Sushant Dutta, Cofounder & CEO, 1VP and Ankit Pant, Co-founder & CTO, 1VP
Sushant Dutta, Cofounder & CEO, and Ankit Pant, Co-founder & CTO of 1VP, in a conversation with CIOTechOutlook, shared their views on transforming local B2B commerce in India through cloud-native platforms. They explained how cloud technology is helping traditional businesses of tier-2 and tier-3 cities by streamlining operations and enabling scalable growth. They stressed the value of usage-based pricing models for affordability and clarity of ROI. They also discussed how cloud solutions can accommodate regional compliance, increase supply chain resilience, and support sustainability through shared infrastructures.
Many mid-sized distributors and vendors located in tier-two and tier-three cities still rely on traditional channels, including phone and paper-based order systems. One of the significant challenges they are facing is scalability. With phone, paper, or email orders, growth tends to be linear. Cloud solutions are giving a transformative opportunity for such businesses. By digitizing and automating their processes through the cloud, they can move beyond linear growth patterns. Cloud technology enables streamlined operations, data-driven insights, and enhanced learning capabilities, ultimately supporting nonlinear growth and improved scalability.
India’s B2B commerce ecosystem is largely organized, yet it remains predominantly offline and lacks digital integration. This presents a significant opportunity for cloud-native platforms to bring these operations online. Digitization through cloud-native solutions enhances accessibility for vendors, enabling them to engage from any location and participate in more structured, streamlined discussions. One of the key advantages is the potential for reusability. Today, each transaction or interaction is treated as a new task, with the same amount of manual effort. Whether a vendor is managing one buyer or ten, the workload remains unchanged.
There are traditional, non-cloud-based platforms in tier-one cities that are still inaccessible. However, non-cloud-based platforms become impractical in tier-two and tier-three cities, as their use is limited due to certain infrastructure limitations. Cloud-native platforms leverage the increased access to the internet to offer multi-layered and multi-faceted technologies to escalate operational efficiency and digital transformation. In short, cloud-native platforms facilitate digital transformation and operational efficiency for B2B commerce across the country.
Many current cloud-based offerings, such as Gmail, operate under user-based or fixed membership pricing. In these environments, businesses tend to pay some fixed amount per user or for a pre-defined tier of service. However, it has historically been difficult to calculate Return on Investment (ROI) with user-based pricing models such as SaaS and cloud-based tools. Unlike capital-intensive projects such as setting up a manufacturing plant, where ROI can be estimated with relative precision, the ROI from software or IT projects is far more subjective and complex to quantify.
The future belongs to usage-based pricing, where you provide a metric and charge based on that usage. This is an affordable and scalable way to change activities. If users can not measure their metrics to validate their ROI, then it is very difficult to sell the solution. A usage-based subscription is the best model for the growth of B2B commerce in India.
The pain point is the distribution network. While the taxability is now unified, the commercial aspect still faces challenges. Many manufacturers have established their own distribution networks. In B2B commerce, the distribution network is crucial, as it involves multiple players. Customers might need a different distribution network, which often requires accessing different channels. With a proper cloud-based network, it's possible to support regional customization while maintaining the integrity of existing distribution networks. For instance, a vendor might be designated to sell only in the south, as defined by the company; however, if needed, the system should also allow flexibility to enable selling in the north.
From a long-term, cloud-based technology adoption perspective, there is significant potential. For instance, the Make in India initiative. While the focus is on manufacturing in India, it does not imply that customers are limited to India. To scale globally, manufacturers need to expand beyond domestic markets. Cloud-based platforms offer advantages in demand optimization. Currently, many suppliers are operating in silos or as part of a limited network of buyers. Any natural or financial disruption in the supply chain can severely impact their operations. By enabling greater demand visibility and reducing dependency on isolated channels, cloud-based solutions can help mitigate the risks associated with demand fluctuations and improve overall supply chain resilience.
From a sustainability perspective, organizations that are not choosing cloud adoption require their own technology infrastructure by implementing dedicated servers. This often leads to underutilization, which remains a significant challenge, as it is difficult for any business to accurately predict and plan the utilization of its tech infrastructure. If an organization sets up its own servers and is comfortable with underutilization, it ends up wasting significant energy and resources. On the other hand, if there is overutilization, it must invest time and money to scale up, which often leads back to underutilization once the demand drops.
Cloud-based technologies solve this problem efficiently. When one user is underutilizing a resource, that same resource can be allocated to another user. This shared infrastructure model significantly reduces energy consumption and operational costs, making cloud adoption a more sustainable and resource-efficient solution. In addition, this plays a huge role in sustainability, and one of the main reasons organizations around the world are moving into cloud-based solutions.
Cloud platforms offer a sustainable alternative by centralizing infrastructure management. Cloud providers such as AWS, Microsoft, and others possess specialized expertise in managing large-scale infrastructure efficiently. Their domain knowledge ensures optimal utilization of resources, minimizing waste, and maximizing performance.
