The smart world of ,,VAiOS”
Industry, production, transport and agriculture.
In December 2020, a new modern car wash opens its doors in the area of the Sea Station in Varna, which can claim to be one of the largest and most innovative in Bulgaria. It has 50 cells and an intelligent management system, ensuring minimal contact of staff with customers.
“That was the desire of the Port Motors investor when he asked us to do something smart in the fall, in line with the hygiene standards in the pandemic. To have better accountability and to work with a small staff “, says Dimitar Todorov, executive director of” Vaios “- the company that makes the car wash smart. During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology solutions were critical to maintaining business, and Vaios did just that – automating and modernizing custom processes.
In an interview with Forbes, he introduced himself as “a major hardware and software developer.” According to him, each customer of the car wash uses a QR code, which shows him in which cell to go the car, having previously set the type of service, when it is ready, what it owes, including consumption from the buffet and how to pay – with translation, subscription or postponed. The web-based system automatically indicates who will fulfill the order, detects the time and charges the fee. The washers are on an hourly rate and at a percentage.
Only two employees are on staff – the manager and the coordinator, but they perform many functions. The system trains itself to monitor inventory and automatically make a request to the supplier based on weekly consumption. Also watch out for financial abuse. In this way, the owner can monitor his business from anywhere in the world, “always be in the car wash and never in it”, according to Todorov.
This interesting project has a future, he believes, not only because of the increased consumption of car washes in the pandemic, but because he intends to offer it to customers abroad, “where the money is.” Think of the Middle East, and more specifically Saudi Arabia. That’s where the main revenue for Vaios comes from. For the past two years, the company’s team of 30 software and hardware developers, designers and business analysts has been building security and automation systems at Saudi embassies in Nigeria and Uganda. Another 14 sites are in the process of being launched, including in Bulgaria, Romania and Afghanistan. He has a job for the next five years.
This web-based embassy management platform is a “pinnacle” in Vaios’ development with the complexity of combining IoT (Internet of Things) processes with real-time technology.
Whenever it comes to complex systems, Todorov and Commercial Director Stanislav Filipov have a keen interest. They are both adventurers.
In 2018, a client from the construction company Resort Construction told them that tenders for automation and security systems were being held at the sites of the Saudi Foreign Ministry in Africa, and they jumped into the race. “They were looking for an integrator to combine Bosch cameras with products from more than 15 manufacturers and make them work together,” says Todorov. He has been doing this for more than 10 years – developing projects for centralized management and various devices for video surveillance, access control, lighting, air conditioning and much more.
At the presentation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, the two presented a concept of how all embassies around the world can be managed centrally with one platform – from systems for scanning car bombs and facial recognition to air conditioning temperature and computer software. They also offer hardware designed and branded specifically for the occasion: “We tried to sell them something, but they were impressed that we found flaws in their entire system.”
At the presentation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, the two presented a concept of how all embassies around the world can be managed centrally with one platform – from systems for scanning car bombs and facial recognition to air conditioning temperature and computer software. They also offer hardware designed and branded specifically for the occasion: “We tried to sell them something, but they were impressed that we found flaws in their entire system.”
However, Dimitar Todorov shows that he is ready to work for only two consulates, after which relations are developing extremely well. The value of the contract exceeds Vaios’ revenues from the best financial year before 2015, with a turnover of BGN 1 million from the development of security systems at the Kosovo courthouse and the automation of several plants in Varna.
On the way to this important order, Todorov avoided bankruptcy and parted ways with partners. It started in 2009 with a workshop for electrical installations, installation of switches, sockets, lamps and wiring in a garage in Varna’s Asparuhovo district. However, Todorov is doing his best to build a company that develops unique software and produces hardware.
It strives to be different from competitors who buy ready-made products, install and integrate. He insists that 90% of the profits go to hardware development, because he sees a niche for individual custom solutions. In 2013, Veldim (his first company) started its own production of security and automation systems for VaiOS brand buildings.
