» A B2B MARKETPLACE FOR THE FUTURE

TEXUB, a global B2B marketplace pioneering the future of IT trade was launched in Dubai, on the 25th of May, 2022.Suchit Kumar, CEO of TEXUB and Niranjan Gidwani, former CEO of EROS Group and Consultant Director at TEXUB spoke about the platform's roadmap ahead

What is TEXUB all about?

TEXUB has been launched as a safe, stable and seamless digital ecosystem for global IT and mobility trade in the B2B space. It benefits both the buyers and sellers. Sellers can easily reach out to more markets to sell their products with options to define reginal restrictions if required for certain products. Buyers will have the advantage of an expanded supplier base, which will provide them competitive pricing options.

How has the response been?

At the launch a couple of months ago, our clock was at zero in terms of members. Since then, we have been onboarding people. The B2B Business cannot start overnight. We need to have a certain threshold number of people on board for the platform to be completely ready, in terms of buyers and sellers, and only then the transactions can start happening. We have had very positive response to date. At every stage, we were ready for corrections, both technical and operational so that we adjust to the requirements of the market. We have had a massive response in the onboarding phase, and once we crossed 100, we had to put people on hold because we wanted into go to the second and third phase with the first 100, to ensure any finetuning required and correct the errors if any, before we proceeded further. We want to make this a win-win for everyone.

What is the opportunity you see? Does this impact the traditional distribution reseller ecosystem?

In the post covid phase, we have seen a burgeoning requirement of PCs and laptops per family. The market demand has seen a dramatic increase globally and we intend to provide the opportunity to the channel to reach out to a global market. This is an opportunity for them to expand their global business reach without increasing their CAPEX or OPEX. It is an opportunity business, rather than a threat for anybody.

How does your proposition stand apart from competitors? The opportunity in the B2B space is just beginning and is growing very rapidly but from a small base compared to B2C.

Suchit Kumar

CEO, TEXUB Niranjan Gidwani

former CEO, EROS Group and Consultant Director, TEXUB

There are certain very key differentiators in this model. I think the biggest differentiator is that the model that we have is a non- subscription model. So, there is no payment that either a buyer or a seller makes to come on board. The second biggest differentiator is that we are masking the buyer from the seller and vice versa. So, that the platform becomes the base of doing the business unlike other business models like Alibaba, etc, where you get connected and after some time, you don't need the platform. And the third part is the hand holding phase, wherein if there are any apprehensions or aspirations that buyers may have, the teams are being put in place to mitigate any worries any issues.

While there could be several platforms mushrooming, there will only be a few who can execute it the right way and succeed. We believe we can differentiate well and succeed.

What are the immediate markets for you and how are you building your teams to focus on these markets?

There are two; one is a seller's market and one is a buyers’ market. So, we are addressing both now. When it comes to the seller’s markets, of course, it is the US and Dubai. Dubai is both a buyer’s and seller’s market as is India. There will be many sellers but the buyers’ market is more important which is what we are focused on mapping and building. We have expanded our manpower in Nigeria and Pakistan and in some other countries. We have added more people in the US as well. We just recruited people in India and have initiated back-office support from India. We have been building the team in Dubai as well.

How are you working on the insurance requirements?

As soon as our sellers complete a few transactions, The insurance company we have approached will perform an audit of our customers and then they will onboard us. They just need some initial data to kickstart the process.

Where do you see your major buyers coming from in terms of segments? Is it the SMB or the enterprise?

Currently, it will be the trading side and while the enterprise side will be looked at in a subsequent phase. While we will not tackle the enterprise segment initially, we are hoping that anybody who's interested will put in an RFQ as such for the products which they wish to source from anywhere and there is somebody who wishes to meet those requirements as long as the brand is allowing it for the specific territory and we will facilitate it.

Discuss your logistics arrangements?

We've signed up with them for India, UAE and the US. We are extending our agreement with them for both Singapore and Amsterdam as well.