With its proactive foray into digital transformation, AboitizLand, Inc. announced it will update its Vecino Portal — a mobile application that offers its homebuyers efficient end-to-end online servicing.
The tool leverages technology to enhance information accessibility and allow its home buyers to track the construction status of their investments and payments remitted, receive home construction updates, access documents, and schedule acceptance and turnover dates.
“A critical process in real estate is the turnover of the unit for the vecinos (Spanish for neighbor). We found a way to complete this process amidst the pandemic through online turnovers,” said AboitizLand CEO Dave Rafael.
The Vecino app will be expanded to an end-to-end system that streamlines the contactless home-buying process, making it easier for buyers and sales partners to reserve units, submit documentary requirements, complete monthly amortizations and easily apply for a housing loan.
The real estate arm of the Aboitiz Group intends to create a more enhanced customer experience and end-to-end service delivery through digital business this year as part of its key objectives for 2021.
Through the use of data science and artificial intelligence (DSAI), AboitizLand will employ systems and processes that will pave the way for improved customer service. Apart from investing in various digital tools to automate critical areas in their operations, the company will also rationalize routine processes potentially through Robotic Process Automation.
Its digital ventures are all supported by Amazon Web Services, a dominant player in cloud computing products and services. It is one of the largest Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering with the most comprehensive set of tools and an expanding list of third-party integrations.
AboitizLand teamed up with its sister company Union Bank of the Philippines for an improved customer profiling system and a predictive model that will detect construction delays.
The partnership aims to get to know the customers easier and provide relevant product offerings, and manage vendors better resulting in less delays in construction to make sure houses are turned over on time.
Pivot into the digital sphere
Last year, AboitizLand unrolled a contactless home buying program in response to restrictions imposed by ongoing quarantine and physical distancing protocols due to Covid-19.
“Seeing as how the traditional style of selling real estate was not possible, we quickly embarked on our contactless end-to-end home buying program called Better at Home,” shared Rafael, adding that the company pivoted quickly, and almost overnight overhauled its entire sales process and organization towards a purely-online sales backbone.”
The program allows prospective buyers to conduct a virtual site tripping through its sweeping, well-curated 360-degree virtual tours. They may also request for actual videos of the houses for closer inspection. Other house hunting activities from brokers’ product presentation, closing, and documentation, which were all previously done via face-to-face meetings, are now conducted online.
Going digital full blast
AboitizLand credits digital transformation to not only surviving the multiple economic disruptions that happened in 2020, but also in securing higher year-end booked sales compared to the previous (pre-pandemic) year.
While various sectors reel from the devastating effects of the pandemic including the real estate industry, AboitizLand turned challenges into opportunities by fully embracing digital technology in their operations and the way they conduct business.
Rafael stressed that when an organization is facing great uncertainty due to competition or natural disruption, like the ongoing pandemic, innovation is the key. “Our story is a story of innovation. The digital transformation of Aboitizland that started in 2020 will be pursued with greater intensity in 2021,” Rafael said.
About AboitizLand
For over 25 years, AboitizLand has stayed true to its promise of creating better ways to live through its thriving master-planned communities. It now looks to further expand its reach by continuing to develop innovative and fully-integrated communities in more locations across the Philippines. A subsidiary of the Aboitiz Group, it is built on a firm foundation with a hundred-year heritage of advancing business and communities. For more information about AboitizLand, visit www.aboitizland.com.
