SAIF Partners-backed Industrybuying.com is building a B2B ecommerce platform for dealers and buyers to transact in industrial products.  With a product catalogue of over one-lakh items, its goal is to build a one stop, buying model for B2B players

Madhumita Prabhakar

The problem

Typically, if SMEs and industrial buyers want to source raw materials from suppliers, they have to identify good brands in the market, approach the companies, request for a quotation, negotiate the price, raise a purchase order and then secure the materials. This, in essence, is a tedious process, and the demand and supply of raw materials in the B2B space is fragmented.

The solution

Similar to B2C ecommerce businesses, Industrybuying.com, founded in 2013 by Rahul and Swati Gupta, is a B2B ecommerce platform, which catalogues and sells industrial products in a structured format. While it was initially bootstrapped, it raised its first round of funding in February 2015, to the tune of US $ 2 million from SAIF Partners. The funds, as Swati indicates, were primarily channelised towards marketing and branding-related activities and improving backend technology. The company currently claims to have over 1,000 suppliers on board and lists over one-lakh products online. Some of its clients include the likes of Honeywell, Bosch and Havells. As Swati states, the volumes are doubling week on week and early indications are the model will work and is scalable. As of now, the key categories for the company are pumps, power tools, motors & power transmission equipment, hand tools, and measuring and inspecting equipment.

Future Outlook

Currently, the company is witnessing a 70 per cent growth on the supplier side and its volumes are doubling week on week. Going forward, the founders’ focus will be on signing more corporate buyers on the platform. “Typically, a corporate can’t just swipe a credit card and buy products. The discovery to purchase cycle is long and a lot of efficiency needs to be created in this process. We are exploring opportunities to offer customised solutions to tackle this challenge and get more corporates to transact on our platform,” notes Swati. The company aspires to become the No. 1 industrial supplies players – both online and offline – over the next few years.

Creating a win-win situation for buyers and sellers

The business offers several advantages to the suppliers and buyers. Firstly, it acts as a price discovery and brand comparison platform for buyers, thus ensuring ease of access and purchase (via multiple payment options). Secondly, since the products are directly secured from the manufacturers, it removes several layers of margins (from intermediaries) and offers products at a lesser price to buyers. In other words, once the buyers place the order, Industrybuying.com secures the products from the suppliers at a discounted price and sells at a profit margin. Thirdly, it helps suppliers offer a greater product variety and manage inventory. Lastly, being an online platform, it ensures ease of access to industrial products even in Tier II and Tier III cities, wherein the buyers can view and compare products and brands from one platform and have the products delivered.