Mydeals247 Ecommerce Pvt Ltd

7/24/2019 Mydeals247 Ecommerce Pvt Ltd

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Summer Internship Project Report

With

Developing business strategies for B2BeCommerce in India

By

Anuran Gayali

5TH

JUNE 2015


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Contents

Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................................................ 3

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 6

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 7

Business Model ......................................................................................................................................... 8

A Real-time Marketplace (Bargain Online) ........................................................................................... 8

Volume Deals - ...................................................................................................................................... 8

Paid Ads ................................................................................................................................................. 9

Flowchart of Mydeals247 operations ......................................................................................................... 11

For Buyer ................................................................................................................................................. 11

For Seller ................................................................................................................................................. 12

Industry and Competitor Analysis ............................................................................................................... 12

Porters 5 forces analysisB2B commerce ............................................................................................ 13

Swot analysis of Mydeals247 ...................................................................................................................... 18

Critical Success Factors of Mydeals ............................................................................................................ 18

Marketing Mixthe 4 Ps ........................................................................................................................... 19

Product .................................................................................................................................................... 19

Product Category Management .......................................................................................................... 19

Place ........................................................................................................................................................ 21

Domestic ............................................................................................................................................. 22

International ....................................................................................................................................... 24

Price ........................................................................................................................................................ 24

Promotions .............................................................................................................................................. 24

Offline Marketing (AGMARKET) .......................................................................................................... 24

Online Marketing ................................................................................................................................ 25

SEO(000webhost, 2015) ..................................................................................................................... 25

Human Resource Management .................................................................................................................. 27

Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 28

SWOT for Metro .................................................................................................................................. 28

Critical success factor (CSF) of Metro :- .............................................................................................. 29


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Parenting opportunities in Mydeals247 ................................................................................................. 29

Ideas ........................................................................................................................................................ 29

References .................................................................................................................................................. 31

List of figures

Figure 1 : Bargain online (marketplace) model ............................................................................................. 8

Figure 2 : Volume deals model of mydeals247 ............................................................................................. 9

Figure 3 : Paid Ads model of Mydeal247 .................................................................................................... 10

Figure 4 : Porter's 5 forces analysis of B2B ecommerce Business in India ................................................. 17

Figure 5: SWOT analysis on Mydeals .......................................................................................................... 18

Figure 6 : Product delivery channel of Mydeals247.................................................................................... 21

Figure 7: Deal forging steps ........................................................................................................................ 22

Figure 8 Organization Chart of Mydeals 247 .............................................................................................. 27Figure 9 SWOT analysis for Metro cash and carry ...................................................................................... 28
http://d/IIMR/Summer%20Internship/Mydeals247/Summer%20Internship%20Project%20Report.docx%23_Toc424754390http://d/IIMR/Summer%20Internship/Mydeals247/Summer%20Internship%20Project%20Report.docx%23_Toc424754390


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Acknowledgement

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the employees of Mydeals247 who made

me feel at home even though my training period was for only two months. My special

gratitude to Mr. Venu Somineni (CEO Mydeals247), Mr. Aneef and Ms. Anjali (HR Department),

Mr. Pavish (Product Category Manager), Mr. Hari, Mr. Panchasheel and Mr. Rafi (business

Development) and Mr. Prajwal (Marketing) for taking pains in helping me grasp the existing

work processes and at the same time making the environment cheerful to learn. I also thank

them for encouraging me constantly to come up with new ideas and guide me with their

invaluable life experiences. This internship experience would not be such enjoyable without my

fellow interns from IIM Kashipur, IIM Rohtak, IIM Trichy and IIM Ranchi whose passion for

excellence made the work more challenging and also fun at the same time.


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Executive Summary

Mydeals247 is another ecommerce company that is in the growth phase of lifetime. It is in the B2B

segment which differentiates it from the other players. The B2B segment has its own nuances and risks

but is a larger market than B2C. In the first part of this project, the various factors defining this newindustry segment is analyzed to find out whether it is worth to be in this business. This industry level

analysis is then examined in depth to firm level analysis. The various aspects of the firms Product,Place,

Price and Promotions and People are described to have a deep understanding of the organization.

