Larsen & Toubro has put its engineering, procurement and technological expertise behind a new platform — a marketplace for businesses looking to procure industrial and construction goods. The company on Monday launched L&T-SuFin, its integrated e-commerce platform for B2B industrial products and services.
The electronic marketplace will enable companies to source industrial goods and services from MSMEs in a cost-effective manner. The manufacturing ecosystem has been facing significant inefficiencies in the industrial supply chains, relying heavily on resources such as B2B directories — digital or otherwise — to fulfil sourcing needs.
Four to 5% of a company’s material bill is towards maintenance, repairs and operational items. L&T-SuFin will not focus on raw material as of now, but will expand its footprint over time. The demand for MRO items through SME is of Rs 1.5 lakh crore. These items are consumed by contractors and construction companies. The platform currently has 40-plus categories.
SN Subrahmanyan, CEO & MD, L&T, said, “We are confident about L&T-SuFin transforming the B2B marketplace for industrial products. Making it easily accessible, convenient, and transparent, even for the customers in and beyond tier-1 and tier-2 cities, thereby enabling a level playing field and inclusive growth for all businesses.”
L&T-SuFin will function as a market intermediary by bringing together MSMEs and corporations that buy from them. Currently, 20,000 entities are registered on the marketplace. Like all platforms, L&T-SuFin will carry out a thorough KYC check of vendors by visiting their sites and by digitally evaluating their financials. Businesses dealing with the MSMEs on the platform can have the confidence that they are not fly-by-night operators, the company said. The platform will enable MSMEs to scale by allowing them to explore new markets.
