragement to explore new opportunities and ways to foster growth, especially during times of crisis. Our team responds to these challenges with optimism and a proactive attitude, viewing them as unique opportunities to innovate and advance. By prioritising our purpose to inspire, connect, and enrich, we have created a sense of fulfilment and inspiration that distinguishes us from other businesses.
What is your people strategy? Tell us about the people who are driving Advantis’ phenomenal growth?
When it comes to organizational culture, we take great pride in ours, which was established by our founders but has been shaped by our people over the past 60 years. We believe that the only way to preserve such a culture is to create it continuously. Last year, we launched the Advantis DNA, an initiative led by employees to diagnose our culture. We did not want management to dictate what our culture is, but rather to ask our employees what they thought of it. This was one of the first employee-led diagnoses of culture conducted in Sri Lanka, revealing some key elements of our culture.
As a part of Advantis DNA, we recently launched our values: trust, opportunity, celebration, care, and humility. These values truly resonate with who we are as an organization. Trust is fundamental, as we believe it is the highest form of human motivation. We trust each other and in turn, we win the trust of our customers and stakeholders. We always look for opportunities, even in the most challenging situations, and provide opportunities for our employees to grow. We genuinely care for our people and the environment, as evidenced by our actions during the economic crisis and the pandemic. We celebrate even small successes and remain humble, acknowledging that we are always willing to learn.
Our culture is reflected in all of our employees. We are proud of our unique organizational culture and the values we uphold, which make us who we are. In representation of the above, Advantis as well as its subsidiaries, have received multiple accolades from the Great Place to Work Institute® such as the 70 Best Workplaces in Asia, 50 Best Workplaces in Sri Lanka as well as one of the Best Workplaces in the Logistics and Transportation Industry.
Our integrated logistics, projects and engineering, and marine and energy clusters have growth plans for the short to medium term, with the ultimate goal of becoming a global player. Therefore, moving beyond the region is the next step for our organization
What are your plans for growth, and what do you envision for the Company in the long term?
In the near future, our primary objective is to expand rapidly within the region. Despite a slowdown due to the pandemic, we entered Thailand this year and are eager to continue our expansion across the region. Our goal is to have all of our business verticals present in every regional market we operate.
Currently, we have five clusters in our organization, including integrated logistics, marine and energy, projects and engineering, international freight management as well as travel and aviation. Therefore, we aim to expand the penetration of all logistics solutions we provide in Sri Lanka into the regional markets we operate in, with a particular focus on integrated logistics solutions.
We have significant expansion plans for warehousing in Sri Lanka, demonstrated by the completion of the Advantis Logistics City. As a regional hub, we aim to capitalise on India’s rapid growth by focusing our efforts on it. Our integrated logistics, projects and engineering, and marine and energy clusters have growth plans for the short to medium term, with the ultimate goal of becoming a global player. Therefore, moving beyond the region is the next step for our organization.