Towards the end of the analysis, many alternative strategies emerged which can provide considerable

value addition. It is seen that in this traditional and hostile Indian environment, to collaborate with other

players is the best option that is available. One such collaboration can be Metro Cash and Carry, a B2B

retail giant based in Germany. The factor that matches both the organizations aspirations along with

the innovative ventures the merger can get into is exciting. This gives a new dimension to the B2B

ecommerce strategy which can be sustainable in the long term in India.


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Introduction

Deciding where to buy is not the easiest task for todays buyers - there is no buying power on other

eCommerce sites (which only offer fixed prices). Usually, many buyers jump from one site to another

just to look for the best deals and compare prices against many other sites. This can be very timeconsuming. Every buyer looks for an opportunity to bargain on their purchases - unfortunately, online

there is no option for this now.

MyDeals247 is the world's first real-time marketplace (a patented solution). The business model is very

unique in the eCommerce industry - bargain online without any effort, real-time play between the

buyers & sellers, free business leads and live market trends to the sellers, dynamic discounts based on

the volume purchase, personalized Ads, and more.

MyDeals247 offers personalized experience to the buyers and sellers its tailored to buyers

preferences and interests. Everything about MyDeals247 will make you feel that its built exclusively for

you.

MyDeals247 is comprised of three dynamic business models:

The art of BargainingOnline Marketplace

The art of AdvertisingPaid Ads

Volume Deals

Features compared against current eCommerce sites are listed below:

Mydeals247 Other eCommerce websites

B2B Business model B2B/B2C business model

Real-time bargain (online) No bargaining

Dynamic pricing buyers get top 5 lowest offers

from the sellers real-time

Buyers are offered fixed prices

Phone support to finalize deals Only online

Free subscription to sellers Some websites demand subscription

Free product listing The entire product

category will be provided/maintained by

Mydeals247 itself (there is no maintenance for

the sellers)

Most websites charge the listing fee. Seller have to

upload and update the product catalog themselves

Leads to seller; Lead Tracker; Market analysis

(offer live statistics )

It is not available or paid service entirely

Fee on successful transaction only Subscription and/or transaction fee

Personalized Ads No personalization

Volume based discounts Not available


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Business Model

A Real-time Marketplace (Bargain Online) - The entire process starts from the buyer's

requirement. The buyer can choose the product and post the request online - sellers are notified by the

System instantaneously without disclosing the buyer's contact. Sellers do not have to maintain anyinventory on the system - all the product catalog is being provided by the system itself. Sellers who trade

the product/item the buyer needs, make offers against the buyers request real-time. System picks only

the top 5 lowest offers from the sellers - these offers are ranked by the lowest price in the market. Every

seller is able to see the competitive offers from their immediate competitors (although the seller cannot

see the respective competitor name directly). Also every seller can update their offers to beat their

competitors real-time. It is absolutely a free subscription for both the buyers and sellers. There will be a

transaction fee charged from the seller, only when the transaction is successful (transaction fee depends

on the category).

(Mydeals247, 2015)

Figure 1 : Bargain online (marketplace) model

Volume Deals -

MyDeals247 introduces a unique approach to buy the products / services in volumes and share the same

among friends and colleagues electronically. The category list includes apparels, electronics, books,

training programs, tickets for the events, and more.

Sign up as a buyer

or seller byproviding thebasic information

Post the requestas buyer for theproduct/item

required (withquantity, budgetand shippinglocation)

Sellers dashboardwhere he is ableto view buyer'srequest real-time

Seller's lowestoffer of the bestpossible price andthus competingagainst thecompetitors

The buyers getsthe top 5 lowestoffers from thesellers real-time

The buyer chthe lowest of(among the tand purchasesame throughonline, chequand cash depAnd the selleships the proto the buyer.


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Figure 2 : Volume deals model of mydeals247

Paid Ads

Pay Per Potential Lead: MyDeals247 showcases the ADs based on the user's current preferences,

location and interests. When the user clicks on any Ad (of personal interest), MyDeals247 showcases the

questionnaire asking a couple of questions related the Advertiser's product or service or business - if the

user answers all the questions correctly for the first time, MyDeals247 charges the cost per potential

lead from the Advertiser. If the user is not able to answer all the questions correctly, Advertiser will not

be charged at all. The advertiser can get in touch with all the users (whoever answered all the questions

correctly) and send the related offers

The cost for the "Pay Per Potential Lead" will be calculated by number of questions Advertiser wants to

ask the user:

For Rs. 10 per click, Advertiser can ask up to two questions.

