Vistaar, i2, Esconet to launch B2B site for automotive industry

NEW DELHI: Vistaar, a Net market developer, i2 Technologies Inc, an e-business solutions provider, and Esconet, a 100 percent subsidiary of Escorts Ltd, have come together to form what they call India's first online B2B marketplace--Automatrixindia.com--for the automotive industry.

This site will cater to all the trading needs of OEMs, suppliers, dealers, independent installers, logistics providers and banks, among others, in the automotive industry. Initial services in the marketplace will include catalog hosting, providing technical content, parts replenishment, online transactions and invoicing, supplier collaboration, auctions, reverse auctions and procurement.

Automatrixindia.com is expected to earn revenues by charging a brokerage on every transaction. Explaining the concept, Esconet CEO Rajan Swaroop said, "The brokerage will be a percentage of the savings the company is making by transacting through the site." Automatrixindia.com will develop various models of the savings a company can make and the corresponding brokerage percentage, depending on the kind of transaction made.

While i2 will provide its TradeMatrix marketplace solution to the Web site, Vistaar will contribute in terms of horizontal marketplace technologies, their implementation and marketing support, apart from equity participation. As an initial partner, Escorts Ltd's Agri Machinery group proposes to route all its purchase and sales transactions of about Rs 2,000 crore through Automatrixindia.com. Later, other companies are also expected to join in as partners. All three partners have some equity in the venture. However, the percentage of each was not revealed.

Vistaar plans to develop similar marketplaces for the transportation and chemical industries.