Vedanta Aluminium’s Metal Bazaar Sees 35% Increase in SME Users Amidst Growing Digital Buying Trends
5th November 2024
- Within six months of launch, platform experiences a 240% rise in active users, reflecting India’s shift towards streamlined, digital metal procurement solutions
New Delhi, November 5, 2024: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, announces that its e-commerce platform, Metal Bazaar, is making significant strides in transforming the buying behaviour of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In just six months since its launch, SME users have increased by 35%, and active users have surged by 240%.
With no purchase limits or caps, Metal Bazaar provides businesses with direct access to aluminium in the quantities they need, eliminating third-party intermediaries, which is particularly helpful for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This streamlined, one-stop solution is enabling smaller businesses to focus on growth rather than procurement complexities. This impressive growth underscores a broader trend among Indian businesses towards adopting efficient, transparent, and digital procurement solutions.
Recently, the platform successfully launched a WhatsApp chatbot for customers. This user-friendly chatbot lets customers quickly and easily access essential information such as free balance, dispatch details, etc.
The platform aligns with the evolving needs of Digital India by providing seamless access to high-quality aluminium products. Its intuitive interface and innovative features have particularly addressed the procurement challenges faced by SMEs. By streamlining processes such as instant orders, price locking, and real-time shipment tracking, Vedanta Metal Bazaar is transforming traditional sourcing methods and enabling businesses to focus on growth.
The platform’s success is evidenced by the 100% adoption of key features like price booking (LME hedging), ledger (financial reports), and dispatch visibility (live shipment tracking and documentation). This widespread uptake demonstrates the strong demand among Indian aluminium consumers for digital solutions that simplify complex, traditional processes. Since January 2024, Vedanta Metal Bazaar has generated more than 150 leads, including 45 for exports.
Speaking about the remarkable performance of the platform, Sunil Gupta, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Vedanta Aluminium, said, “Vedanta Metal Bazaar is not just a platform; it’s a revolution in how aluminium procurement is approached. Our solution simplifies the procurement journey and adds significant value to our customers. The strong adoption we’re seeing is a testament to the platform’s alignment with the evolving needs of businesses of all sizes in India, and we remain committed to enhancing it to serve our customers even better.”
Vedanta Metal Bazaar has achieved unmatched customer satisfaction, with ratings reaching more than 4.3 on a scale of 1-5. This success is driven by the platform’s unique AI-enabled features which offer real-time monitoring, full transparency and control. The platform also boasts near-100% adoption of key modules like price booking for market protection, ledger for real-time financial access, and dispatch visibility for live order tracking. These enhancements are not only elevating customer experience but also improving operational efficiencies, reducing the sales team’s daily working hours to less than half, and allowing them to focus on other strategic priorities.
Vedanta Metal Bazaar offers a host of advanced features, including:
- Mobile access with a user-friendly interface, pioneering in the non-ferrous metals sector.
- An innovative ‘agreement tool’ that simplifies complex negotiations.
- AI-powered spot ordering and live shipment tracking, a first in the metal industry.
- No restrictions on material purchase quantities.
- QR-based product authenticity checks and integrated feedback systems.
- A trusted panel of finance and logistics partners for smooth procurement processes.
- Streamlined workflows for all customers, from large enterprises to MSMEs.
- Easy access to Restora, India’s first low-carbon ‘green’ aluminium range.
- A single-window interface to engage with Vedanta’s quality, technical support, product application, engineering, and innovation teams.
- Opportunities for technical upskilling through the centre of excellence, featuring collaborations with research institutes, industry associations, and global experts.
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY2024. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY24. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
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This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