For Rs. 15 per click, Advertiser can ask up to three questions.

For Rs. 20 per click, Advertiser can ask up to four questions.

Most users get annoyed with the random ADs these days. MyDeals247 offers personalized ADs to users

based on the current preferences, location and interests its all about what user wants, when, and

where. In fact, most of these personalized ADs are very useful and informative for the users to make the


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decision towards purchase. There is an amount being displayed on every AD (i.e. get paid Rs 10, Rs 15

etc). Every AD comes with the questionnaire asking a couple of questions related the Advertiser's

product or service or business - if the user answers all the questions correctly for the first time,

MyDeals247 pays the same amount being shown on the respective AD. If the user is not able to answer

all the questions correctly, there is no pay involved.

Figure 3 : Paid Ads model of Mydeal247

(Mydeals247 , 2015)


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Flowchart of Mydeals247 operations

For Buyer

Buyer Register withbasic information

Buyer log in Browse through the

cate ories

Searches for product

with specifications

Product

available

The buyer enters

Quantity and target

price

Enter product details in Send

Enquiry form with Product

name / target price and

quantity

Mydeals contacts new

sellers for the product

The buyer gets 5

lowest prices from

sellers

YES

NO

The deal is struck

after verifying

ualit b M deals

Buyer pays for the

product to Mydeals

after recei t/des atch


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For Seller

Seller Contacts

Mydeals or vice versa

Mydeals verifies the

capacity of the supplier

for a product

Mydeals lists the

products and link it to

the seller in database

Seller gets a

requirement via SMS

and Email

Seller quotes his best

price in his dashboard

on Mydeals platform

On confirmation of the order,

Mydeals calls the sellers and

confirms the product availability

and checks for quality

Mydeals pays in Cash and

Carries the product from the

seller and despatches to buyers


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Industry and Competitor Analysis

Porters 5 forces analysis B2B commerce

Rivalry among competing firms in the industry

Few players online, major industry is unorganized (especially direct farmers selling).

There is very less direct interface between the producer (farmer) and the end user ( the

customer)

Customers in this segment is more concerned with the ease of transfer and quality of product.

Thus, the element of trust is vital among the firms.

Since this will take a sometime to build for any new firm, no firm can make huge market

capitalization immediately on entering the market unless it is a radical disrupter.

The above arguments suggest that the rivalry among firms in the industry islesser.

Threat of new entrants

Due to less amount of knowledge between the producers about marketing their products, the

channels are almost constant. Hence, to set up new channels would take lot more efforts for a

person. This discourages new entrants

Also, the producers often find it lean to concentrate on product improvement and quality

control. Thus, they are comfortable to leave the next leg of businesses to people who can

absorb the risks of demand supply mismatch. This involves creation of many future contracts

which the producer is comfortable to make with a trusted person.

Thus, we can conclude that there is muchthreat of new entrants in this segment.

Bargaining power of buyers

The buyer in this segment is bound to make repeat purchases. This gives the sellers opportunity

have a constant demand. Thus for the sake of future business, the buyer will have some power

when negotiating the offer. They can also ask for customization.

Further, since there are a few buyers, they are often well networked. As mentioned earlier,

since this industry works mostly on trust between buyers and sellers, information about bad

product/service spreads faster. Further, in this networked age, one bad publicity can have

serious impact on the amount of loss in business.

Conclusion is, bargaining power of buyers is highin B2B ecommerce business.

Bargaining powers of suppliers

The suppliers are often producers of the crop. They might be comparatively less in number, but

they are more or less affected equally by the irregularities of weather in India. Thus they are the


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price takers all the time. When the rains are good and produce is bounty, they lose on the price.

When the rains are scarce and produce is less, they lose on their capacity to supply.

Often there is problem of storage costs and efforts associated with any good (perishable or non-

perishable). Thus, the supplier would want to get done with the goods. This gives the business

an upper hand over the suppliers or producers.

To conclude, the bargaining power of suppliers is low.

Threat of substitutes

This business is mostly done offline in India from the Mandis. Thus, the shift in operations for

the b2b buyer in India yet to come. In a way, online selling in b2b can never be completely

online due to the degree of physical verification and concerns of quality verification of the bulk

product. This highlights the fact that the offline and unorganized marketplace is a major

substitute.

