Choose the specific product or service, send the request and wait for the options within a maximum of 48 hours. This is the proposal of E-buyers, an online corporate purchasing platform that connects customers with suppliers.
The venture, led by Martín Van den Dorpel, Fabio Cardozo and Luis Laxalt, has attracted the attention of 70 suppliers, 150 user buyers and a catalogue of more than 30,000 products in just three months. The platform already features companies such as Salus, Mosca Office and Claro.
The idea was born in 2015, materialised this year and became operational in July, when the partners set up shop in the Ingenio incubator. "The idea is validated, there is a niche need in corporate procurement from the sales side as well as the purchasing side," Van den Dorpel said, adding that the service solves problems of inefficiency, time and costs.
"We offer security. To the buyer, that he will find what he is looking for, and to the supplier, that his product will be ordered. With the option of 'administrator user' and 'alternative user', the efficiency of use is improved. The alternative user can be a person from an area who chooses the specific products he/she needs, places them in the shopping cart and then sends them to the administrator. The latter is the only one authorised to confirm the purchase," he explained. For example, if a pen is needed, the system shows what models are in the database, the alternative user chooses one and the administrator confirms the order. The order goes to the suppliers and they send the price proposal in less than 48 hours. "In stationery we have already achieved a response time of 30 minutes," Cardozo said.
The project is growing at a rate of 50% per month in turnover. It transacts US$ 20,000 a month with orders ranging from $ 1,000 to $ 200,000. The main items are stationery, hygiene, cleaning and technology. E-buyers charges 3% plus VAT for fulfilled orders to suppliers.
Another achievement is the reduction of costs. One company in the stationery sector reduced its purchase costs by 35% and another in the cleaning sector by 51%, according to the entrepreneurs.
The website does not provide the name of the supplier until the purchase is confirmed. This anonymity seeks to "democratise", as it allows small companies - which for marketing reasons would not be able to sell to large companies - to make offers at reasonable prices.
Three weeks ago, E-buyer received support from the ANII and is already developing new functionalities, such as being able to "lift" the order history and repeat an already ordered cart or schedule orders on specific dates, said Laxalt. For 2017, once consolidated in Uruguay, the plan is to disembark in markets such as Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru.
Source: El País
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