Udaan is a Business to Business (B2B) e-commerce platform that unites manufacturers, traders, retailers, and wholesalers together on a single platform. In addition, the platform provides access to its users to new markets and provides financial products for sellers and buyers.
The Indian Startup makes the entire B2B process much easier in India. Now, all the manufacturers can present their products on this platform, and interested traders have the freedom to select and buy them. Likewise, retailers and wholesalers are also given equal freedom to advertise and purchase a product.
Founders of Udaan –
Established in 2016, Udaan is a Bangalore-based B2B marketplace that is owned and operated by Hiveloop. The company was founded by three former Flipkart employees Amod Malviya, Sujeet Kumar, and Vaibhav Gupta.
Vaibhav has worked as a Senior Vice President of Business Finance and analytics. Sujeet worked in the supply chain as a President of Operations & Logistics, and Amod worked as the Chief Technology Officer and in-charge in charge of Research and Development (R&D) at Flipkart.
Udaan is one of the fastest-growing unicorns in India and achieves the milestone in just 26 months. Similarly, companies such as Ola, Paytm, Swiggy, InMobi took 4-5 years to become unicorns.
According to recent reports, the company is currently valued at $7.5 billion. Their main focus was in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, where many business owners don’t use technology or lack funds, knowledge, or distribution systems to grow their business.
Udaan – Funding
Udaan has raised over $1.2 billion in funding over seven rounds of funding. The initial funding was headed by Lightspeed Venture Partners of about $10 million in 2016. It recently raised funding of $280 million in Series D round.
In five years, about 13 different investors are investing in Udaan. In addition, several venture capitalists such as Tencent Holdings, DST Global, Altimeter, Footpath Ventures, Hillhouse, GGV Capital, and Citi Ventures participated in multiple funding rounds.
Udaan Business Model
Udaan’s Founder pursue to start their business venture with an ideology and meet their three decisive criteria –
- It has to make a huge impact on people.
- It should be a project in which technology can play a disruptive role.
- It should uniquely help to seek Indian problems.
They bring together small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), manufacturers, wholesalers, merchants, and retailers to sell goods and services.
To make the trading process easier for their clients, Udaan provides logistic support. In addition, it also provides accounting services as well as order and payment management solutions to all merchants for a smooth experience.
Furthermore, the company intends to provide working capital (funds) to retailers and wholesalers at a reasonable rate on its platform.
Udaan’s revenue works on the 15% — 18% commission from the buyers for funding their purchase.
The unicorn startup Udaan has also been licensed by Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) to provide Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) funding.
The company has a network of more than 25,000 sellers in India and has a customer base of over 3 million. It is worked in more than 900 cities and towns in India. They currently function across electronics, home and kitchen products, mobiles & electronics, stationery, clothing, footwear, and other household products.
Udaan’s Competitors
Udaan has some intense competitors in the B2B e-commerce market. Some of them are Zoomtail Technologies Pvt. Ltd. which provides solutions to small and medium-sized fashion enterprises. Big trade is one of the top rivals of Udaan that made a giant leap after Walmart acquired them in 2019.
Another competitor on the list is TradeKosh, an online B2B platform that connects retailers and manufacturers and develops its stock management with the help of data analytics and data science.
Future Plans
Udaan aims to expand its network in India through its technological advancements and helping merchants, traders, and retailers build a better B2B marketplace. The company achieved tremendous growth in the short term and occupied a dominant position in the e-commerce market.
Udaan is expect to make wonders in the near future and evolves to become one of the most successful startups in India.
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