However, in new online businesses, the ease and transparency in doing it online increases the

user base. Once a person is comfortable in online transactions, it is highly unlikely that she will

do business offline again. There are several elements of online marketplace which are crucial in

developing and take time also. One of them is brand identity and the trust associated with it.

Another can be the business leads which almost does not deplete with time.

The above discussion indicates that the treat of substitute is highin this business.

Industry ScorecardB2B Ecommerce

Scoring each parameter on a scale of 1 (low attractiveness) to 5 (high attractiveness)

1A. The threat of rivalry

S.no. Factor Attractiveness Remarks

1 Number of competitors 2 Direct competition with Brick and mortar

2 Industry growth 4 High growth characterized by smoother road

connectivity and increasing population

3 Fixed costs / Storage costs 5 No inventory in Mydeals247 model

4 Differentiation 3 Some differentiation in terms of real-time

price discovery

5 Switching costs 3 The additional benefit of margin that the

buyer gets from bargaining is not available in

offline B2B as the sellers often collude to fixprices

6 Openness of terms of sale 5 The terms of sale are fixed in contract

7 Excess capacity 5 Only human resource is required which can be

easily mobilized

8 Strategic Stakes 2 The online business network will grow as

customer base increases. Thus customer

acquisition is of high strategic stake


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Average = 3.625

1B. The threat of rivalry barriers to exit


1 Asset Specialization 5 No specialized asset

2 Fixed Cost of Exit 5 Less

3 Govt. Restrictions 4 Less

Average = 4.66

2. The threat of entry


1 Economies of scale 4 Better since only a few producers are there

who sell directly

2 Product differentiation 2

3 Brand Identity 3 Since similar products, customers go for the

brand they trust4 Customer Switching Cost 3 much cost, some threat, moderate attractive

5 Access to Channels of

Distribution

4 The seller platform is the distribution channel.

Exclusive tie-ups can be forged to create an

exclusive distribution network.

6 Capital Requirement 1 Very little capital required, high threat of

entry, low attractiveness

7 Access to Technology / Know-

how

4 There are a host of eCommerce development

suites available but still there is a considerable

effort required to optimize web experience

8 Access to Raw Materials 1 Sellers are readily available

9 Govt. Policy / Protection 1 No government protectionAverage = 2.55

3. The bargaining power of Buyers


1 Number of Buyers 3

2 Availability of Substitutes 1

3 Switching Costs 1

4 Buyers Threat of backward

integration

4 The buyer is most often industries who rely on

sellers for raw materials

5 Industrys threat of forward

integration

4

6 Contribution to Cost 2 Buyers are bulk always

7 Buyers Profitability 1 Bulk buyers expect higher margins

Average = 2.28

4. The bargaining power of Suppliers



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1 Number of Suppliers 5 Many suppliers

2 Availability of Substitutes 2 Sabzi mandis

3 Switching Costs 4

4 Suppliers Threat of Forward

Integration

5

5 Industrys Threat of BackwardIntegration 5

6 Contribution to quality 2 Total quality control is in the hands of

suppliers because the entire procurement and

delivery depends on them

7 Contribution to cost 2 Supplier is often bulk hence demands high

margin

8 Industrys importance to

Supplier

3

Average = 3.5

5. The Threat of Substitutes


1 Availability of Close

Substitutes

1

2 Switching Costs 1

3 Substitutes price Value 2

4 Profitability of Producers of

Substitutes

4 Usage of internet based technologies reduces

several costs of physical movement and hence

gives unmatched profitability

Average = 2.0

Overall Assessment


1 Intensity of Rivalry 4.14

2 The Threat of Entry 2.55

3 Bargaining power of Buyers 2.28

4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 3.5

5 The Threat of Substitutes 2

Average = 2.90


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Conclusion of analysis

The above analysis confirms our initial estimate of industry being low to moderately attractive. The

threat of entry, substitutes and buyer power, i.e, 3 out of 5 of the forces are unattractive. Thus, as a rule

of thumb we may conclude that the industry is low to moderately attractive.

