"Go Peacefully and Return Happy" Bus Trips

Applying technology to connect customers and help transportation businesses operate effectively, CEO Phan Ba Manh and the An Vui team have helped both customers and carriers have safe and happy trips. Not only serving domestic businesses, he is also working to expand abroad.

Businessman Phan Ba Manh, General Director of An Vui Technology Joint Stock Company.

Turning the tables with technology

Inter Bus Lines is a tourist bus brand chosen by many customers when they intend to visit Sa Pa town (Lao Cai). In the transportation industry, Inter Bus Lines is also one of the leading enterprises, with more than 100 buses and an average occupancy rate of about 87% per trip.

In the memory of businessman Phan Ba Manh, there was an Inter Bus Lines very different from the present. In July 2017, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Chairman of Inter Bus Lines, intended to stop the bus company. The reason was that despite applying software provided by an intermediary ticket sales company, Inter Bus Lines still did not operate effectively. On the Internet, Inter Bus Lines was a vague brand, impersonated by other entities for profit. In terms of business, Inter Bus Lines recorded low actual revenue, due to capital being appropriated by agents, while the number of tickets sold was not small. In particular, the company faced the risk of depending on an exclusive agent, who was also the party holding the ticket sales software.

Seeing a problem that he could solve, An Vui approached Inter Bus Lines, offering to provide a technology platform for the bus company, with the only condition being: “If Inter Bus Lines’ business efficiency increases by 10 dong, An Vui will receive 1 dong”. At that time, An Vui had just launched for less than a month, specializing in comprehensive management solutions for long-distance bus companies.

Absolutely do not burn money to buy users, but must use a long-term strategy combining technology and deep understanding of the industry as a competitive advantage.

- Businessman Phan Ba Manh

Inter Bus Lines agreed to let An Vui introduce a solution to replace the old software system. First, it was to build a website system according to Inter Bus Lines' brand identity and standardize it to meet SEO standards. Next, An Vui supported Inter Bus Lines in building an online ticket booking application so that the business could proactively develop a loyal customer base. In addition, An Vui also helped Inter Bus Lines develop a sales channel management software, from which the bus company could proactively expand its ticket sales channels through agents and control capital misappropriation.

In the following 2 years, Inter Bus Lines' revenue increased by 200%; the number of employees decreased by 1/3. The cost that Inter Bus Lines had to pay An Vui, if calculated according to the initial cooperation commitment, could be up to 100 million VND/month. Therefore, An Vui adjusted the cost according to the features that Inter Bus Lines used. The first customer, Inter Bus Lines, also helped An Vui improve the product every day.

“Inter Bus Lines is the clearest proof that strong transformation through technology applications can help transport businesses turn around their business situation,” said a representative of An Vui.

"Go Peacefully and Return Happy" Trips

Up to now, after 7 years, Inter Bus Lines is still a loyal customer of An Vui. In addition, An Vui has about 400 more customers, most of which are large transportation brands such as Kumho Samco, Son Tung, Hao Huong, Bac Son... In 2023, the An Vui system recorded more than 9 million tickets sold to the market, equivalent to ticket sales revenue of 400 billion VND.

CEO Phan Ba Manh estimates that 80% of the Vietnamese passenger transport market is in the hands of 20% of large transport companies. Among these large transport companies, An Vui has cooperated with 50% of them, becoming the leading name in the market for technology solutions for long-distance transport companies.

“The entire business operation process is automated. Businesses can manage by the second, from the number of tickets sold, remaining tickets, travel schedules, cash flow, losses, and profits. An Vui software helps bus companies save 10-15% of operating costs and increase ticket sales revenue by 15-30%, thanks to providing scientific communication and interaction tools between departments,” the CEO born in 1981 affirmed.

For small transport businesses, so that they are not “left behind” in the digital transformation race, from the beginning of 2022, An Vui will coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to implement a free software initialization program for bus companies owning less than 5 vehicles. For each trip, An Vui collects 5,000 VND from the bus companies.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted transportation businesses, putting them at risk of bankruptcy or ceasing operations due to lack of customers and insufficient maintenance costs. This is the motivation for An Vui to implement this support program, joining hands with transportation businesses to overcome challenges,” CEO Phan Ba Manh shared.

