It was a hot, humid day yesterday in Reading, and luckily I had a meeting planned with a stealth startup in a very nicely chilled co-working space in Reading.

The company I met is developing a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace technology platform that will tap into a market estimated to be worth $6.7 trillion dollars.

This enormous market comprises of the incredibly high percentage of B2B transactions that are still dealt with over the phone, over email or on paper, and this company aims to provide the tools needed to allow specialist B2B marketplaces to grow.

Specialist B2B supplies

A majority of business purchases tend to fall within within fairly well defined parameters, for example, a car dealer is likely to be purchasing products related to automobiles and motoring, along with general office supplies. Unlike consumers, who could go online to purchase a replacement headlamp, a new blade for the lawnmower, order groceries or finally get around to signing up for the once-in-a-lifetime balloon flight experience.

Also unlike consumers, the marketplaces for businesses to buy product for their specialist requirements hasn’t really moved ahead, with many of the suppliers simply having web-presence or basic websites with offline purchasing.

Many of these well-known suppliers are specialists in their fields, operating in secondary markets, finding new homes for used equipment. So if you’re in the market for a Diesel Driven Triplex Boost Pump Skid 5000, then you probably know who to turn to, and when you find it on their “web-based stock catalog” your option will be to email or contact them to discuss the sale.

The company’s platform intends to make it easy for established businesses, leaders in their specialist field to move to a fully functional e-commerce platform. Enabling not just on-line purchases, but with eBay-like buy-it-now and auction capabilities, too. They go further, and with a detailed understanding of the B2B ecosystem, their platform extends to negotiating and agreeing transportation and logistics.

Where’s the potential?

I think the platform has very interesting potential, especially in fields I’ve either know for a long time or have only recently discovered, including:

Want to know more?

If this, or any of the other companies we’ve met sound like they could solve your problem, do get in touch.