Threat of new

entrants - Hi h

Bargaining Power of

buyers - High

Threat of substitute

products - High

Bargaining power of

su liers - LowIndustry rivalry -

Low

Figure 4 : Porter's 5 forces analysis of B2B ecommerce Business in India


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Swot analysis of Mydeals247

Figure 5: SWOT analysis on Mydeals

Critical Success Factors of Mydeals

1.

Robust and unique online platform for real-time price discovery2.

Decent network with 70000+ sellers

3.

Equally robust offline sales support

4.

Business model not requiring inventory storage

5.

Presence of parallel businesses like Advertising that can be cash cows for development of the

web portal

StrengthsUnique real-time marketplaceplatform for price discovery

Presence of offline sales supportthrough phone calls

Reduced risk of default bytrading parties

Pool of 70000+ certified sellers

No need of maintaining physicalinventory with Mydeals247

WeaknessNo credit sales

Less brand awareness

Relatively less computer literacyamong wholesalers

Presence of Trade unions andassociations with strong nexuswith local goons.

Customized delivery not present

Opprtunity

Emergence of online retail

Bargaining nature of buyers

Poor road and rail infrastructure

High temperature makes it hardto protect perishable items forlong

Threats

Unorganized wholesale withpeople preferring to buying fromMandis due to credit.

Low computer literacy ofwholesellers or buyers

Regulated commodity tradingmarket like FMC and MCX.


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Marketing Mix the 4 Ps

Product

Mydeals247 is a platform for trade between buyers and sellers. The product is a software platform withfollowing modules:

Web based

Mobile application based

Offline phone sales

The majority of sales in the current system is through offline sales. This is imperative considering the

nature of the business.

However, shift to Mobile based application module will be more beneficial. This is because:-

1.

Use of intelligence about customers preferences. This is actually use of data analysis about

customers past purchases and even behavior based choices made online. This will help in giving

customized discounts to buyers and hence increase the conversion rate of purchases.

2.

Few offline marketplaces for B2B customers are there which have dedicated store

establishments. These establishments along with this platform can create the next generation

marketplace design.

a.

Even before the customer enters the place, his preferences can be known from his past

purchases. This information creates an instant segmentation of the customer.

b.

In-store cameras placed shall track the eye movements and gestures which can give

additional information of the customers liking and wants.c.

The store area can be reduced and more products can be included. This can be made

possible with virtual product placement where in place of the physical product, a picture

of the product along with a bar code or QR code can be placed. The buyer equipped

with a mobile can scan the QR code to take the product information and place order for

the product.

These radical innovations can only be possible with a robust mobile interface.

Product Category Management

This is the coreof the web-portal. Just as the sales of a product in a mall are dependent on where it is

placed, the placement of a product in a category determines the sales of the product.

Several best practices to achieve lean and extensive product category management are adopted as

follows:-


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1.

The B2B buyer is well informed of the product he needs. This assumption considers that the

buyer will be aware of all the products in the market and a simple information about model

number is enough for him to know about the product that is to be sold.

2.

The product should be tagged in one category only to avoid confusion.

3.

The B2B requirement is no different from B2C. This is simply because the B2C demand is

channeled through the B2B only. Thus, the preference is similar. There is also emphasis in the

quality of display pictures and availability of obsolete products in the online market, just like any

other B2C website like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ebay or Amazon.

4.

The product category (Agriwatch) can be benchmarked with several industry leaders. This is

possible because this information is publicly available and there can be no patent on

classification and grouping on products.

5.

The product is to be listed with proper keywords. This enables ease of searching for a particular

product. Some examples of keywords are given as under:-


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Place

The place of sales and the delivery of goods the core of the business operations of Mydeals247. The typeof delivery and documentation varies on the geographical location of the delivery location.

Figure 6 : Product delivery channel of Mydeals247

In both the processes, the customer and the supplier do not know each other. Hence, Mydeals247

becomes the buyer to the sellerand seller to the buyerthereby eliminating counterparty risks.

In case the identities of both the parties are to be disclosed, they need to sign a Non-compete

Agreement which restricts any transaction between the parties for a period of time, maybe 1 year.

Most of the processes of this transaction happen offline.

