New HORECA B2B marketplace launched in GCCs
SupplyMe, a new online HORECA (hotels, restaurants and cafes) B2B marketplace has officially launched to connect the F&B supply chain in the UAE to provide a better buying experience for customers.
Available on both major app stores, the SupplyMe application is focused on one of the fastest-growing verticals in the region. The online marketplace aims to help the sector streamline their operations and meet fast-changing consumption and purchasing patterns. The marketplace claims to improve the online B2B food market to simplify and speed up the process of buying without any phone calls and bothersome paperwork. It provides F&B businesses with an instant overview of the market propositions, increased product choice and a superior customer experience, without the restraints of inventory and logistics. With the use of technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, online marketplaces can help businesses identify their purchasing pattern and ease the process of placing repeat orders. Vendor evaluation, spend analytics, and demand forecasting are some of the most popular benefits of data analytics in the F&B sector.
The ecommerce market has witnessed major shifts in buyer behavior and B2B eCommerce is now challenging the authority of traditional sales channels with B2B reaching a worldwide market value of $7.7 trillion, as opposed to the $2.3 trillion of B2C. The World Economic Forum has estimated the UAE’s 2020 e-commerce market to be valued at $27.2 billion. In Q2 of 2021, funding in MENA-based e-commerce startups grew by 380 percent quarter-on-quarter, with a corresponding increase of eight deals.
67 percent of the buyer’s journey is now completed digitally. 86 percent of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience and personalization forms a huge part of delivering the best customer experience. The marketplace acts as an interface and empowers suppliers in the industry to list their products effectively, acquire new customers, have easy access to all sales related activities, provide the flexibility to run promotions, create flexible price models and most importantly offer a secured platform to manage transactions and payments easily with reduced paperwork.
During its beta phase, SupplyMe catered to businesses in the UAE and in the next 12 months, the company aims to extend their presence in other GCC countries, with their priority being Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
