Medikabazaar, a B2B online start-up for medical equipment and supplies, is set to build its own logistics fleet ‘MBGO Captains’, which will help the company’s riders to deliver products within 24 hours of the order being placed.
Medikabazaar will penetrate its markets by building a large number of fulfilment centres in areas with higher demand, said Vivek Tiwari, founder and CEO, Medikabazaar.
The company had recently raised $15.8 million in Series B funding led by HealthQuad, Ackermans & van Haaren and Rebright Partners.
The start-up has plans to establish around 45 additional fulfilment centres across India, of which more than 50 per cent are strategically planned for tier 2 and 3 cities, based on the company’s research pertaining to procurement and distribution requirements, said Tiwari, who founded the start-up in 2014.
In line with its expansion, the company now will have around 300 delivery staff operating across India. “We are planning to strengthen our team to three times the size it is today,” Tiwari said.
He further said they are working closely with the government.
“One of the few tie-ups we have is with Andhra Pradesh Med Tech Zone, where we enable hospitals to access our platform to experience and purchase the latest and technologically advanced medical products,” he said.
In February 2019, Medikabazaar partnered with the Association of Hospital Providers India as its Value Procurement Organisation (VPO) for member hospitals.
“We are its one-stop contact for all medical requirements. Under our VPO services, hospitals can opt for our proprietary AI-ML tool, VIZI, with which they can procure adequate supplies on time,” said the founder.
So, how does it manage the cost reduction of more than 10 per cent?
“We have a strong relationship with leading manufacturers that helps us procure goods with considerable margins and, in turn, allow us provide it to our partners and customers at a better price. Our extensive reach helps us to secure more favourable deals from manufacturers. We have a range of financing options available on our portal for customers, which gives them greater incentive to choose us as their preferred provider,” Tiwari explained.
He feels that the number of registered B2B start-ups in India has increased enormously in the past few years due to growing market opportunity, along with favourable government policies.
“Given the rapid growth of the start-up ecosystem, the upcoming Budget is expected to be pro-start-up. A large number of success stories in the B2B space are also motivating entrepreneurs to jump into the fray,” Tiwari said.