Source

Source

Source

DestinationMydeals247


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The Selling mechanism is described as follows:-

Domestic

Buyer Mydeals247 Seller

Letter Of Intent Letter Of Intent

Quotation Quotation

Bank Comfort Letter Bank Comfort Letter

Full Corporate Offer Full Corporate Offer

Modified Invoice Invoice

Figure 7: Deal forging steps

Irrevocable CorporatePurchase Oder

Irrevocable CorporatePurchase Oder

Contract is sent by Mydeals 247

to Buyers and Sellers for

signature

Non-Disclosure

Agreement

Non-Disclosure

Agreement

Non Circumvention Non-Disclosure Agreement

Non Circumvention Non-Disclosure Agreement


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Mydeals247 act as an intermediary between buyers and sellers. It first searches for buyers, then gets the

specific requirements from them and then finds the supplier meeting the requirements. Mydeals247

first searches buyer because the number of sellers in the market are more than the number of suppliers.

Once, buyer gets agree to make a deal with a supplier following processes are involved.

1.

Buyer has to send Letter Of Intent to Mydeals247 which is forwarded to Supplier by

Mydeals247. A letter of intent is a document outlining an agreement between two or more

parties before the agreement is finalized. The most common purposes of an LOI are:

To clarify the key points of a complex transaction for the convenience of the parties

To declare officially that the parties are currently negotiating, as in a merger or joint venture

proposal

To provide safeguards in case a deal collapses during negotiation

To verify certain issues regarding payments done for someone else e.g. credit card

payments

2.

Supplier sends Letter Of Quotation to Mydeals247 which is then forwarded to buyer by

Mydeals247. A letter of quotation is any letter written in reference to the price of a service or

product. This could range from a customer or client requesting or accepting a quote, to the

supplier or service provider sending the quote amount.

3.

Buyer sends Bank Comfort Letter and Irrevocable Corporate Purchase Order to Mydeals247

which is forwarded to Suppliers.

Bank Comfort Letter is a letter confirming that a line of credit has been secured from a financial

institution or bank. The bank confirms that a person is eligible for a specified amount of borrowed funds

to be used for a predetermined purpose.

A document similar to a letter of intent (LOI) used by companies to communicate their intent to enter

into a transaction with a foreign-based company and provide verification of purchasing terms, banking

information, and company financials.

1.

Suppliers send Full Corporate Offer to Mydeals247 which is forwarded to buyers.

2.

After that, Mydeals247 signs Non-Disclosure Agreement and Non Circumvention Non

Disclosure Agreementwith Buyers and Sellers. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also knownas a confidentiality agreement (CA), confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary

information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA), is a legal contract between at least two

parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to

share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to or by third parties. It

is a contract through which the parties agree not to disclose information covered by the

agreement. An NDA creates a confidential relationship between the parties to protect any type


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of confidential and proprietary information or trade secrets. As such, an NDA protects non -

public business information. Non Circumvention NonDisclosure Agreement Instrument used in

early stages of a business transaction arranged by brokers (intermediaries). Its purpose is to

ensure that (1) the intermediaries (who brought the buyer and seller together) are not by-

passed and (2) the information disclosed during the negotiations is not revealed to any external

or unauthorized party.

3.

Supplier generates the invoice and then sends to Mydeals247. An invoice, bill or tab is a

commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer, relating to a sale transaction and indicating

the products, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services the seller had provided the

buyer.

4.

Mydeals247 modifies the invoice as per its margin and sends modified invoice to buyers.

Modified Invoice means modifying the price after considering the margin of Mydeals247.

International

For international sales, Mydeals247 goes into a long term future contract with the buyer. The period of

the future contract can be quarterly, half yearly or annual. This long term contract will enable a constant

demand for a product. Since, on aggregation, the demand will give enough quantity to negotiate on the

terms of the contract with a single supplier or multiple suppliers.

The contract is often made including transportation (India) costs and several types of payment terms are

there.

The payment is often done as soon as the consignment reaches the destination.

Price

Pricing is dynamic in this system. The method of price discovery is as follows:-

1.

Fixing target price

2.

Floating to the sellers

3.

Sellers quote their price

4.

The top 5 prices are locked and given reconsideration for quality check

5.

One seller emerge as best quality in minimum price

Using this system of price discovery, the company is providing value addition in terms of seller and buyermatching.

Promotions

Offline Marketing (AGMARKET)

Any online business needs physical presence. This is more so in case of B2B segment since the buyers

are traditionally buying from Mandis. Thus, offline marketing is of paramount importance.


