NCDEX commissions survey to gauge customers' mood

The National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) has appointed Pune-based Grassroots, a strategic consulting firm, to conduct a survey on the expectations of customers. Officials from Grassroots have already started meeting participants of the exchange, members, etc, in this regard.

A report based on the survey is expected in the next couple of months.

“As India’s largest pool of liquidity in agricultural commodities, our customers depend upon us for a host of value-added services in warehousing, grading and assaying, commodity finance, collateral management and e-registry. Every day, it’s our job to make every important aspect of customer experience a little bit better. The annual customer service survey helps us with insights on evolving customer expectations and the need to identify focused action areas so that we continue to stay closely aligned to their business,” said an NCDEX spokesperson.

This will be second such survey by the exchange. The survey carried out last year showed customers sought an improvement in warehousing-related and technology issues.

NCDEX has been able to maintain its market share in the futures segment, though it has largely remained agro centric. It has introduced a few innovative contracts in the gold category but hasn't not able to improve its share in this segment. According to a member of the exchange surveyed by Grassroots, NCDEX hasn't been able to avail of the opportunity thrown up by regulatory restrictions on rival Multi Commodity Exchange till July last year.

The exchange's spokesperson clarified the survey wasn't aimed at increasing market share but understanding customer needs better.

Of late, NCDEX has taken a slew of initiatives, including the launch of forward trading in several commodities. Recently, it chose MillenniumIT's multi-asset and ultra-low latency trading solution, Millennium Exchange, for its matching engine technology and Millennium Surveillance to detect abnormal trading behaviour and promote integrity in its spot and derivatives segments. Both products, based on MillenniumIT's Millennium Advanced Platform, seek to support the firm's trading operations and ensure it meets the market's regulatory requirements.