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UDAAN - Case Study

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131 views5 pages

UDAAN - Case Study

Uploaded by

Beast Fox
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Udaan is a Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce platform, designed to solve core

trade problems for small, medium, and large businesses across India. It was founded in

2016 by Amod Malviya, Vaibhav Gupta, and Sujeet Kumar. The company is

headquartered in Bengaluru, India, and operates as a B2B e-commerce platform,

enabling retailers and businesses to source merchandise from manufacturers, brands,

white labels, importers, etc. on a single platform. Udaan brings to users the power of

technology to grow their businesses.

It has operations across categories including lifestyle, electronics, home & kitchen,

staples, fruits and vegetables, FMCG, pharma, toys, and general merchandise. 

Udaan’s Goal: 

The goal of Udaan is to cut the middlemen between the customer and the factory

product so that the customer gets the product at the best prices. Usually, most of the

firms have to go through two to three layers like exclusive wholesalers and distributors.

Udaan wants to solve credit underwriting problems, B2B logistics, payment, and sales

and marketing. The ultimate goal will be to benefit both the customer and the retailer.
Udaan’s Business model:

Udaan is like a bridge between business and customers and helps businesses find
customers, suppliers, and products across categories and connect them to get the
best deal
Udaan is a business to business marketplace on which manufacturers and wholesalers
can sell their products to retailers through platforms like online or mobile apps
Watch the video to know more about the product range for Udaan.
Watch

Watch

According to reports, the marketplace has been the fastest Indian start-up to reach in
merely 26 months to reach a valuation of 1 billion dollars. As of now, the categories that
are available in the marketplace are fashion and electronics. Udaan showed its
individuality by becoming a unicorn with a capital infusion of around $225 million from
its existing investors — DST Global and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Several things must be taken care of when B2B e-commerce is being started from
scratch. The firms need to take care of integrating technology, put in place complex
logistics fulfillment processes, and convince businesses to go online. They had to design
the supply chain systems and processes. Also, the execution of the operations will always
be a challenge for Udaan which is to be dealt with as it grows bigger.

Let’s look at the challenges Udaan faced in the initial stages!

Challenge 1: The readiness of customers to use the platform

Udaan's customers are primarily small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in India.
These businesses typically operate in the retail, food and beverage, and consumer goods
sectors. Udaan serves a wide range of businesses, from small grocery stores and kiranas
to larger supermarkets and wholesale traders. These customers are coming primarily
from tier 2 and 3 cities and are not very well-versed in the usage of applications. The
customers are not able to use the platform effectively as they are not literate enough to
understand the complexities of the platform.

Challenge 2: Complex ecosystem with multiple stakeholders

The B2B e-commerce ecosystem in India is highly complex, with multiple stakeholders
such as manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. Udaan needed to
navigate this complex ecosystem to create a platform that could serve the diverse
needs of its customers.

For example, the farmer who wants to sell apples was bound to sell the same through
wholesalers who are referred to as the middlemen. The wholesaler charges both the
farmer as well as the customer for the services, thereby increasing the prices for the
apples.

Challenge 3: Supply chain inefficiencies and logistics

The supply chain management in India is often unorganized and inefficient, which can
lead to delays and disruptions. This flawed chain management leads to delays in
deliveries and loss of business.

Challenge 4: Competition from big giants

Udaan operates in a highly competitive market, with other players such as Amazon
Business, Flipkart Wholesale, and JioMart also offering B2B e-commerce services. Udaan
needs to differentiate itself from its competitors and offer unique value propositions to its
customers.

Challenge 5: Multiple service requirements

The customer had to rely on different service providers for multiple services such as
financing, logistics, and support in business operations. 

For example, the customer was dependent on banks to finance their businesses and had
no clarity of the loan underwriting policy. Thus, it became extremely tedious for them to
do the whole process online.
Challenge 6: Customer acquisition and retention

It was extremely difficult for Udaan to get the customers onboard because of the lack of
knowledge about the platform. Amazon and Flipkart on the other hand were investing
huge amounts in marketing. One of the initiatives taken by Udaan was to employ a
multi-channel marketing approach, using a combination of digital marketing and
influencer marketing to reach its target audience.

Assume that this is the year 2016 and you are the leadership team of Udaan. You are
expected to overcome these challenges and make the business profitable.

Please discuss among yourselves and present your strategic plan to your board of
directors. Please include the following:

Your plan of action to educate the customers about your platform. Please include both
the operational and technological changes you will bring to your product and services,
to make them more user-friendly.(elaborate on the current product)
Your customer has a variety of needs including advance financing, logistics, and
frequent product sourcing. How can Udaan become a one-stop shop for its customers?

Features you would want in the App


Partnerships that you would do to become a one-stop shop
Operational capabilities you would build in-house to serve your customer.

Please elaborate on your marketing strategy including channels such as Billboards, TV


ads, Influencers, and social media. Be specific about the customer segment you are
targeting and the kind of content you are creating.

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