Hayleys Advantis Limited, the transportation and logistics arm of the Hayleys Group, has successfully
completed its first-ever Group-wide ideation programme–‘Advantis Ideastorm’ – to boost innovative
thinking across all levels of staff from entry level to senior leadership.
The ideation platform was created mainly to encourage employees to brainstorm and come up with
new ideas to enrich existing businesses and introduce new business verticals adjacent to the core
businesses. Revenue Generation and Service Optimisation in terms of cost, quality or time were the
two categories under which employees were required to develop their submissions. These initiatives
are expected to help Hayleys Advantis to elevate their competitiveness in the marketplace and
improve their overall productivity.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of ‘Advantis Ideastorm’ and are highly impressed with the
standard of ideas presented. This programme not only underpins our drive in creating a culture
which fosters friendly competition, but it also encourages our staff to think out-of-the box and pitch
new business ideas, giving them the opportunity and freedom to be creative and innovative.” said
Ruwan Waidyaratne – Managing Director – Hayleys Advantis Limited.
Launched as a Group-wide online live event, ‘Advantis Ideastorm’ was successfully concluded with
over 160 ideas being submitted amongst over 230 participants. The preliminary rounds were judged
by a 10-member panel comprising of Strategic Business Unit and Support Service Unit Heads, with
the top 25 ideas being shortlisted. The next round was evaluated by the Members of the Group
Management Committee of Hayleys Advantis, rounding off the top 15 ideas.
During the final round the 15 teams presented their ideas to the panel of judges comprising of six
members of the Hayleys Advantis Board: Ruwan Waidyaratne, Upul Peiris, Asanka Ratnayake, Sarath
Ganegoda, Sriyamal Gamage and Shano Sabar, while Dr. Nirmal De Silva, serving as a consultant for
‘Advantis Ideastorm’, acted as an external judge for the final round.
Winners of the prestigious Gold Award were Sadna Dissanayake and Lakshika Porage of Corporate
Business Excellence, whilst Dilini Dissanayake and Aruni Perera of Corporate Business Development
secured the Silver Award. Maazud Marzook, Lilip Sanjeewa, Asanka Bodhirathna, Roshan Medonza
and Andrew Tan of Advantis Ships were awarded the Bronze Award. In addition to the main awards,
six other teams were presented with Merit Awards.
The most feasible ideas will be implemented during the upcoming financial year, with the support of
the top management. This successful initiative is expected to pave the way for innovative thinking across the Hayleys Advantis Group, whilst encouraging its employees to be proactive in doing things
differently.
Representing the transportation and logistics interests of the blue-chip multinational conglomerate,
Hayleys PLC, Hayleys Advantis is a pioneer and trend-setter in the logistics industry. Backed by over
six decades of experience and operations spanning across the Asian region, today Advantis offers a
comprehensive range of end-to-end logistics solutions for air, land and sea.
Established in 1878 by Chas. P. Hayley as a trading house in Galle specialising in import and export,
the Hayleys Group has since grown to serve as a centerpiece of the Sri Lankan economy whilst
maintaining a global presence of manufacturing and marketing offices across five regions with
business interests spanning a total of 16 sectors. Today, it stands out as one of Sri Lanka’s most
prominent success stories, having been the first listed Sri Lankan corporate to surpass US$ 1 billion
in revenue and accounting for 3.3% of the nation’s total export earnings.

Chairman and Chief Executive, Mohan Pandithage

Executive Director, Sarath Ganegoda

(not present in the picture) receiving the Bronze Award from the Managing Director of Hayleys
Advantis Group & Hayleys PLC Executive Director, Ruwan Waidyaratne