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Word of Mouth (WOM)

The most effective method of marketing is getting recommended by the customers. This is facilitated by

a feedback mechanism in the portal.

Trade Fairs

To make new leads and showcase the technology to prospective B2B buyers, the trade fairs are the bestplaces to go and market.

A calendar of trade fairs are prepared and the impact on various categories of customers (like agro,

electronics, construction, etc.) are evaluated.

Based on this and the budget constraint on advertising which is typically 3-5% of the sales, the trade

shows are chosen. A typical trade show counter organizes a workshop and displays a promotional video

to attract the crowd.

Trade Associations

Pairing up with trade association has same reason as trade fairs. Several associations are identified andpaired with. These associations get the benefit of a product that is new in the market and can bring

potential leads.

The B2B ecommerce company gets contacts of many suppliers in a shot. These suppliers are often more

genuine and trustworthy since they have to adhere to the associations standards.

Online Marketing

This is the other part of the promotional process. It is essentially improving the visibility of the website

and more particularly the brand name using the online traffic.

Content MarketingGoogle.com being the most extensive search engine and the most advanced one releases periodically

several versions of its search indexing code. Search indexinghas algorithms which are recognizing the

webpages by the amount of unique content they possess. This along with the keywords improves the

pagerank(the relevance, measured as the serial number of appearance in google search) of the website.

The pagerank can be checked inwww.alexa.com

Search Marketing

This involves manual data entry from sources. These sources are then called up manually to make

business.

Direct MarketingThis follows search marketing. Mass mailing to potential customers.

SEO(000webhost, 2015)

1.

Search Engines Traffic.

Natural (or organic) traffic is type of traffic coming from all major search engines. If any visitor

searches for some kind of information and finds the site in results, there is organic traffic.
http://www.alexa.com/http://www.alexa.com/http://www.alexa.com/http://www.alexa.com/


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Unfortunately, it can be really hard (depending on the niche) to get website listed in the top of

search engines.

2.

Links Exchange.

External links never hurt. The more websites will link to the site, the more traffic. Swapping links

is easy enough. All we need to dofind related websites and contact their webmasters asking

to exchange text links with you.

3.

Link Directories.

There are thousands of link directories on the Internet. Some of them are free, and others are

paid. Having links on directories not only helps increasing search engine rankings, but also help

getting more visitors who come from directories to the site directly. The biggest free directory

on the Internet is dmoz.org

4.

Forum Traffic.

There are thousands of webmaster forums around, and most of them have special sections

where members can reveal their websites for reviews and criticism. After posting a message

about your website, we will get not only a direct backlink, but also professional tips and criticism

from other community members.5.

Signatures.

Many message boards, blogs and other websites allow visitors using signatures. If links in

signatures are allowed (once again, read forum rules first), add one or more links (most sites

allow adding up to 3 links in signatures) in your own signature. Once you will post a message,

signature with backlinks to your site will be automatically inserted below message.


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Human Resource Management

Figure 8 Organization Chart of Mydeals 247


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Conclusion and RecommendationsBased on the research, the company is poised to a challenge of developing the ecosystem. This in turn is

a huge opportunity for development. To make this happen, the following can be adopted.

Pairing with trade unions & associations

Pairing up with exclusive B2B retail giants who are lacking in multi-channel supports. One such

company can be Metro cash and carry

SWOT for Metro

Figure 9 SWOT analysis for Metro cash and carry

Strengths

Largest whole-selling platform

Robust CRM system to adjustinventory to the buying patternof the customers.

Metro Values its Employees andCustomers.

Defined format adapted to localmarket needs

Efficient and low-costoperations

Weakness

Not providing goods on creditbasis.

Location of the store is quite faraway.

Only deals in wholesales.

High priced imported items

Presence of Trade unions andassociations with strong nexuswith local goons.

OpportunitiesChanging trend of shopping,people prefer to go the placewhere they can find maximumvariety under one roof.

Metro is planning to open newstores at different locations.

Company name itself is anopportunity as Metro itself is avery popular and urban

ThreatsLarge unorganized market ofwholesalers.

Little knowledge of the brandamong producers, farmers.

Launch of Wal-Mart and otherbig wholesalers

Inflation


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Critical success factor (CSF) of Metro :-

1.

