SupplyVan.com tops MRO tools sector in the region

SupplyVan.com is the first dedicated MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) products multi-vendor marketplace portal in the region, which was launched in 2016 and has over 100,000 listed SKUs (stock keeping units ) from more than 1,700 international brands in over 1,500 categories. The startup seeks to reinvent the MRO products market.

It is a one-stop shop for MRO product sourcing and supply through VMI

(Vendor Managed Inventory) and a marketplace for millions of products from thousands of global brands, which are required by diverse industries, factories, workshops, offices, contractors and businesses in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

SupplyVan.com leads the MRO tools market in the Middle East.

The global MRO market was valued at $610 (Dh2,240.52) billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $689 (Dh2,530.68) billion by 2025, according to Mordor Intelligence. The Middle East is estimated to generate 10 per cent of global MRO tool demand and caters to diverse industries such as power tools, hand tools, safety products, outdoor equipment, hydraulic and pneumatic products, electricals and lighting, material handling, stationary, etc.

The lack of digitisation and the rise in demand for MRO products after the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions has buoyed SupplyVan.com’s business prospects.

Facility management (FM) is one of the key user industries of MRO tools. The growth of the FM Industry in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region is expected to drive demand for MRO tools. Besides, the robust construction industry is pushing the demand for FM services in the GCC. The FM market size in the GCC is set to reach $71.4 (Dh262.25) billion by 2024. Many large MRO product companies have a large presence in the GCC.

According to market analysis, the growth of the manufacturing sector, and other projects — ranging from wastewater projects to infrastructure and hospitality industry — in the GCC is expected to drive the demand for MRO service and tools. With upcoming energy and utility projects in MENA, the demand for MRO products is expected to increase exponentially.

“We’ve grown four-fold in the last two years having moved into a new logistics facility near Dubai International Airport and are targeting a 300 per cent revenue growth this year as compared to 2021. We’re working to bring value addition in terms of procurement for our retail and business to business (B2B) customers with our custom portal and catalog solutions. We source from manufacturers and distributors at lowest prices for original and branded products locally and all over the world combined with quick delivery and excellent support,” said Ali Asgar Raja, the founder of SupplyVan.com.

“Our USP (unique selling proposition) is timely delivery, technical accuracy and customer support,” he added.

The roadmap

SupplyVan.com’s e-commerce store has 34 categories and over 2,000 subcategories that sells major brands such as 3M, Honeywell, DeWalt, Bosch, Hitachi, Milwaukee, SKF and Fluke, etc.

Raja is clear about the startup’s roadmap in the growing market such as the MENA, which is thriving on a pent-up demand for MRO tools.

“We aspire to be the largest B2B and business-to-consumer (B2C) supply chain solutions company with expertise in technology enabled procurement, vendor portfolio management and software-as-a-service (SaasS) products in the region and beyond,” Raja said.

Initially, last year, it had opened a 4,700 square feet logistics centre, and later this year, it has expanded operations to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Qatar and Oman.

Plans are afoot to expand to Africa by next year, launch its second logistics centre and white label SKUs of high-volume product lines.

Deterrents to MRO products’ supply chain

The problems with the existing MRO products’ supply chain are:

How do tech-enabled supply chain solutions benefit sellers and buyers?

VMI: Integration of VMI makes the entire process of procurement of MRO products automated which helps in significant simplification of the process. Moreover, automation facilitates in numerous other ways such as:

Automated ordering: Automation of ordering and issuing consumables allows more control and transparency.

Built-in user management: This feature enables selective-user access with its built-in user management system. This means that only a selection of personnel would be able to access resources and data and place orders for approval by the department heads or procurement departments.

Order requisition: Tech-enabled simplification makes it possible to keep tap of all your orders is it a single order or multiple shipments.

Budget monitoring: Automating the MRO product procurements also helps in the efficient management of the needs and the inventory. It gives access to a list of all open quotes and where they are in the fulfillment pipeline.

Order tracking: The integration allows buyers to have a full list of all previous orders. This helps buyers to look at previous prices, and products and download invoices.

MIS (Management Information System) reporting: Customisation of MIS reports enables buyers to track user-level and product-level consumption.

• Dubai