We are an infomediary, very strong on content

Indiamarkets.com has been rated the best marketplace in India for the year

2000 and that is no small achievement. We caught up with Rohan Ajila, its

managing director and spoke about his company’s aims and aspirations. This is

what he has to say about the indiamarkets: a B2B infrastructure firm, a

B2B marketplace, a B2B enabler and a B2B trainer, all rolled into one.

What exactly is a B2B marketplace and how does it improve a business?



Indiamarkets is a business-to-business enabler, bringing together suppliers and
buyers with similar needs, using the Internet as the medium. We look at the

requirements of buyers and match them with the suppliers we have. Apart from the

initial process of matching the buyers and sellers and being an interactive

platform, we also conduct auctions, introduce buyers to companies, etc.

Indiamarkets essentially helps businesses of any kind make quick and effective

decisions.

We are a B2B exchange for about 28 verticals. We are not a specific vertical

exchange like a chemical exchange or an automobile exchange, but an aggregation

of all these verticals. We are a company that really leverages the Internet but

is conservative enough to understand that this is India. So we need to invest a

lot in infrastructure; we are a B2B infrastructure firm, a B2B marketplace, a

B2B enabler and even a B2B trainer.

You referred to Indiamarkets addressing 28 verticals. What do you mean by

horizontals and verticals?



Well, it really depends on the context. We (Indiamarkets) are a horizontal
vertical i.e. we have not zeroed in exclusively on any one particular vertical.

By vertical in our context, I mean an industry. Say, in our site if you go into

the chemicals menu we are across the verticals. At the same time, under the same

category, one can also get into various sections like textiles, engineering,

etc. Now I would say that this makes us a horizontal vertical.

How many businesses are currently registered with indiamarkets.com?



Currently, we have about 40,000 businesses registered with us and the traffic at
our site is really high, as more than 2,000 companies visit us everyday.

Isn’t the cost factor a big deterrent when it comes to small enterprises

wanting to join the marketplace?



For registering at Indiamarkets, you don’t have to spend anything. For
example, a stock form or a catalog is free. Then we ask the company if they

would like it to be enhanced, put a task number, give a financial rating, scan

photographs, etc. We charge them for all these. We also have this e-business

center package. Once you have this package, you can go to any of our 30

e-business centers anywhere in the country which means you really do not need an

office. We also have something called the buyer posting for the buyer community

at Indiamarkets. After using our solution, whatever they are procuring or

buying, we start an auction process to ensure that they get the product at the

cheapest price.

Continued...

Awareness and usage of the Internet in small towns is less. What is the

mindset of business people there? Are they yet to accept the concept of virtual

marketplaces?



The fact is that within a year of our launch, we were about 40,000 companies
strong. People are receptive towards this concept. People want to come in and

sell their product. In inventory auction alone, about half a billion dollars had

been transacted online. The numbers are increasing. They want to test it, feel

it, figure it out, see how it works, etc. There is a huge value proposition for

people in the non-metros, in the semi-urban areas. These people can make their

products but they do not have an effective marketing platform. We offer a

medium, which in turn provides that access.

What happens after a company is registered with indiamarkets.com?



In the beginning, you can get a free listing. If you come in as a seller, you
can put your products up. As a buyer, you could walk up and say I want x tons of

steel. We would ask you if you are interested in making a bid for it. So, you

looks for the cheapest supplier, someone who offers good steel for a good price

and buy from him.

We have something called a used and surplus inventory. Someone might have

machinery that he doesn’t need anymore. So, he puts it up for auction on the

surplus inventory side or the used machinery side.

We also have something called business alliances and contract manufacturers.

Say, some company is on the lookout for people to invest, or provide some sort

of technology transfer, then the company can get registered in the business

alliance listing. So we bring the buyers and sellers together.

We are an infomediary - very strong on content. On our site, we have listed

all the state trade policies. You can go to each of the industries and find out

what is the supply or demand. The idea is to provide all the information so that

the company can make a very judicious decision.

Since the functioning of a marketplace involves immense transactions, do

you have the necessary security mechanisms in place?



We are getting into closed loop solutions where people are starting to use

our solutions for transactions. We have got all that is necessary for good

security. We have just started on the online process of documentation. A lot of

transactions are still done offline.

Where does your investments come from?



Currently, E. M. Warburg, Pincus and Co. are our investors. One of the largest
private equity funds in the world, it has invested in companies like Bharti,

Rediff, HDFC, etc.

We are also the business to business part of BPLNet, so we are a part of the

ISP of BPL too. Our partners are really strong and are going to be here for a

long time to come.

What were the major challenges while setting up your virtual marketplace?



Infrastructure can be a daunting challenge. I think in India, where the business
community is very entrepreneurial, you need to really prove and convince them

about the value of your service. Your potential customers are really informed

about the services that you are providing.

Any advice for businesses seeking a slot in the marketplace?



Nobody invests in anything anymore until they perceive a value. What I really
would want to tell people is "Do not get into any of these businesses,

taking exponential growth for granted."