Less layers in supply chain - from producers to customers or concentrated suppliers to

consumers

2.

One stop store for many businesses

3.

Strong brand with global presence (for 50 years) and also in Asia (for 20 years)- India, China,

Pakistan, VIetnam, Japan

4.

Focuson professional customers

5.

Advanced customer service

6.

Internationally transferable concept

7.

Standard (and hence uniform) layout of stores

Parenting opportunities in Mydeals247

From the critical success factors we find the points where the integration will provide opportunity toMetro to develop Mydeals247 and use its features to add value to the ecosystem.

The opportunities are:-

1.

High brand visibility of Metro will help in bringing customers to Mydeals247 thereby enhancing

brand value and image of the company

2.

Metro stores to act as warehouse of Mydeals247. Since MD does not need inventory, presence

of a high quality assurance supplier will be beneficial.

3.

Real time price discovery will allow better analytics to predict price trends. This will solve

inventory problems (supply- demand mismatch) for Metro

4.

Metro gives a physical entity to the Mydeals247 portal

5.

Open and flat culture of both the companies will provide synergy at workplace. The German

origin company is good at manufacturing but with Mydeals247 integration, they will leverage

their service offerings online too.

6.

Improvement of processes and product catalog and offerings for Mydeals247 with Metros

parenting.

Ideas

To translate these opportunities the following ideas can be implemented to empower the platform

and get the best value out of the deal.

Objectives

To increase activity among buyers


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Value propositions

1)

Provide analytics to Metro buyers (MB) who shall transact on Mydeals247 (MD) platform

a)

Sales volume product-wise

b)

Lowest price in market

2)

Provide analytics to Metro

a)

Know the Lost Salesfigures. Customer Lifetime Value

b)

Sentiment Analysis

c)

Advertising content on the site could be improved and the products should be marketed

with more content on specifications (features) - Content Marketing

The leads generated and provided as part of the analytical support would be charged

only for the leads where the business was done and propositions were made, not for the irrelevant

leads. So from the number of leads provided the buyer can choose whom he wants to contact and only

those would be charged not every lead that is provided to the buyer.

Need to work on the revenue model, ROI measurement matrix to be given to the buyers.

3)

Wish list construction of every buyer. Benefit aggregated demand, can be promoted as a

wish day and sellers needget an aggregated demand

4)

Separate community for MB on MD platform. By giving star status, we can give quality

assurance. This is another incentive to buy from Metro.

5)

Affiliate referral program (already happening)

6)

Selling commodity Futures (too much away from business model)

7)

QR codeshop- for the future stores that are going to be opened. New strategy of metro can cut

storage costs at metro stores since products does not need to be put on display. Just the Qrcodes will do.

Real estate costs in india are 15% of the total cost compared to 8% globally and this can be

reduced by going with the QR codes.

8)

Marketing of servicesthrough Kirana Stores - eye examinations, eye glass prescription services,

tire installation, insurance services, upscale coffee, and vaccinations.

9)

Refill conceptWholesaler need to schedule procurement at constant levels over an almost

fixed product range. We maintain a portfolio for every buyer and monitor their approximate

inventory position. We intimate their reorder point and tell them the lowest price of that

product in mydeals24710)

Customize online cataloguesfor customers.

11)

Location based promotion and marketing.Use popular location-based services to list the offer

and attract the customers.

12)

Display sellers on basis of a) Delivery b) Price


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References

000webhost. (2015, May). www.000webhost.com.

AGMARKET. (n.d.).Agricultural Marketing Information Network. Retrieved from AGMARKET:

http://agmarknet.nic.in/

Agriwatch. (n.d.).Agriwatch. Retrieved from Commodity Prices India,Commodity Markets, Commodity

News, Commodity Supply And Demand, Trading Tips,Commodity Prices, Spot Market Prices,

Crop Area, Production And Yield In India, MCX, NCDEX, Commodity Price Charts India:

http://www.agriwatch.com/

carry, M. c. (n.d.). www.metro.co.in.

India, S. L. (n.d.). Shipping Lines Offices in India. Retrieved from

http://agriexchange.apeda.gov.in/logistic/Shiping_lines.aspx?letter=M

Mydeals247. (2015, May ). www.mydeals247.com. Retrieved May 2015, from Mydeals247.

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