Indiamart.com

a case study on indiamart.com, it explains the business model of the firm

1. INDEX Introduction The company The owner Services provided What does it sell Working Value preposition Revenue model Market share The secret ingredient

2. Indiamart.com started as a directory of websites around Delhi-NCR region , earlier known as InterMESH which started in 1996. Indiamart is basically a website which connects :- 1)producer to supplier 2) producer to producer 3)supplier to market 4) market to retailer Indiamart is not a usual shopping or e-commerce website as it not only provides usual services of a normal e-commerce website but also acts a digital directory that acts a medium of communication between various components of business cycle.

3. Rajiv aggarwal, founder of InterMESH and subsequently Indiamart.com, is a 34 year old guy who completed his engineering from Delhi. After returning from the US in 1996, where he worked as a net consultant with  HCL Technologies, Agarwal started InterMesh, a company that made websites for Delhi-based companies like Nirula's. He then created Indiamart, a website directory of the sites that his company created . He built Indiamart from scatch and took it to a position where it is now.

4. services provided by the company Indiamart.com is not only a web portal which helps to connect various people in the chain from producers to consumers but also gives following services:- Creating a website for a company Selling via indiamart.com Providing various industrial usage products which even include machine parts or other hardware product Finding suppliers Advertising ones company Posting our requirements Finding dealers Finding suppliers

5. Indiamart basically sells everything available, as it doesn’t contacts directly to final consumer, but it does deal in almost everything as dealers and suppliers are willing to expand there business with its help. What does it sell ?

6. How do they operate ? (working) They have 75 offices across India where 3000 people work as online operators and call centre employees. Indiamart has its main office in Noida which houses the wrking of 500 people. Suppliers can make their ID on the website and they are redirected to their respective trade sectors and are met by their demands and supplies. Indiamart often works as a online auction room as a supplier can contact many dealers and snatch the best deal. Dealers and suppliers are often required to put up a online catalogue of their needs and products.

7. Giving the best services (value preposition) Best in class staff Best in class technology support Rapid contancts No need of dealing with final customers helping to reduce unusual problems. No need of searching for business manually Advertising very easily Can be used on smart phones or any other celluler device with a internet connection Launched an application on android as well as iOS

8. How do they earn ? (revenue model) They earn from Advertisements Suppliers and dealers who have ID on the website (subscription amout) From internet providing companies with the help of apps People who visit the website for info of market prices and market trend Creating websites for consumers

9. Competing and winning (market share) Comparing with usual e-commerce companies is not useful as it a not a consumer based website. In 2003, things were different, back then, Indiamart listed 70,000 businesses, had 1,000 paid suppliers and generated business worth Rs 400 crore for its members. Today, it has 50 lakh buyers, 10 lakh registered suppliers, including 50,000 paid customers. It helps in doing a business of 10000 crores for its customers and on a global level attracting business men and women from the whole country. It amounts to almost 5% business done in India. On the site are more than 6 lakh online catalogues, that lists 50 lakh products in 75,000 product categories, and together, these numbers are second only to Chinese B2B behemoth Alibaba.com. Indiamart generates 3.2 crore visits per month with 54 lakh unique visitors checking out the website. Now the bottomline: members do business of Rs 10,000 crore-plus through the marketplace every year.

10. Presenting themselves (marketing strategies) Indiamart has advertised itself in every medium possible, including print media, web, television ads and official representatives. Indiamart has appointed Irfan Khan, a star who is quite famous among people of all age groups giving out a good cry for its products. Indiamart and channel ETnow started Indiamart Leaders of Tomorrow Awards for emerging entrepreneurs heliping them to establish themselves in market and giving forward a good image.

11. The secret ingredient