Blog and info about business Sweden-Sri Lanka
Today Secretary General Leif Ohlson and our two associates Fiona Burton & Ander Seidel met with Michael Koch, Oscar Tollin & Madeleine Stille from Kommerskollegium | National Board of Trade Sweden.
Very informative and inspiring meeting.
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, as with many other industries, hit rock bottom with the successive impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis. Analogous to a half-cut tree trying to sprout leaves and grow, the tourism sector underwent a recovery phase last year.
At present, with comprehensive 360-degree promotional campaigns being implemented by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) and a significant number of tourists arriving on the island, an opportunity has arisen for the nation in the field of medical tourism.
According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the percentage of tourists visiting Sri Lanka for health/ayurvedic treatment in relation to overall monthly arrivals over the past six months shows positive growth.
Colombo International Tea Convention – 24th to 26th July 2024, Sri Lanka
“Tea, a lifestyle & a Livelihood” – the Colombo International Tea Convention will be held from 24th to 26th July 2024 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The Convention is for tea manufactures, exporters and importers, researchers, tea influencers/ bloggers and tea lovers from all over the world. The convention is expected to be a platform for conversation, thinking, and action on globally applicable, sustainable solutions for uplifting the diverse and unique tea communities and tea-growing beverage industry environments across the world.
The following link has more information and registration details:https://ceylonteaevents.com/
For two years, preparatory work and planning went on to replace and upgrade a majority of Helsingborg’s port’s digital systems. And after just two months, many of the most important metrics are back at the same levels as before the shift. According to IT manager Sanjin Redzepagic, collaboration and careful inventory have been two of the success factors for the successful transition.
We have changed pretty much our entire system flora at one and the same time. We have been working for over two years on this implementation and went live with everything in one day, and apart from an expected decrease in productivity in the first time, everything has gone well, says Sanjin Redzepagic, IT manager, Helsingborgs Hamn.
COORDINATION BIG CHALLENGE
Business systems, terminal systems, financial systems, container handling systems – everything has been replaced. In total, it is about 200 employees at the Port of Helsingborg who, together with approximately 500 to 1000 customers, have received new digital workspaces.
All customers have received new customer pages and all truck drivers now manage the delivery and collection of goods with an app instead of paper and pen, to name a few of the changes.
– It was an enormous amount of work to map all processes and functions. The big challenge was to coordinate everything, not least because so many meetings were only managed digitally. The fact that we recast our IT department a few years ago to have a greater focus on business development and to become more involved in the processes of each business has been decisive for the success of this major shift.
NEW HARBOR WITHIN FIVE YEARS
The background to the system change is that the entire port is to be successively modernized with the hope that Helsingborg will have a completely new port sometime before 2030. It is part of the goal of becoming ”the most modern port in the Nordics”.
– It’s not just about having modern technology gadgets and gadgets at our disposal; it is at least as much about us having the most satisfied employees and about being an important, climate-smart playing partner for all the social actors we are in contact with. We are also part of Helsingborg’s investment in the smart city.
SAME FIGURES – AFTER TWO MONTHS
Sanjin Redzepagic is satisfied that the system change is done, and that you now have time to continue screwing, updating and adjusting. In the beginning, there were some things that went wrong, not least what is called Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which helps transfer information about, for example, inventory balances and order confirmations between different systems.
– Even though we were well prepared, it is a big change. But already two months later, we are back to the same figures as before the introduction, for example regarding how long it takes from the time a truck is here until all goods are loaded. I’m sitting in this now and I see on my screen that the average time is 22 minutes, which is exactly what it was before we went live. It’s amazing when you consider the impact this has had on all our employees and customers.
What tips do you have for those who are going to undergo similar, large system replacements?
– Know your business well, involve the right skills, and be thorough in the inventory. If it’s something that will affect users and customers outside of the business itself, make it a priority to address their feedback and fix issues they discover.
NEXT STEP: AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
The next step in the port update work for Sanjin Redzepagic and his colleagues is to test autonomous vehicles that could speed up the process of loading and unloading ships. Customer benefit and sustainability are in focus.
– Together with a number of other companies, we are testing how autonomous vehicles would function in such a varied environment as a port is. The sustainability and climate issue is important to us, and we introduced the first electric truck as recently as February this year. We are probably one of the first ports in the world to do that.
https://voister.se/artikel/2024/03/succe-for-helsingborgs-hamns-stora-it-systemskifte
Interesting article.
A recent India-Sri Lanka agreement for constructing renewable energy systems in three islands off the Jaffna coast reaffirms India’s domination of the sector.
On March 1, the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, the Government of Sri Lanka, and U-Solar Clean Energy Solutions from India signed an agreement for the construction of hybrid renewable energy systems on Nainativu, Delft (Neduntheevu), and Analaitivu islands situated in the Palk Bay. The three facilities which will have a combined renewable energy capacity of 2,230 kilowatts will be funded by a $11 million grant from the Indian government.
https://thediplomat.com/2024/03/the-india-factor-in-sri-lankas-renewable-energy-sector/
Paradise
April 2022, Sri Lanka is imploding as a result of a political crisis. Young Indian director Kesav takes his wife Amritha to an island paradise to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary. He thinks that it is cheaper to travel as a tourist and that they are doing the locals a favor. But their journey takes an unexpected turn that reveals cracks in their relationship.
Prasanna Vithanage is undoubtedly one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent directors today. His latest film Paradise shows his ability to examine the balance of power both on a private and collective level.
https://www.biljettkiosken.se/event/240321-asiatiskaff-paradise_qa
8th Feb Sweden Sri Lanka Business Council – SSLBC arranged an extended members meeting. Plus 60 Swedish and Sri Lankan business people met for dinner and a speech by former Swedish ambassador Lars-Olof Lindgren. Honorary General Consul Sanjay Kulatange was one of the guests as well. Secretary General Leif I Ohlson welcomed the guests and mentioned that this year Sweden and Sri Lanka celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations and that the council wanted to kickstart this important year.
Ambassador Lindgren spoke about the strong relations between the two countries and also looked into the future.
Later this year Swedish Embassy in New Dehli will arrange an event in Colombo to celebrate more officially.
Pics by nilanthaphotography@gmail.com
Pics by nilanthaphotography@gmail.com
