Streamlining business procurement: Inside ProcMart's B2B Marketplace

The startup streamlines indirect procurement by centralising the process onto a single platform, serving as the single point-of-contact between businesses and suppliers

Procuring materials for a business can be an arduous task. Historically, companies would place orders with their preferred vendors, each specialising in specific items.

This approach necessitated contacting multiple suppliers, processing separate payments, and coordinating logistics individually — a time-consuming and resource-intensive process.

Enter ProcMart, a startup that has been working to address these inefficiencies. Essentially, the firm eases the way companies do indirect procuring. It brings all parts of the indirect procurement process onto a single platform and act as the single point-of-contact between businesses and suppliers.

Founded in 2015 by Anish Popli, a first-generation entrepreneur and an alumnus of IIM Lucknow, ProcMart enables large enterprises to connect with numerous vendors for their indirect purchases through its easy-to-use interface.

The company’s tech platform offers comprehensive and end-to-end solutions for indirect sourcing requirements, right from vendor consolidation, inventory management, digital procurement, expense tracking to logistics management. With its competitive pricing and specialised services, 

ProcMart says it has “secured, retained, and expanded” its relationships with top-tier global MNCs and domestic companies across various product categories and industries such as FMCG, Auto, Pharma, Metal, Power, and others. 

The startup has, as a result, been able to record impressive growth, growing 100 per cent year-on-year for the last three years.

 

“In FY24, we did a topline of Rs 625 crore. That is up from a revenue of Rs 208 crore in FY23. This year, we are looking to end at an ARR of around Rs 1,000 crore,” Popli told Business Standard.

Funding boost and expansion

As such, the company was able to secure a substantial $30 million in Series-B funding last month, led by Nandan Nilekani and Sanjeev Aggarwal’s VC fund, Fundamentum Partnership, and the Edelweiss Discovery Fund.

The round also saw participation from South Korea-based Paramark Ventures. The Company’s existing investors include Sixth Sense Ventures and IndiaMART.

ProcMart said it will use the funding to “actively explore strategic acquisitions to augment its market leadership and enhance client offerings.” These acquisitions will enable ProcMart to further optimise backward integration of the supply chain for businesses as well as expand its contract manufacturing capabilities.

The company is set to enter newer industries beyond MRO consumables such as Biofuel and packaging, expand its distribution network in India and strengthen international operations in Southeast Asia. The capital raised will also be deployed towards talent acquisition, technology and building footprints in newer regions in India and globally, the company said.

Its competitors include B2B procurement players, including Moglix, Infra.Market, Zetwerk, and Ofbusiness, among others.

Strategic plans of the startup 

ProcMart currently has presence across 20 cities in India and international operations in Malaysia and Indonesia.

In the next 12 months, ProcMart plans to leverage AI and Machine learning to scale its operations and build AI-powered recommendations of Inventory Procurement and Management to improve overall efficiency.

“With the rise of centralised procurement and a shift towards optimising non-core expenditures, the Indian MRO industry is on the brink of a significant transformation. Owing to our established credibility and robust infrastructure, we are well-positioned to capitalise on this market opportunity,” Popli said.