On the customer side, when transportation businesses apply technology to management, they can book tickets more easily, no longer have to wait in line to buy tickets, can proactively choose seats, and are not crowded or jostled, especially during holidays and Tet.

Phan Ba Manh understands the pain of passengers who have to travel long distances by car. 10 years ago, after a failed business project, 30-year-old Phan Ba Manh lost all his capital. He backpacked and wandered across the country to find motivation and opportunities.

On that journey of thousands of miles, he encountered many difficulties due to lack of information and lack of online ticket booking tools; even when he had booked a ticket, he often got on the wrong bus or was dropped off at the wrong destination… From here, the idea of “safe and happy” trips for both customers and transportation businesses was born.

For a transparent “ticket industry”

In a conversation with a reporter from Dau Tu Newspaper, CEO Phan Ba Manh passionately talked about his goal, which is to build a transparent “ticket industry” that reduces loss and waste for the whole society. From the initial management platform aimed at road transport enterprises, An Vui’s technology has been applied to other industries such as selling movie tickets, train tickets, tickets to tourist attractions, etc.

However, Phan Ba Manh never forgets the difficulties that led An Vui to where it is today. To the point that he admits that, with his current understanding, if given the opportunity, he is not sure he would dare to start building An Vui again.

He once simply thought that the Vietnamese long-distance transport market, worth billions of dollars and not yet professionally operated, would be an opportunity for businesses that knew how to apply technology to operations and business. He was also confident that he had a good enough product for the market to accept. But the more he worked, the more he realized that the biggest difficulty did not come from the product or the market, but the problem was how to change the perception of the carriers.

According to him, most of the leaders of transport companies have grown up as drivers or assistant drivers. They have struggled with the thorns of the market, tacitly accepting loss and waste as an inevitable part, and are even willing to pay unofficial fees rather than invest in technology. Therefore, An Vui’s only way is to persevere in persuading, not giving up when customers repeatedly say “no”.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, An Vui was in a precarious situation. CEO Phan Ba Manh had to exclaim, “This is a once-in-a-century challenge for businesses”. All transportation businesses that are An Vui’s customers had to stop operating due to social distancing, causing the company’s revenue to drop to zero within a year. Although fortunately receiving 2 rounds of investment capital from VinaCapital Fund in 2019 and Hustle Fund in 2020, An Vui still struggled with the problem of finding a way to survive.

At this time, CEO Phan Ba Manh realized that it was difficult for large businesses to survive, and it was also difficult for small businesses to survive. Only businesses that were flexible and adaptive could survive.

He drastically reduced the sales department from 20 people to 2 people, and expanded the product development department from 5 people to 10 people. Along with that, he focused on strengthening the business internally, integrating many new features such as developing a freight transport platform, helping the bus company utilize the trunk to optimize cargo operations. An Vui also built a common ticket warehouse for transport businesses, then connected this ticket warehouse with domestic and foreign partners to help the business diversify its sales channels. Up to now, bus tickets sold through 24 banking applications or the VNPAY platform are all sourced from An Vui's ticket warehouse.

“We absolutely do not burn money to buy users, but must use a long-term strategy combining technology and deep understanding of the industry to create a competitive advantage,” businessman Phan Ba Manh said about his strategy.

Overcoming a series of challenges, in the coming time, An Vui will focus on developing the domestic market to bring products to more bus companies. In addition, An Vui also considers penetrating the stadium ticket sales segment, a segment that is considered more "difficult" than the passenger transport segment. From here, An Vui will gradually conquer the markets of neighboring countries in the Southeast Asian region in the future.

“We expect that products created by Vietnamese people will serve Vietnamese businesses and thereby expand their market share abroad. An Vui has a branch in Singapore, which will be the hub to expand the market to countries in the Southeast Asian region,” CEO Phan Ba Manh shared.

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