Showcasing the power of employee-led innovation, Hayleys Advantis Limited, the transportation and
logistics arm of the Hayleys Group, concluded Advantis Ideastorm 2.0 – the second season of the
ideation platform introduced in 2020 to boost innovative thinking across all levels of staff.
“Our leadership position in the Sri Lankan and regional transportation and logistics sector is built on
the unmatched knowledge and expertise of the Advantis team and the unique culture of innovation
that we have consistently nurtured. Particularly in the context of a historic economic downturn, our
ability to harness our team’s creativity to deliver maximum value has been the bedrock of our
continuing success. Therefore, we take great inspiration from the remarkably creative ideas that
emerged during Advantis Ideastorm 2.0, and take this opportunity to congratulate our winning
innovators, and look forward to putting their ideas into action,” Hayleys Advantis Managing Director
Ruwan Waidyaratne said.
Advantis Ideastorm empowers employees to deploy out-of-the-box thinking to create and hone
innovative solutions to real-world challenges. Similar to the previous cycle, the innovators of
Advantis Ideastorm 2.0 were challenged with developing strategic ideas under two categories:
Revenue Generation and Service Optimisation.
In the lead-up to the grand finale, many new initiatives were introduced this season to drive
innovative thinking. An ‘innovation hour’ was declared every Friday, solely dedicated to ideation. The
company also hosted an inspirational movie night with a special knowledge-sharing session featuring
guest speaker Heminda Jayaweera, an eminent innovator and entrepreneur, to inspire ingenuity and
creativity among staff. By the end of the ideation phase, over 50 innovative proposals were
submitted for evaluation.
Participants were given one month to submit comprehensive proposals, which were evaluated by
two preliminary judging rounds by the Heads of Advantis Business and Service Units, and the
Advantis Group Management Committee (GMC), respectively. Notably, this year’s judging panel was
also expanded to infuse fresh youth-led perspectives into the evaluation process and further elevate
the creativity of the final proposals.
Moreover, the finalists of the top 15 teams were privy to a one-day boot camp conducted by
sought-after start-up mentor and external consultant for Advantis Ideastorm, Dr Nirmal De Silva.
The session took a deep dive into the submission process and studied the validation of assumptions
made while fine-tuning the pitches further.
Held at the Kingsbury Hotel, the Advantis Ideastorm grand finale closely resembles the well-known
reality television series for aspiring entrepreneurs, Shark Tank. Each team was given 10 minutes to
pitch their ideas, with judges given five minutes to clarify their positions.
“The ideas this season are far more sophisticated and ambitious. This speaks to our employees’
passion and unmatched dedication and further validates our commitment to nurturing a culture of
innovation across our organisation,” emphasised Virendra Perera, Chief Strategy Officer of Hayleys
Advantis Limited.
This season’s prestigious Gold Award was won by Team Advantis Ships which included Jeevaka
Gunadheera, Capt. Mahendra Ranatunga, Lilip Sanjeewa, Maazud Marzook and Surindha De Abrew
for an innovative shipping solution. The Silver Award was won by Team Advantis 3PL Plus,
comprised of Isuru Jayasooriya, Sagara Perera, Ushan Rathnayake, Dilmi Fernando and Dayal
Sandanayake. Meanwhile, the Bronze Award was won by Team Advantis 3PL Plus, which included
Malaka Yattigala, Nayani Rathnasiri, Kasun Bandara, Pradeep Alwis and Lahiru Udawatta. Merit
Awards were also presented to six teams.
“Advantis Ideastorm 2.0 encouraged us to identify and capture opportunities for innovation. It has
been a challenging process, but it has also been a unique and empowering one for the entire team to
be given the space to think creatively and systematically collaborate towards solving real-world
challenges,” said the Leader of the Gold Award-winning team, Jeevaka Gunadheera.
Hayleys Advantis is Sri Lanka’s most diversified transportation and logistics provider, with over six
decades of regional experience and operations. Backed by the blue-chip multinational conglomerate
Hayleys PLC, Hayleys Advantis is at the forefront of the logistics industry providing end-to-end
solutions covering Integrated Logistics, Projects and Engineering, Marine and Energy, International
Freight Management and Aviation. It is committed to innovating the industry, setting the pace and
shaping the logistics sector.
Advantis Managing Director and Hayleys Group Executive Director Ruwan Waidyaratnen presenting the Silver Award to Sagara Perera, Dayal Sandanayake, Isuru Jayasooriya, Ushan Rathnayake and Dilmi Fernando
Waidyaratnen oresenting the Bronze Award to Pradeep Alwis, Kasun Bandara, Nayani Rathnasiri,Malaka Yattigala and Lahiru Udawatte