The concept is all in one – the so-called all-in-one solution, which leads to the product name (Veldim all in one solution, VaiOS for short). Such a solution – the software to the installation of air conditioners, should give an advantage and attract more customers from the construction industry. At least that is the expectation. However, such a comprehensive activity is beyond the reach of the young company with limited financial and human resources and is far from the goals of product uniqueness.
WE WERE FAILED IN 2014 WITH OVER 50 PEOPLE ASSEMBLY TEAM AND STAFF AND 6 OFFICES IN BULGARIA, USA AND REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN EUROPE, WHICH EAT THE WINNING
In order to remain on the market, it is necessary to withdraw a loan of BGN 1 million and transfer the air conditioning service to the large Plovdiv company Ataro Klima, together with the entire customer flow.
Sometimes Todorov wonders if he has chosen the right path to develop the only – in his words – in Bulgaria company that creates software and hardware, instead of using ready-made solutions that bring more revenue. Vaios controllers are stable, last a long time and the bill does not come out. They are not like a phone that needs to be changed every five years. This requires a change in the business model.
Instead of selling software, it now offers licenses. He is ready to invest in the client’s business and wait for profits over time. If the car wash closes tomorrow, it will be at a loss. The development of the intelligent system costs BGN 30,000 and this amount is at the expense of Vaios. He does not include it in the starting offer to the customer, firstly, to achieve a more competitive price, secondly, to achieve quality maintenance. Todorov believes that when he sells software to someone, it becomes more difficult to service him: “For us, service is a cost, and often people do not want to pay for maintenance and development of security systems.”
On the other hand, the fact that it offers software and hardware allows it to leave a mark on the innovator and this is his great personal satisfaction. Veldim is building the first smart gym in Bulgaria, which works 24 hours a day without staff, if you do not count the instructors, customers pay electronically only what they use, and in the bathrooms there is no overconsumption of water. He then developed several more smart business solutions with Veldim, including the smart car wash.
During the pandemic, control and automation systems helped businesses provide services remotely. The developers integrate Zoom into the Fitness Line system and allow workouts to be conducted online. They also add a function for choosing a coach and preparing an individual regime.
“In order for us to have a business, we had to find a solution for customers to have a business in the lockdown,” says Todorov. At the first closing we made a curtsey – we stopped the license fees, which, on the one hand, is bad for us, but they were not good either. There were no customers. ”The Fitness Line chain operates with a prepaid system, and during the first lockdown last year, customers were unable to use their loans. This is no longer the case because they now use the online training system and the services of artificial intelligence, which tells how to train according to previous actions of clients and instructors. When it comes time for leg muscles, it is recommended to focus on buckets or bars.
While talking to Forbes, Dimitar Todorov glanced at the monitor on his desk, attracted by correspondence about a case among Fitness Line employees. This means that “the staff is on the job, taking their salary and there is a large enough flow of customers for the sites not to work at a loss or to be small”. The next object in the plan is the automation of the large Pulse fitness chain in Sofia and the country. Negotiations are underway.
At a time when the whole world is struggling with the same enemy, new technologies are definitely giving way and more and more companies are maturing at the moment. All the innovations in the development of Vaios cover the needs of the business in a pandemic. The smart hotel system and the smart reception, which are being introduced in the Grand Hotel Bansko and the Grand Hotel Sveti Vlas, are turning the smart phone into a key and a means of payment. The guest can reserve seats in the restaurant online and order room service. IoT can be used to control the control of warehouses, to check the temperature and humidity levels of the refrigerator and to solve the problems of the staff. The hotel business includes many new requirements for hygiene standards, a schedule for restaurants, additional activities for staff, which complicate things administratively and financially, and this will continue in the coming years.
Successful pilot projects in Bulgaria give Dimitar Todorov wings to continue with the same enthusiasm at the international level. He already has a partner, a large cybersecurity company from Saudi Arabia with projects in Africa, and he is looking there.
