Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1138801
04.07.19 10 INTERVIEW 'We aim to grow into one of the eCabs is a household brand in the local transport industry. Its impressive growth and significant operational footprint make it the first private company to reach high standards in service provision and technology application in the sector. BUSINESS TODAY met the company's CEO, Mahew Bezzina, for an insight into how his business evolved into the leading transport solutions provider in Malta with internationalisation aspirations MASSIMO COSTA What was the idea behind eCabs, which started out as a new taxi company and has evidently turned itself into major operation within a short span of time? Our idea was born out of the blend of two elements: firstly our academic formation in business and law which enabled us to structure our approach to problems and secondly our vision for shaping a business which uses technology to revolutionise a sec- tor conspicuous for its failings and shoddy service. The idea can be easily summed up into an aspiration to be a prime mover in the solution to what was already becoming a huge traffic problem. We wanted to provide a fea- sible personal transportation alterna- tive to people and kick-start a change in culture and mentality. Today 10 years down the line we look back with pride and satisfaction, but we also look forward to the next revolution we want to trigger. Which growth path did eCabs follow, and what is the secret behind being successful in this industry? Like many other successful ven- tures, we faced a tall order of chal- lenges along the way. If I had to pin down one critical success factor that is at the heart of our growth results was the nexus between our vision, the commercial strategy and the imple- mentation of our business plan. Com- ing from the tightly knit logistics envi- ronment, for us planning is a religion which we practice at all levels of our company: from the boardroom all the way through to our facilities manage- ment function. Equally important was our re-investment culture. We were never after enjoying the fruits of our labour by reaping them but by re-in- vesting every single penny back into the business to make it stronger, more resilient and future ready. eCabs taxis are a common sight on Maltese roads, so your capacity must be significant. How many cabs are there in your fleet, and how many workers do you employ? Our fleet, running into hundreds of cabs, is by far the largest owned in Malta and certainly the most dynamic one in terms of growth, diversity and refresh. However, the fleet is merely a tool in our business and its heart is our vibrant workforce. We employ over 700 individuals across all de- partments each of which has a crucial function in the value chain of eCabs. Our logistics centre team runs the op- eration with clinical precision, based on a technology platform developed and supported by our brilliant tech team which provides both consum- er apps for booking and driver apps for service fulfilment by our highly trained and competent drivers, all of which are supported by our call centre operators. This is the beauty of eCabs: the ability to deliver change in mobili- ty by bringing people together. Driving past Regional Road one can see a digital map of Malta in your offices. What is this for? Well…that is the melting pot of our operations, our logistics and control centre which operates on a 24x7 ba- sis and run at exceptional efficiency levels intended to optimise service levels and our operational capacity. At any point in time our control cen- tre is manned by around 20 people who handle all the incoming book- ings and requests that come through our website, through email, phone, social media or our mobile app. The control centre gives us the visibility in real time of all our fleet and the IT platform enables our operators and drivers by devising the best route pos- sible for them. Under this bonnet lies a complex web of algorithms to opti- mise all of this operation in real-time even at the peak operational levels. You regularly emphasise that you make use of "smart technology". What is this, and how is technology incorporated in the way eCabs operates? From day one, I have always looked at eCabs as a technology company en- abling passenger transport solutions to address congestion challenges in Malta. It is true that we move people but what differentiates us from other operators is that in our case, IT lies at the heart of our vision and can be considered to be the nervous system of our operation. As a matter of fact, our intellectual property has grown to the extent that we are now spinning off our ICT operations into a dedi- cated company in order to enable it to provide services to third parties, locally and internationally. With this in mind, when we describe our tech- nology as 'smart', we mean that the technology is an intelligent one that is constantly aggregating the mobility data that we have been accumulating over the years to improve the services that we offer. What is your opinion of foreign workers in Malta, and do you face challenges retaining workers? Today, the talk of 'foreign workers' needs to stop. There is no such thing as 'foreign' workers. There are workers who decide to make Malta their home, they decide to commit to working and they work. The challenge is not to re- tain workers but to find workers who are committed enough to enter this sector. At eCabs, we have an encour- aging number of non-Maltese workers with us who receive continuous train- ing, assisted by our technology and communications infrastructure. As we speak, we are striving to widen the